A few days ago I was shut inside my cozy apartment, working away, blocking out the cold. After an afternoon of intense work, I took a break and made some tea. Tazo Cucumber White Tea – a new flavor for me. I turned the box in my fingers and on the back found the steps to brewing a perfect cup of tea:
Step 1: Bring some fresh filtered water to a boil.
Step 2: For hot tea, place one Tazo filterbag in your cup, mug, or gourd.
Step 3: Pour 8 fl oz of water over the filterbag.
Step 4: Steep for 3 minutes while contemplating your favorite eternal mysteries.
I smiled when I read step 4 and started to walk away from the cup of steeping tea, back to my computer. And then I stopped, mid-step. “I have 3 minutes,” I thought. “What are my favorite eternal mysteries?” I jotted these down:
Why does love take it’s time to find some of us?
Why does the world work in mysterious ways?
Why does beauty take so many forms, and how come beauty is not always readily apparent to the eye?
How do we heal? And when and why?
Why are we able to forget that which hurts us while finding it nearly impossible to forget that which brings us joy?
And then I started imagining pieces of art like those of Brian Andreas: powerful, magical statements accompanied by an illustration that brings those statements to life. I’m not sure if there are any answers to eternal mysteries, but I am glad I took the 3 minutes to think about them, to jot them down. I don’t know if there are any answers to questions like these, but I do think they might make some beautiful art. I do think that they keep us reaching, and in the end, that’s what matters most.
The image above is not my own. I can be found here.
Christa Avampato 
