As an adrenaline junky and lover of extremes, I sometimes find it challenging to enjoy the simple things in life. I love dropping in on huge waves, spearing big fish, dancing all night, going on epic adventures; however, appreciating and deeply enjoying the simple things, like drinking a cup of tea, is what gives me the sense of balance that I crave.
I am learning to accept things just as they are instead of desiring them to be different. The awareness that I am out of balance is the first step to coming back into balance. As I drank a cup of Jahmu on the ferry this morning, I focused on acceptance, forgiveness, and gratitude. It naturally brought my mind, body and soul back to balance.
The next time you drink a cup of Jahmu try this simple tea meditation:
- Pretend like your cup of tea is a magical healing elixir made of pure love and light.
With each sip say to yourself “I forgive myself for….” “I accept myself for….” “I forgive (someone) for ….” “I accept (this situation)” “I accept (this part of my body)” “even though I ….. I still love and accept myself” “even though (so and so did something) I still love and except (that person)” - Feel the warm of the tea resonating with this feeling of forgiveness and acceptance.
- As you drink the remainder of your tea think of something you are grateful for and with each sip say to yourself “I am grateful for …. because….” Maybe you can even find gratitude for something you were having trouble accepting before or gratitude for a situation you previously saw nothing positive in.
Everything happens for the best possible reason (if you believe that it does) but we often don’t see the positive until after we have gone through extreme suffering. While some suffering is an unavoidable part of our human experience our relationship to surfing is always open to change!