the other morning i was sipping my usual cup of morning tea-organic yerba mate tea with soy milk-when i thought to myself, "this is the best cup of tea ever!"  as soon as i thought that i remembered thinking the exact same thing on the camino, as i sat in a bar or cafe somewhere along the way sipping a cup of black tea with steamed milk!  i remember it so clearly, and i remember thinking that it was so delicious that i might be disappointed with my tea when i got home.  and while i would sip that incredibly delicious, hot, steamy, yummy tea, i would smile because one thing that i was worried about before i went to spain was how i would start my days since i don't drink coffee, and i doubted that i would find my organic yerba mate tea offered there.  i considered bringing tea bags for the trip, which is what i do when i travel here, but on the camino, i decided i would open my mind and heart to new experiences, and that would include tea.  that attitude has left me without any regrets from the camino.  i drank things i wouldn't have usually drank, i ate things i definitely wouldn't have usually eaten, and i opened my heart to every person that i met, with no regrets at all.  i wonder how often i limit myself in my life by thinking that whatever i already have is the best, so i am not open to something new.  if i hadn't opened myself to allowing that there might be some other morning drink that would be as good as my usual yerba mate and soy milk, i wouldn't have discovered the amazing tea with steamed milk.  when i first got home, i actually brewed black tea and drank it with heated soy milk, trying to recreate what i had enjoyed so much in spain.  needless to say, it wasn't the same.  it was good, but it wansn't that transcendant sweet nourishment i loved to order in spain.  so i went back to my yerba mate and soy milk, nervous that maybe i wouldn't like it anymore, and yet, there i was, just last week, thinking that i was having the best cup of tea ever!  when we open our minds and our hearts, spirit loves to amaze and delight us, whether it is with tea, friends, in our finances, careers, you name it.  and for me, what opens my heart the quickest is gratitude.  just being able to be thankful in every moment seems to unblock the bounty that is so ready to pour forth a blessing in my life. 

so my friends, i hope that you have some cup of special something that you think is the best ever!  please enjoy it today, right away, if you can, and even as you recognize it as the best there is, allow your heart to open to that you can be delighted by something even more wonderful to come your way
peace and blessings-
a