An entire blog post dedicated to T.E.A
Autumn is so cosy; the most darling season. As the last summer days of February fade into March, a breeze gushes in from South Africa's coastline, to my city, Johannesburg. Its crisp greeting lures fuzzy entities out of winter boxes: socks, gloves, scarves, beanies, stockings, berets, & cardigans.
Tea becomes a most fitting form of hydration during this time too - in fact, it becomes my main source of hydration (I can't be the only one who has to force myself to drink water in winter).
Tea is comfort liquidised. And when you have a cutesy little teapot to soak some genuine tea leaves in, you can just sip your way to contentedness.
Now I'm going to spill some tea - not literally, we respect our tea here. This week has been one filled with both hope & despair. During the same time that the contestants of Miss South Africa 2020 have been chosen, the women of our country have been crying out for an end to the femicide that has resided for years and years and years in SA. I find the irony concerning, of how women can be glamorously celebrated by our country in one manner, and then brutally violated or disregarded in another.
It is in times like this especially when we combine our voices to encourage & empathise with each other. We women are strong and gentle, soft and bold, thick-skinned and compassionate, brave... and intelligent & funny & tender & creative & daring & emotional & human. We are created as captivating. We want to love, and we want to be loved.
However, there are times when we women forget the sisterhood that we are born into. We forget the sacredness of lifting our fellow ladies up in the midst of adversity- even in the absence of it. What was written by a female writer about our 2019 Miss South Africa, Sasha-Lee, is a disheartening example of the pain that we as women can inflict on a sister. I want to share something that has stemmed from the root of my heart for a very long time, and that is: we ladies need to recognise our beauty whilst appreciating that of another. Cliché I know, but are we living in accordance with this?
"Girlll, lemme spill the tea" is not constructive conversation if that tea is hot & hurtful in regard to our sisters.
You know where this is going. Ladies, it is time to have each other's backs, whether we are celebrating Miss SA/ World/ Universe, campaigning side-by-side for systematic change in society, or when we are sitting & chatting in our friendship circles at lunch.
My most treasured tea is Johannesburg Gold from the Tea Merchant. I can almost taste the soil in which the ginger root had embedded itself. Perhaps that's just my inner wild coming through, but what I love is how authentic it is. Tea like this is sacred; a cup of comfort, warmth, and wholeness. Let's not spill it, let's treasure it. In other words, let's not pour our fellow ladies out to suit ourselves. Let's be authentic, true to our beings & true to others. Gossip lies, isolates, prohibits maturity, and destroys. I love this quote & stand by it:
"Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people." - Socrates
You, my darling honey bee, have a strong mind, a powerful voice, & a beautiful heart. It is my hope that we root for each other, and grow together as women of valour. Remember:
T. treat
E. everyone
A. authentically
Proverbs 31: 25
"She is clothed in strength & dignity, & she laughs without fear of the future."
And that's the tea, sis !
With sweet joy & lemon zest,
Hannah Mia xoxo
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