How to Squash Negativity with Your Bare Hands
A negative thought creeped into my head as I was making tea before the morning light. But I reconsidered; after all, if I had no hands, making tea would be out of the question
I reasoned, sure everything isn’t perfect, but I do have hands.
Let’s examine the proposition:
Steps to Making Tea
1. Pry open canister where the tea is housed.
2. Scoop it out with a spoon.
3. Grab kettle and put water into it.
4. Pour water into teapot (carefully!)
In short, making tea requires many intricate maneuvers of the most magnificent creature known to man: hands.
So, what did I do with the negative thought that intruded my glorious tea ceremony that morning? I said to it, “yeah, but I have hands.”
Can you imagine if I looked like Tom Cruise, had the most beautiful girl friend in the world (or not so beautiful for that matter)? To add to it all, I had a blue Mercedes convertible. I’d be living large, wouldn’t I?
But if I had all that, yet no hands, it would all fall far short of the pleasure of having them. There’s no competition.
We lose sight of the obvious, because we choose not to consider it. Let’s consider.
Next time a thought of negativity intrudes your tea ceremony, or coffee ceremony if you insist - tell the dastardly thing, “Yeah, but I got hands.”
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June 20th, 2008 at 7:07 am
Ha! Very good point! You’re so right that we need to keep reminding ourselves of these things! I’m going to show this to my husband. He’s working on a positive attitude tips website…
Thanks!
June 20th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
@ Steph: Thanks for stopping by. I’ve learned, that appreciation doesn’t come naturally, it’s something we must work at. And by doing so, our happiness will increase.
June 20th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
First of all, I LOVE tea!
You’re so right about the hands. You couldn’t have typed this post entry either. It’s the little things, the things we use or need every day, that are the most precious and important. Those big things you mentioned may be nice, but they’re not what it’s all about. In the end, having hands to prepare tea, and a refuge from the world (aka home) to be able to enjoy your tea in, is a most precious gift in itself…
Great post!
*smiles*
Michele
June 20th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Hi Bamboo, interesting post. I guess each of one us often get negative thoughts. Sometimes we need to simply say that dastardly thing, “yeah, thank you for sharing! now shut up!”
June 20th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
You know Bamboo, I once read of a gratitude exercise that’s very similar to what you suggest here. You go through each thing that you take for granted, like your eye-sight, your ability to hear, and so on, and you imagine that you lost them. Now think of how grateful you’d be if you suddenly got them back!
June 21st, 2008 at 4:41 am
Hi Bamboo,
This is a great reminder. We need to be grateful for all we are blessed with.
June 21st, 2008 at 2:11 pm
@ Michele: True, I couldn’t have posted this post or any of my posts for that matter. Good point.
@ Robert: Thank you.
@ Marelisa: That’s a good technique. Thanks for sharing.
@ Barbara: Thank you. I agree.
June 21st, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Bamboo Forest,
Tea before the morning light? I sure hope you had some food before your cup, right. These Japanese Greens can be pretty darn harsh on your system.
I’ll give the subject of hands some thought today. I’ll focus on what I could not do without them. Two things I have planned for today would certainly not be possible without hands: a bit of rock-climbing and sampling some pu-erh that just arrived (I guess I could just try gnawing off the leaves from a beeng cha…)
So long,
Jo
June 22nd, 2008 at 11:13 pm
@ Jo: Good to see you. No food before my tea, as always. I agree, sencha can sometimes be a touch irritating on the stomach. But whenever it is, which is not always, it’s only mildly so. Those are certainly two excellent opportunities for focusing on the wonderful gift: hands!
June 24th, 2008 at 3:29 am
Excellent point of view.
June 25th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
This is a great article Bamboo Forest!
June 25th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
@ Daventry: Thank you.
June 25th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Somewhere out there reading this post is someone who has no hands. And now they are very sad. hahah jk. Even if that were true, at least they have eyes? :oP :o) But yes, we all have things we should be thankful for and sometimes take for granted. :o) Hands! YES! *high five*
June 25th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
@ Frank: Heh, I actually took that into consideration before I wrote it. And, just as you point out, there is always something to focus on, to acknowledge, and be grateful for.