Tea and Hummingbirds
What could be more peaceful than sipping a hot cup of tea, with honey and lemon, a quiet morning and the spirited dance of hummingbirds? These avian acrobats have enlivened our backyard, becoming the highlight of each summer. Darting from feeder to feeder, flower to flower, hoovering, tail feathers fanned, chasing each other about-on the wing, they carry a reminder of the quiet miracle of creation.
We wait anxiously for their arrival each spring-for the first sighting-tiny earth relatives moving back in for a time. Welcome home, our hearts sing. These diminutive visitors only ask for some sugar water but invigorate our air space with territorial antics and the seasonal waltz of nature.
This is something that remains-something we pray that will remain long after our time here. The anticipated homecoming of these remarkable members of our earth family.
The warmth and goodness of a cup of tea and the delightful dance of hummingbirds make the morning wholesome and glorious connecting us to thousands of years of tradition and cultivation. An ancient legend, from 2737 BC, recounts that the Chinese emperor Shen Nung was sitting beneath a tree while his servant was boiling some water for drinking. At that very moment some leaves from the tree above blew into the boiling water. Shen Nung, a distinguished herbalist, decided to try the remedy that had been accidentally steeped. Each sip of tea unites us with thousands of souls-among us and departed- in every nook and cranny of the world, doing and having done the same.
Only about the weight of a nickel, hummingbirds are the only bird that can fly backwards. Having evolved nearly 42 million years ago, they are the smallest of all migratory birds yet they can appear fierce when chasing their nectar rivals. Their spirits, a small slice of the nature of our being.
There are times when this world can feel so large and unwelcoming -the clatter of crowds and din of machinery may dull the senses-but tea and hummingbirds stand for all good things that fill our hearts with the goodness, the peace, and the beauty of our world.
Hidden House Pottery