Time for Tea

I typed a ton of different opening sentences for this first blog of mine... All of them were crap.
I guess I just wanted a place that I could be totally honest or completely vague, whatever I am feeling at the time.

I recently got back from a missions trip to Kenya. We were required to journal everyday and that became so big and really important for me. I became totally honest with myself and write down all the crazy thoughts that were going around inside my brain. I held nothing back. It was my journal, so why should I? As I started letting the thoughts flow out and write EVERYTHING my journal entries lengthened and I was able to process things better. So perhaps that is what this blog is for. To continue the output of the flooding thoughts that tend to capsize me inside my own head. I won't hold anything back, and maybe people will be able to know me just a tiny bit better. And perhaps others will see how similar we all are. Who knows.


So with all that said... here are my thoughts today:

I miss Kenya. I miss tea time and the importance of just sitting and talking with others. The focus on relationships is so much greater than the task at hand. Many times we would take a break from work to have tea and hang out from as short as twenty minutes to as long as an hour. The job didn't matter so much as the conversations we shared with each other. "Tea Time" was such a valuable time that I feel we miss out on here in the U.S. Most people are so busy, rushing around to get everything done that needs doing, and getting upset if it isn't.
I love the slow paced, relational mentality of those in Kenya. Is there a way to incorporate that here? Should we include "tea time" in our days? Making sure to take a few breaks from work and play and get to know the people that surround us? I wish we would.
Or maybe it's just me... Maybe there is time, but I don't take enough of it to get to know the people around me. I want to though. And that's something I've learned since getting back home. I don't REALLY listen. I do, I listen to them in the moment and pay attention to what they are saying... but I don't listen to remember. Or at least not super often. Or maybe I just have a crappy memory. Not sure, but I want to take the focus off of myself in conversation and put it on the other person speaking. I want to know people. Really know them.

I wrote this in my journal last July:
"I want to know people. Like really know them. I want to know more than just the facade that they show the world. I want to know the deep thoughts of those around me. I want to know their past and their dreams for the future."

And this is still my heart today. I love people. Just the thought that there are so many different kinds of them out there, makes me excited because every person has stories and experiences to share. And I want to know them. How cool would it be to just sit around all day listening to people's stories and then perhaps, writing them down? Documenting them so they will never be forgotten. Even those seemingly insignificant ones about them peeing their pants at the beach when they were five. That stuff makes people. Then again... maybe not so much the pee story haha. But I still think it'd be cool.

So let's take a break for tea
You, him, her, and me.
I want to hear your stories
Tales of failures and glories
I will share my own
And you will no longer be alone
I want to know you and you me
Honest and true we shall be
I will be open from the start
I pray that you see my heart
As we share and enjoy this time,
I'll not see your faults and you'll look past mine