wind.

The wind was howling last night—which is not uncommon for where we live. But we have this flap or broken piece of tin roof on our rental home that gets caught up in the wind and then *slams* back down. All. Night. Long.

It’s still blowing furiously this morning, and I am rubbing the sleep out of my eyes as I drink my matcha latte. I have just recently taken up the hobby of making matcha tea. I gave up coffee about a month ago after discovering the ways it was impacting my body negatively. (Apparently we have connective tissue even in our bladders, and coffee can irritate the lining of the bladder, making us feel like we have to go to the bathroom RIGHT NOW, and all the time. This is not true for everyone, of course. But for people with Ehlers-Danlos, it definitely can be.)

I am used to fast morning coffee. I can throw a k-cup in the Keurig and have coffee in seconds. I wanted the caffeine to enter my body as quickly as possible so I could prepare for my day. But these days I’m craving slowness. Everything moves at such a fast pace. And I even caught myself reevaluating the matcha process and thinking through how I could make it faster. But I don’t want faster matcha. You don’t rush matcha.

Matcha is slow. It’s mindful. Grab the bowl, fill with hot water, strain a spoonful of the green powder carefully into your water, put the fancy little whisk in hot water and then gently whisk the matcha into the hot water in a “w” shape. Slow and steady. Then I heat up my little creamer concoction I’ve created to attempt to get more protein in my body, and I froth it with my little frother wand. That’s the fun part. Then pour the matcha into the frothy goodness and enjoy the fruits of your labor!

It’s not a long process, but it is one I have come to enjoy in the morning. It reminds me that life doesn’t have to be so fast all the time. Sometimes we can just move slowly.

The wind is a great example of this. Sometimes it rages and blows; but sometimes it’s gentle—refreshing. We certainly can’t control the speed of the wind, but we can take shelter from it. Life hustles and bustles and sometimes we can’t control it, but we can take shelter from it.

Matcha tea time is that for me.

It amazes me how a 5 minute process is just enough to signal to my brain that I don’t always have to be productive or the most efficient—sometimes I can just take my time and enjoy my existence.

I hope wherever you are today, that you remember to slow down and enjoy your existence. Don’t let life rush you by all the sweet and tender moments. These are truly the building blocks of our lives.

Blessings,
~Nikki