I've been reading a book lately called 'Marigold Mind Laundry' by Korean author Jungeun Yun.

It's a calm and easy read. The sort of book that stood out to me while perusing the English section at Kyobo. Its bright cover initially drew me in, but it's now keeping me company on my once-weekly commute to work.

It follows the story of a woman with mysterious superpowers who opens up a mind laundry to 'wash away the stains from your heart.' It's light-hearted with sweet quotes sprinkled throughout that hold a nice mirror up to your own life. But not in the way that makes you feel like a terrible human. We all need a book like this on our reading rotation from time to time.

Yesterday, I was reflecting on a nicely sprinkled quote that popped up about drinking tea:

'Drinking tea is about comforting the heart...from brewing the tea to sipping it, the whole routine soothes our feelings.'

Reading this made my heart smile and also really made me want to drink a cup of tea.

I drink coffee every morning as a form of survival. Some part of my brain makes me think that 'no coffee = no worky'

Who told us that it has to be this way? 

Seinfeld, Friends, Will & Grace, Frasier, Gilmore Girls — these are the shows that I grew up on. If you take out the jokes and the personalities, they're just shows about a bunch of people drinking coffee. Any character from one of these shows could cross over into the universe of another show without much friction, so long as they have a cup of coffee in their hand.

Coffee seems like an inevitability of life. The prospect of visiting a country where its language and culture feel lightyears away from your own will seem less scary if there is the promise of a cup of coffee each morning.

But tea.

Tea is different.

Tea is ceremonious. Tea is a routine. Not like a 'hey here's what I do when I wake up at 4 AM to make sure my first hit of wheatgrass is injected into my veins juuuust right' kind of routine. More like a slow and steady wins the tortoise race routine.

I have a teapot, tins of different teas with increasingly imaginative names, tea strainers, and a cup that I really enjoy drinking tea out of (other cups just feel wrong). It's all part of a beautiful ritual that I am much more present for. While making my morning instant coffee (all our kitchen bench space allows) feels like a race to survive another day and keep up with my toddler (who eats tired mums for breakfast).

In the book, Jieun welcomes her mind laundry guests with a warm cup of tea to ease them into a conversation about erasing their painful memories from their past. If I had a coffee in my hands, I'd be skipping the memory erasing and bouncing straight to the gym (if I had a gym membership) before sitting down to a long sesh to pen the great American novel (if I were American).

But tea. Tea makes you feel things. Tea makes you stop and think, 'hmm, maybe my gains can wait for the day, and maybe I should just sort of be where I'm at'.

Drink tea solo, and you're in for a real slice of peace. Drink with company, and juicy stories are about to be unfurled from their shackles of sworn secrecy. Spill the tea, and arrest warrants are issued, lives get flipped upside down, and true crime podcasts stretch to new audiences.

Tea really makes the heart sing.

I drew this picture and thought about what my heart would look like if I opened up my chest cavity in some non-invasive way for research purposes after taking a sip of tea.
It would look like an enchanted forest where small creatures are all friends who gather around once a week to hold their own little forest tea ceremonies (neckerchiefs = mandatory).

Carrots are in limitless supply for bunnies, and hedgehogs and dragonflies are best pals.

The theme song for this world is 'My Favourite Things' from The Sound of Music, and wearing overalls made from curtains is strongly encouraged.

While the song doesn't explicitly list tea as one of the favourite things, we all know what those bright copper kettles are for.

Fraulein Maria was 100% a tea girly.

That's all I've got for you today. Enjoy the rest of your day. I hope you set aside some time to pour yourself a nice cup of tea and a bikkie in whatever flavour your soul desires.

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