It’s an act of extreme hubris to begin a blog — it says that the writer believes that what s/he think, feels, does in a perhaps unexceptional life is worth noting. And of course it is, to those who love us.
But I’ve felt for some time that there isn’t enough of this kind of attention — attention to the lives of others, from the perspective of at least a distant family member. We don’t really care what people think, it seems like lately. We just want them to know how we feel.
This blog is partly about that — how I feel. But it’s also, hopefully, a place where others can share what they think and feel. And do so with the idea that we often love people whom we have nothing in common with. A dear friend is married to the nicest man — he’s a wonderful father, a walking ad for perfect son, a rare friend and he loves her deeply. Politically and in terms of his religious views? We have very little in common. And I suspect if we met today — without her love for both of us as a bridge — we wouldn’t bother to get to know each other.
We need more bridges. We need them built over a river of tea — like a table set spanning a thin ribbon of water, where we can talk and share great food and learn more about each other.
I told another friend yesterday that we need a year free from politics and religion to get to know each other:
I think if we could just get to know each other — the way we grew up w/ our families — we could talk out our problems, I said.
A whole year? he replied.
Don’t you think it would take that long? For us to get beyond I’m a liberal/ I’m a conservative. I’m a Southern Baptist/ I’m a Unitarian…?
He didn’t think we could make it. But each of us breathes the air all of us — forever, since there has been air to breathe — has breathed. We are connected by the filling & emptying of our lungs’ alveoli, by each almost sacred breath. We are far more the same than different. Aren’t we?
So I still have hopes. This blog is about those hopes. I’m going to bring tea talk, pictures of great food (virtual tea tables :), poetry, thoughts on how we can practice more kindness & compassion towards each other, and whatever else we might visit about as we get to know more about each other.
I hope you’ll join me.
Tea and Breath 