I was desperate to find a tea leaf basket, like the one in the photo below. Somehow the basket for my large teapot went missing. I asked in countless homeware shops only to be told they didn't sell them.
So there I am, sitting in a cafe in Vancouver earlier this year, all rugged up drinking tea. As I chattered with the waitress I asked her if she knew where I could buy a basket, like the one in the teapot she'd just put down in front of me.
It was a busy morning and she got called away from our conversation to wait on another table. On my way out she passed me a small white paper bag and said, "For you from me. Problem solved. Besides, we have plenty."
She'd given me, not only the basket out of the teapot that had been on my table, but a gorgeous memory. I think of her act of kindness every time I fill that metal basket with tea leaves and use my white teapot.
She wasn't creative in the artistic sense, but creative none the less. Creative in thought and action towards another human being.
Perhaps tea and understanding are magically linked. Maybe making, serving and sharing a cuppa' with someone brings out the best in all of us. I'd like to think so!
Enjoy your creative journey, Jules