Delicate enjoyment

Julia ♦ June 13, 2020 ♦ Leave a comment

A balcony with an inviting tea table overlooks Disneyland, July 2004

“Another novelty is the tea-party, an extraordinary meal in that, being offered to persons that have already dined well, it supposes neither appetite nor thirst, and has no object but distraction, no basis but delicate enjoyment.” — Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

Whatever else can be said of contemporary culture, it seldom suggests “delicate enjoyment” or for that matter, delicate anything.  We live in an age where “extreme” has somehow become a favorable concept, over-used by advertisers and enthusiasts.

Tea is a delightful exception.  It comes in a wide array of flavors, but none of them are strong compared to most beverages.  Its benefits, like its flavor, are subtle: calming, relaxing, mildly stimulating.

Sometimes I think that much of my enjoyment of tea comes from the simple but methodical preparation, which harmonizes perfectly with the leisurely sips taken during agreeable activities such as conversing, reading or merely gazing outside at a pretty landscape.

Today, I hope you will prioritize a few minutes of delicate enjoyment.  If a cup of tea is “not your cup of tea” (sorry, I couldn’t resist) perhaps you can enjoy some soothing music or a few minutes of restful meditation.  I think our lives could use a little more delicacy, don’t you?

This post was originally published seven years ago today. The original post, comments and photo are linked, along with two other related posts, below. These links to related posts, and their thumbnail photos, do not appear in the blog feed; they are only visible when viewing the individual posts by clicking on each one. I have no idea why, nor do I know how they choose the related posts. That’s just the way WordPress does things.