“A woman is like a tea bag – you never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water.”   Eleanor Roosevelt

Sharing tea and the rituals around making tea has been a way to connect and create community and harmony for many centuries in different cultures.

My lovely friend G. and I share a mutual appreciation for drinking tea and a common interest in natural remedies and shiatsu. We often connect electronically for a quick ‘chat’ over a cup of tea. This gives our friendship space to grow despite the fact that we are on opposite sides of the planet. She also sent me that great quote above and from then on we have been tea bag friends!

Drinking tea a few weeks ago, we were ‘chatting’ about how difficult we find it to commit to a regular meditation practice. The desire is there, but the habit comes and goes. We both appreciate the inner stillness that a regular routine brings.  We understand the value in a good heart connection with the divine and our true selves, but habits are hard to create and keep. It takes practice and dedication. We know this.

So we came up with an idea that works for us. We challenged each other to a daily meditation. Only 10 minutes to start! Sounds easy right. Well initially it is, and then by day three it shifts in priority and we tell ourselves that perhaps we will get to it later. We started prompting each other gently and these reminders helped.

We get ready. We get set. We breathe and we go.

And then the universe conspired to help us. Sometimes we could actually sit down and meditate at the same time. This took us to the next step. Now we try to do our daily meditation together as often as we can. This sharing of time and space with a soulsister really supports me to be more committed. I know it supports her too.

We don’t always manage to connect, but we do prompt each other and when it flows, it’s wonderful. When it doesn’t work out, we gently remind each other to meditate.

Building this habit has been so much easier for us because:

• we are accountable to ourselves and to someone else that we trust
• we started small with only 10 minutes a day
• we are not hard on ourselves if we miss a day, we continue the next day.

This adds a new dimension to our already inspiring friendship. It has brought us even closer together despite the distance. It makes me happy. I am really lucky to have a tea bag friend supporting me!

If you want to start a new habit, perhaps you can find someone to join you in a small challenge and support each other to reach your goals.

Ready. Breathe. And be still.

How do you create habits that work for you? Does someone support you? Please share your thoughts below.

love and light, Delicia