I've already had 2 cups of tea - with two strangers - who were both kind enough to indulge my crazy idea that the 3 of us should meet.
So what to do then, while drinking tea had me on such a roll...
Have another cup I suppose!
Julie MacLellan and I had been talking for a few weeks now (via tea-mail) - you've now seen her name on here a few times, so you'll remember that she was kind enough to feature my quest for human connection and betterment on her blog, as well as in her newspaper column.
I was particularly excited to meet with Julie, perhaps because my connection to her marks the first interest that a media outlet has taken in what I am up to. And that is not to say that I am after the attention of the media, not at this point anyway – but I do recognize that, with my intentions to share this whole thing with the world in the hope that it might get world thinking a little bit, I will inevitably require the help of the media and their ability to reach a much broader audience that I am able to with my blogs and tweets alone...
I had stuck strictly to black tea that day – so meeting with Julie over a Chai Latte at Starbucks seemed okay; Fitting even, being back in Vancouver where Starbucks line the streets in a frequency that compares to the many pubs and curry take-away's of London.
We tucked into our Chai's and Julie picked my brain a little – curious as to how the idea came to be, and how I was implementing it. It's funny I suppose, being that if I am completely honest about it – this whole adventure started with a gingerbread man. Or, well, the idea of a gingerbread man, going on an adventure. Before long, we replaced the gingerbread man with ourselves, and the adventure was to have tea with the Queen of England – though in an effort to be a little bit more realistic about things, the idea of having tea with ordinary people was born. And now – taking the idea that Stefan and I discussed at long length over many cups of tea, and a the odd pint of Magner's – I am giving it legs, and sharing it with the world – one cup of tea at at time.
With each cup of tea, and each conversation, I find that I understand my own journey even more, and I suppose that makes sense. With each cup, I get a slightly new perspective, some new ideas, and yet another chance to talk about where I stand in all of this. But more than that – with every cup of tea, and every stranger I meet – I realize how beautiful this is in it's simplicity. You see – there are no rules to this business of tea drinking, no specific topics that must be discussed – just two strangers coming together to talk.
Plain and simple.
But from that conversation – anything can happen. And too, just the thought that the conversation at hand could create some change, whether it be for you, or for me, or for the world as a whole – just that idea is enough to make it so...
Julie and I talked on – for some two hours – about whatever came to our minds. And as I always do, I left feeling incredible about yet another connection I had just created with a complete and utter stranger. If I am honest though, it is what Julie wrote on her blog a few days after our meeting that, in hindsight, made our meeting especially memorable.
As Julie has said about my writing – I can't put it better than she has on her website, so I won't even try. Please, if you have the time, give her reflections a read – her writing is refreshing, her story is touching, and her kind words mean the world to me.
With the hope of change stronger than ever within me – I'll get on the plane back to London and continue the hunt for strangers who love to talk, or strangers who just like a good cup of tea. And with each and everyone one of them, I'll continue to believe that something as simple as and ordinary conversation, between two ordinary people, can have some extraordinary results.
You're awesome! It was a great cuppa. Next one on you in London? ;-)
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