I look to the future because that's where I'm going to spend the rest of my life.
- Unknown
Tea. Most people like it, few people hate it but we all like it differently. Some prefer milk, some prefer sugar, then there's the argument of milk in first, tea in first; there are so many different ways and yet everyone has their way of making it. From a young age I remember my mum giving us tea just before bed. Granted, it was only a very small amount, but there was always something quite sophisticated about have a little bit of tea before bed. It made you feel like a grown up, even if it was from a Tommy Tippee cup.
As I got older I was lucky enough to start having sugar and I soon found what a difference that made to a cup of tea. 2 sugars was the perfect ingredient to make my tea taste like something completely new.
I remember heaping up the teaspoon and dropping it in to make the perfect cuppa. I also remember the shock that would appear on my face when we would have visitors round who would have no sugar! No sugar? Are you mad? Without sugar it just tastes like, well, like tea. I remember thinking to myself that there was no way I would ever be able to get used to that. No sugar? 2 sugars was the only way to do it.
As time moved on I soon started to realise the impact that sugar could have on my teeth and began to think that maybe the 2 sugars wasn't the best for me. So as any healthy person would do I reduced my tea to having 1 sugar. Much better for the teeth (kind of!). It tasted awful at first and took a long time to get used to, but eventually my lower sugar filled beverage became the norm and 1 sugar was plenty enough to satisfy my taste.
However, even though my previous attempt to be healthy had reduced my sugar intake, I was still aware that the one sugar was still no good for me. So, beyond everything that was going on in my head, I went down to no sugar! NO SUGAR! The drink that had once seemed like a nightmare to me had now become a drink I would soon get used to. If I thought the one sugar tea took some getting used to, tea with no sugar took a lot longer to get used to. The taste was not sweet, it didn't taste right and initially there seemed to be no way that I could ever get used to it. Tea needed sugar and that was that. But, I didn't give in, and eventually after weeks of forcing myself to do it, I can now happily enjoy a cuppa with no sugar at all. It even tastes better now too!
Tonight when I got in, I felt a bit low on sugar. So I decided that, just for a change, I would add a sugar in my tea to give me a boost. It wouldn't be hard. I used to drink tea with 2 sugars, so one sugar wouldn't be a problem at all. As the kettle clicked and I poured in the milk in went the sugar. It didn't seem quite right having become used to having no sugar at all, but I needed the boost.
As I took the first sip I had prepared myself to begin liking sugar in my tea again, but I didn't. It was awful. In fact I poured the tea away and made myself a new one. It was just too sweet. It didn't taste right. I had moved on to a new type of tea and the old type just wasn't for me anymore.
As always this got me thinking about life.
In life we try out lots of different things and lots of new things come across our paths. Whether they are challenges, hobbies or even specific periods of our life, there are very often times where we panic at new things and simply think to ourselves "I will never get used to that". Maybe it's a new job? A change in the home? A new family situation? A health problem? There are so many different things I could list. We like things to just stay the same and not have to change because, well, we know ourselves now better than we know ourselves tomorrow.
And yet when we move onto new things and then try to go back to doing the old things, our old ways; it just doesn't seem right anymore. Why? Because you've moved on. You've changed. You have new things in your life which have replaced the old. Ever been there?
And so I end with this thought.
In life we grow up, and move on. We do it daily. All the time. We get used to do something and can't really see ourselves ever not doing it. Yet when we move on to something new, going back to the old ways doesn't really feel right anymore.
Life is filled with new experiences, and seasons in life where we go through and become used to new, better things. Very often trying to go back to the past often leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. Why? Because you are used to a new way of doing things and the old ways just don't feel the same anymore.
Yes it's great to think back and reflect on the past, but it's not always the best thing to try to go back there. Your past has gone and there's not a lot you or I can do to change it. But the future is filled with new experiences. New challenges. New things that will eventually, take the place of many things you are used to in life now.
The past is like a 2 sugar tea - it tastes good for a while, but go back to it after having no sugar and it's never the same. In life be thankful for the past, it's made you who you are today, but embrace your future. It's filled with new things that you probably didn't even see coming. Even when you think you can't ever get used to something new that's going on in your life right now, you will! Me drinking tea with no sugar? Never saw that. But now it's what I do and it's what I'm happy with. Your future is the same. Eventually you will do things you never thought you would, and they will become those things that are normal and comfortable in your life.
So think about your life and ask yourself; Life -1 lump or 2?
Bywyd sydd yn byw! - Just living life!
RM
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