Wait.. make it your cup of Tea!!!
Few weeks ago, I happened to stumble upon a German proverb, ‘abwarten und Tee trinken’. Literally it means wait and drink tea, German version of ‘wait and see’. When there is nothing you can do to solve a problem, the best thing to do is ‘do nothing’… just wait for the natural outcome to unfold by its own. In other words, ‘wait and wonder’ and while waiting, why not drink some tea?
The
origin of this saying is said to be attributed to a 19th century herbal healer
Heinrich Ast who told his impatient patient to drink tea (herbal tea mixtures
prepared by the healer) and wait for the illness to cure. So the Chinese say,
‘Man drink tea to forget the noise of the world’.
Patience
is the virtue of a person who is ready to wait. Generally we are impatient
because we think about the future, expecting something or wanting something to
happen exactly in the way we would like it. Being patient actually means to be
attentive to what is happening in the present moment, living it to the fullest
and seeing the signs that may be right in front of us. Patience and endurance
is considered as essential virtues in Hinduism. It is the ability to wait with
endurance through odds calmly, cheerfully, without anxiety and the desire for
revenge. Hindu philosophers are of the opinion that, patience and endurance is
important for long lasting happiness. For a Hindu, Suffering is seen as a part
of living. Worldly life is ought to suffer pain until it reaches the final
stage of life, ‘Moksha’. However, the blissful soul remains detached from the
bodily (worldly) sufferings ie, ‘Maya’ or illusion called ‘life’. Life is a
journey through various experiences for the soul to reach the perfect state of
detachment. So the purpose of a Hindu’s life is to attain the ability to endure
calmly and happily the experiences of life with least care for the fruits of
one’s actions.
In turbulent
times, one should sit down in peace, drink a cup of tea and then contemplate on
what could be done. Though waiting and hoping is a hard thing to do , it is
better than jumping in to bad decision and regretting the whole life. So just
wait and see… meanwhile have a cup of tea too.
"The happiness which comes from long practice, which leads to the end of suffering, which at first is like poison, but at last like nectar - this kind of happiness arises from the serenity of one's own mind.” Shrimad Bhagavat Gita
