Beer Bash or Tea Party?

One rainy afternoon not too long ago, back in those almost forgotten days before the heat wave, I sat on my couch sipping hot tea and watching the water pour down my living room window. Lizzy, my 4 month old cat, was quietly snoozing on my lap instead of her usual activities: climbing the curtains, eating flies, and falling off of bookshelves and counter-tops. As I sat there in that brief moment of quiet, I had this thought: Has my life been like a beer bash or a tea party?

The difference is, of course, obvious. A beer bash involves downing one drink after another until you are left standing in the middle of a room that keeps spinning, wearing a lampshade on your head and wondering how exactly it is that you got there in the first place. The enjoyment of each individual beer is not really important, because the real goal of a beer bash is the buzz – a high that lasts as long as the drinks.

A tea party is a much different affair. One must sit down at a tea party, because dancing with a boiling pot of water is not really all that practical. The tea should then be sipped slowly (chugging hot tea is neither safe nor socially acceptable.) The subtle flavors of earl grey, chamomile, and orange spice can only be discovered through this slow, deliberate process of enjoyment.

So there it is: the big question I pondered on that rainy day. Am I jumping from one thing to another for the thrill of the free fall itself? Or am I taking my time with life, savoring each day for what it holds? Instead of answering, I will simply turn the question back to you…
Are you living life like a beer bash or a tea party?