{"id":45,"date":"2011-05-05T20:50:45","date_gmt":"2011-05-06T00:50:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beginnersheart\/?p=45"},"modified":"2011-05-05T20:51:39","modified_gmt":"2011-05-06T00:51:39","slug":"blogging-hubris-tea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beginnersheart\/2011\/05\/blogging-hubris-tea.html","title":{"rendered":"blogging, hubris & tea ~"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It\u2019s an act of extreme hubris to begin a blog \u2014 it says that what we think and feel and do in our unexceptional life is worth noting. And of course it is, to those who love us.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019ve felt for some time that there isn\u2019t enough of that \u2014 the attention to the lives of others, from the perspective of at least a distant family member. We don\u2019t really <\/em>care what people think, it seems like lately. We just want them to know how we feel.<\/p>\n

This comes up alot<\/em> on Facebook — people say they want to ‘discuss’ politics, religion, morality. But what they seem to want when we scratch the surface is for me to agree with them. I don’t always agree w\/ my best beloved!<\/p>\n

This blog is partly about that \u2014 what I think, how I feel. But it\u2019s also, hopefully, a place where others can share what they think and feel. And do so with the idea that we often love people we really have nothing in common with. A dear friend is married to the nicest man \u2014 he\u2019s a wonderful father, a walking ad for perfect son, a rare friend and he loves her deeply. Politically and in terms of his religious views? We have very little in common. And I suspect if we met today \u2014 without her love for both of us as a bridge \u2014 we wouldn\u2019t bother to get to know each other. But I would have missed a dear friend, a wonderful person.<\/p>\n

We need more bridges. We need them built over a river of tea \u2014 \"\"<\/a>like a table set spanning a thin ribbon of water, where we can talk and share great food and learn more about each other.<\/p>\n

I told another friend yesterday that we need a year free from politics and religion to get to know each other:<\/p>\n

\u201cI think if we could just get to know each other \u2014 the way we grew up w\/ our families \u2014 we could talk out our problems,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

\u201cA whole year?\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you think it would take that long? For us to get beyond I\u2019m a liberal\/ I\u2019m a conservative. I\u2019m a Southern Baptist\/ I\u2019m a Unitarian<\/em>\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Unity by Monica Stewart<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He didn\u2019t think we could make it.<\/p>\n

But I still have hopes. This blog is my start at a bridge. I\u2019ll be including poetry (my own and that of others), tea talk, pictures of great food (virtual tea tables) and thoughts on whatever we might visit about as we get to know more about each other. Let me know what you care about (and of course, what kind of tea you like :)).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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Years spent living on the margins - in places with exotic names and food shortages - have left her with a visceral response to folks \u2018without,\u2019 as well as a desire to live her Buddhism in an engaged fashion. She\u2019s a writer and a teacher, the former director of a federal non-profit for teachers who write. She believes that if we talk to each other, we can learn to love each other (but she's still learning how). And she believes in tea. 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