eudaemonic

[Ethan Kurland]

A tea session even alone is an eudaemonic experience. Would you agree to that? (I just went to the dictionary for a definition; so, if I had to do it, so should you. )

Anyway, discussion of politics & religion is discouraged here (rightfully so, I believe). Is gambling allowed? I'll bet recent bad actors committing vandalism etc. shown on tv yesterday live, do not sit down for tea with friends or family. I'll bet they don't have a cup or two quietly. Anyone want the other side of such a wager? Cheers

[Bok]

A tea session even alone is an eudaemonic experience.

Wholeheartedly agree! Something I long to have at least once at the end of the day to wind down...
Especially after days of display of all the wonderful acts humankind is capable of in all its glory

[LeoFox]

Teatime can be a bitter struggle with thwarted expectations and pride. One can easily get lost in a labyrinth of comparisons with unreliable memories and hearsay. It can be a "terrible mirror", to quote one poet, as one begins asking these kinds of questions:

• A tea that everyone says is good turns out bad. Did I get a bad batch? Did I brew it incorrectly? Do I have bad taste? Did I get swindled? Is it the water?
• One infusion in the first session of a new tea was mind blowing. Subsequent infusions are not as good. Later sessions are even worse. Is my storage bad? Was the tea sprayed? Is my technique inadequate? Did i only like the first session because it was new? Am I going mad?
• One tea was fabulous from start to end of pack. But repeat purchases are bad. Was it all in my head? Will I never enjoy tea again since i cannot have that one tea?
• Is this teapot really pre 77 F1 or not? Can i even tell the difference? If i can't am I unrefined? This tea tastes good, so is this pot real? Am I being poisoned by the doped heavy metals in the clay?
• Why am I spending so much time, money and effort to pursue foreign clay and teas from countries often with minimal regulatory oversight? Is this simply narcissism or another form of the insiduous Instagram culture to show off teapot and tea leaf porn to demonstrate how great my life seems to be? What is the point of reading pointless tasting notes of other people? Why do i even write my own? Is it for a false sense of control or stoking some kind of connoisseurship image that is completely hollow?

Learning to let go and simply be grateful, accepting each infusion with wonder and appreciation, no matter how it is like, may require a long and painful struggle. For ultimately, all of our reactions to tea reflect our own desires mixed with fugitive memories and narrow expectations. If letting go and being able to look at oneself clearly and calmly can be approached through tea, then i agree tea can also be a pathway to eudaemonia.

[belewfripp]

A tea session even alone is an eudaemonic experience. Would you agree to that? (I just went to the dictionary for a definition; so, if I had to do it, so should you. )

Interestingly, the original Greek roots would literally mean something like "wellness conveyed by a divinity/spirit". Eudaimonic tea could then be seen as a metaphorical guardian spirit, not unlike some fin de siècle artists' praise for absinthe as their muse.

Teatime can be a bitter struggle with thwarted expectations and pride. One can easily get lost in a labyrinth of comparisons with unreliable memories and hearsay. It can be a "terrible mirror", to quote one poet, as one begins asking these kinds of questions:

• A tea that everyone says is good turns out bad. Did I get a bad batch? Did I brew it incorrectly? Do I have bad taste? Did I get swindled? Is it the water?
  
  ......
  
  Learning to let go and simply be grateful, accepting each infusion with wonder and appreciation, no matter how it is like, may require a long and painful struggle. For ultimately, all of our reactions to tea reflect our own desires mixed with fugitive memories and narrow expectations. If letting go and being able to look at oneself clearly and calmly can be approached through tea, then i agree tea can also be a pathway to eudaemonia.

My answers to those questions are usually:

It is the water.
I am going mad.
Given I'm mad, can I be sure the tea I drank even exists? And now I'm supposed to posit its relationship to other, ostensibly-real tea?
Look, you may have a point - the clay may be poisoning me, but given the ontological nightmare in which I now find myself, that seems the least of my concerns.
Perhaps by exhibiting my wares on Instagram I can seek confirmation of the existence of my pots, tea and self. Unless Instagram is also just in my head.

As such, it usually is much better to just let go and enjoy the tea (especially as the men in white coats come around much less often then).

[Ethan Kurland]

A tea session even alone is an eudaemonic experience. Would you agree to that? (I just went to the dictionary for a definition; so, if I had to do it, so should you. )
.... If letting go and being able to look at oneself clearly and calmly can be approached through tea, then i agree tea can also be a pathway to eudaemonia.

As such, it usually is much better to just let go and enjoy the tea (especially as the men in white coats come around much less often then).

I am happy & grateful to read these posts. Brilliant. Made my day!