In our busy lives it is often hard to find time to meditate and contemplate. Consider using your morning coffee or tea as an opportunity to pause, reflect, set intentions, meditate and/or contemplate. Practicing meditation has been shown to reduce anxiety, calm the amygdala, increase our ability to think creatively, empathetically and critically. See Harvard Business Review's Why Leaders Need Mediation Now More Than Ever.
As you prepare your morning drink, become present and intentional. Choose your mug. May it be one that gives you comfort, is associated with something positive or has some meaning. Imagine it to be a life-giving drink.
Today I'm grateful for my cappuccino in this mug gifted to me by the Nelson Rotary Club, which has on it the Four-Way Test, a nonpartisan and nonsectarian ethical guide for Rotarians to use for their personal and professional relationships. The test has been translated into more than 100 languages, and Rotarians recite it at club meetings. It ask us in thought, speech and action to ask ourselves these four questions:
Is it the TRUTH?
Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
Consider drinking for the Mug of Sustainable Culture, available for purchase here.
Need a guided meditation? Try this one from Sharon Saltzberg called "Drinking Tea Meditation".