I don’t know which I enjoy more, the process of making matcha green tea or the tea itself. Just as that dilemma crossed my mind, an epiphany of the journey and the destination sprung into light immediately after. How can something so simple as a handmade clay cup and a bamboo whisk inspire profound contemplation?
There is something innately gratifying about a ritual. Tending to something with multiple, easy to memorize, steps brings a calm sense of purpose and affirmation to the soul. Done again and again where it becomes an effortless process allowing the mind to meditate, or at least reach a relaxed state. And like that, the moment passes. However, in that brief moment I enjoy the state of being present with the ritual itself, not thinking about the outcome or final product, just the shared instance with tools to create. Tools which have been created and shared with many people and ceremonies before me.
As the journey comes to a close, it opens the door to experience the destination. A cup of docile matcha green tea. Movement causes reverberation on the surface of the tea which tells the story of those who developed the ritual. While the ascending steam shares the magnificent smell, gifting the surrounding senses.
I may never settle the debate of whether I enjoy the journey or the destination more. Maybe I don’t want to. I enjoy what it is now.
Poets Bridge 