What Happened to Moderation?

I recently watched Red Cliff (the full Chinese release mind you) and was pleased to see the prevalence of tea in the story. It's not as if tea played a huge and impacting part on the story, but I found it was noticeable and delightful to say the least. In the movie the characters not only made the tea with great diligence and respect - when drinking it they appreciated like it was something that was prepared as such. Not just enjoying the flavour, but the colour and the aromas.

Now this isn't a rant on respecting the acting of tea-drinking (though it is an effective vessel is which to convey the message), no - it's a rant about moderation and the appreciation for the basic pleasures. There was a time a few years ago when I might have appreciated the large cup pictured above, now I realise that there is no benefit to having that much of something. But unfortunately our society often promotes the concept of more rather than the concept of appreciation. This is something that is all too common. When you think about it nothing good comes from consuming too much, you might end up forming a habit, and whatever it may be becoming something ordinary as opposed to special if you'd only treated it in such a way.

This is such a broad subject but it really does apply to anything, especially in a society where too much of just about every is available. So in lieu of Red Cliff and what prompted me to write about moderation, I'd going to change the way I drink tea as a simple and basic start. I've already done away with tea bags and over sized cups, but I'd like to introduce more appreciation for other elements of tea, not just the flavour.

Really, I've been aware of this idea of moderation for a while now (namely not over-eating so as not to get fat), but it really was only from a physical health perspective. Looking at it closer, I can see that the mental benefits are just as great. Gaining more pleasure from and appreciating the simplest things is infinitely rewarding. Oh yeah, there is one thing that you can't do too much of - laughing.

- Dogman