A cup of tea on my balcony

pausing. connecting. being in nature.

Where the birds come, and the herbs grow
and where we can come
and just be…

Hello my dear,

Can I pour the tea for you now?
Do you like it with sugar and milk? Or honey and lemon? Or maybe you would like a herbal tea of lavender and chamomile or perhaps a warming chai or a sleepy time tea?

What is your favourite tea? What is your favourite way to drink it?

If you were sharing tea with me today I would invite you to sit not at my kitchen table, rather I would invite you to sit with me on a day bed out on my balcony and I would invite you to look out at my little (big!) messy garden.

The days are slowly getting hotter and the smell of Spring is definitely in the air.
I have little forget-me-nots growing in pots. I do love these little flowers. They came from my Mum’s garden where they grew under a tree and I always imagined that it was a place where the faerie folk lived (and maybe they did!)

Can you see the new blossoms beginning to grow on my orange tree? We are having some very strong winds lately and oh I do hope that they don’t fall off. And oh those beautiful bees - these ones are native little bees. I am sure I have at least 2-3 different variety of bees in my garden. That makes me smile.

And over there under the net are my precious lemons. This lemon tree is about 8 years old and this is the first season that I have had so many healthy lemons growing. I had to put the net over them as the possums and the bush rats were eating them, and while a hole was found in the netting recently it seems that its owner has gone away.

And over there (you will have to imagine this as I have no picture to share) you will see marjoram growing and mint beginning to thrive, and you will see a white protea growing over that little fence. It is the third flower on that plant this year and look how big it is!

You will also see my lavender growing. How beautiful it looks against the green of the fir tree.

And as you sit looking at my little garden sipping your tea, maybe we would talk about your garden or your favourite plant, or perhaps we would talk about what you did today - what made you feel excited today? What made today feel like the “same old same old?” Perhaps you noticed something special on the way to my place…what was that?

Or maybe we would just sit in silence and watch the carrawongs and magpies come to the bird bath, while the raven in feathers of pure black come and sit on the railings looking at us with its white eyes and black pupils. Oh how magical and mystical, powerful and strong those birds are.

And if we turned slowly and looked over to our left we would be able to see the Australian minor turning upside down as it sticks its beak into the aloe-vera flower to get the nectar.

Or maybe you have come on a day when the Kookaburras flying from one tree to the other. I sometimes wonder if it is making its nest somewhere. And, there just over there, you can see its mate. Kookaburras always fly in pairs you know, or threes if there is a baby!

When you come there will be times when we will just sit with our cup of tea in hand and look out beyond the plants and the leaves, and the birds and the bees to the sky or the ocean, and maybe we would just daydream as we would look at the vast of the blueness above and there far in front of us.

Ahhh, to sit with a friend and share a cup of tea…
to sit…
to share…
to be…

My dear friend, if you took me outside of your place and I shared a cup of tea with you, what would I see? Please share your landscape with me in the comment section below.

Thank you for sharing a moment in time with me,

Until next week,
Blessed be.

You may like to continue drinking your tea and enjoy reading these posts.

Tea. An act of DEEP SLOWNESS.

Tea time with Sam - My new offering

Or listening to this meditation (this is not about tea!)
Do you know that I have now recorded 17 meditations as part of my Meditations with Sam podcast? I would appreciate your feedback…

Episode 17 - The Beauty of Unfurling

Soft. Simple. Still. is a weekly-ish publication where, like gentle butterflies that land upon your hand, soft words will land in your heart for profound healing, stillness and simplicity. Thank you for sharing this publication with your community and for upgrading your own subscription.