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Dina

@colorsofmytea

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Come here. Slow down. Notice something beautiful.
 A small pause in your day.
 🍵 Tea, nature & the everyday 🍃 Finding beauty in what we almost miss

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Day 1 of 21 Days of Gratitude.

Kyoto, 2024.09.01: I am starting the month of September by challenging myself to write down what I am grateful for every day. Similar to last year, I plan to do it for the next 21 days. And I’d love it if you can join me. 💙

While practicing gratitude has been part of my day for decades, I do not always write it down. Even though I don’t always write it down on a daily basis, I enjoy the benefits of living with a grateful heart. I am convinced that my daily gratitude habit has had a profound impact on my mental health, happiness and physical wellbeing. And I would love everyone to enjoy the same benefits by simply expressing our grateful heart.🙏

Let’s embrace the practice of gratitude together and start noticing what is good in our everyday lives that we typically take for granted. Practicing gratitude is free and we don’t need permission from anyone to do so.

Let me know if you plan to do this journey with me.

As for day 1 of my 21 days of gratitude, I am super grateful for openly challenging myself to share my gratitude here for the next 21 days. 🙏

#21daygratitudejourney #gratitudejournal #grateful #gratefulheart #mindfulnesspractice #countingmyblessings #colorsofmyteagratitude #iamenough #loveandgratitude taken in Hyatt Regency Kyoto - ハイアットリージェンシー京都 by @colorsofmytea

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2 years ago

❤️Introduction and Thank You post🙏

Glad to meet you here. Thank you for being my kind friends on IG. I don’t think I’ve ever introduced myself. So here we go…

I am on a mission to share kindness and gratitude, encourage slow living, and spread love and compassion.

What I share here is mostly my tea, gratitude & mindfulness practice - a way of embracing slow living.

🍵 I am passionate about drinking, sharing, practicing and studying tea. Forever a student, tea is my TEAcher. I enjoy meditative tea ceremony in the tradition taught by Wu De of Tea Sage Hut @globalteahut
Sipping matcha daily since 2009, I am also a student of Urasenke Chado (The Way of Tea).

🙏 Gratitude - the key component of my mindfulness practice. Those who have been following awhile know that I share my grateful heart here often. Living with gratitude has been instrumental to my happy life and consistently changes my life for the better. I hope what I share here will be an invitation to you to join me in cultivating the habit of being grateful and appreciating daily miracles in front of us.

🧘‍♀️ Mindfulness - I mainly practice loving-kindness meditation. As my tea and mindfulness practices intertwined beautifully, my meditation practice has shifted into meditation with tea, which has become my daily ritual.

🌞 California life - I’ve lived in the City of Angels for about 25 years and have the privilege to explore all over the CA state. Constantly in awe of the hugely diverse natural beauty of this part of the planet. Happy to share recommendations if you plan to visit SoCal and/or California.

🌍 Travel pictures or stories - I’ve been fortunate to have visited 24 states in the US, traveled to 29 countries, and lived in in 5 different countries. Kyoto and Jakarta posts often make an appearance here as these are the two cities I’ve visited regularly the past 15 years.

Thank you for reading thus far. 🙏 I hope what I share here brings you joy 😀 by @colorsofmytea

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3 years ago

Tea at KYO (居雨) “where I dwell with the rain”

#kyototeahouse #japanesetea by @colorsofmytea

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19 hours ago

64 by @sakatamatabei

#teaceremony #tearitual #kyoto #slowtravel taken in Hyatt Regency Kyoto - ハイアットリージェンシー京都 by @colorsofmytea

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4 days ago

Not the Kyoto on the postcards, just pieces of my days here noticing the small things that caught my eyes.

#kyotophoto #slowtravel #noticing #kyotowalk #lifelately taken in Kyoto by @colorsofmytea

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6 days ago

a very slow Sunday in Kyoto.

started early with a meditative tea session - I drank late 1990s Emperor’s Court shou puerh from @globalteahut

then spent ages watching a heron outside the hotel window. It stood perfectly still for minutes before taking these slow, mindful steps - the absolute epitome of mindfulness.

Now finishing the morning with a bowl of matcha in our new chawan, just listening to the rain.

I think I will just sit here for awhile now 😀

Sending some of this Kyoto calm your way💙

#rainymorning in #kyoto #matchatea and #shoupuerh on a #slowsunday by @colorsofmytea

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10 days ago

September, finding pauses in the everyday. 🍂

It’s been in the little things: just little moments, little pauses.

🧘‍♀️ a quick moment of stillness while waiting for the water to heat up

✨ intentionally pausing while serving tea to family

🍵a quiet presence when holding a warm bowl or enjoying my matcha

🍃 stopping for a second while strolling or driving through the neighborhood

🌅 watching sunset

💙 simply watching family play scrabble or the kids splash around in the pool

❤️ stepping into October, taking a second to breathe, slow down, and make a little more space for stillness.

grateful for quiet moments right here along the Takase River.

how are you guys resetting this month?

#pause #slowliving #teameditation #gratitude #kyoto by @colorsofmytea

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12 days ago

Shou pu-erh, fresh fruit, and this view — a simple breakfast and a perfect morning in Kyoto. taken in Kyoto by @colorsofmytea

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13 days ago

back in Kyoto today💙

☕️ a little pause with Emperor’s Court shou puerh from @globalteahut
🌧️ listening to the raindrops on the leaves
🍃 in this tiny machiya garden.
😌 peaceful

how do you like to spend a rainy afternoon?💙

#kyoto #rainyafternoon #pauseandreflect #peacefulmoments #teatime by @colorsofmytea

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15 days ago

Tuesday pause….🧘‍♀️

“We always have time for at least one in-breath and out-breath.”

~ Thich Nhat Hanh, The Art of Communicating

There is always time for one breath. Perhaps you can take one with me?

Drop a 🍵 or 🍃 if you’re taking a mindful breath with me right now.

#pause #momentofcalm #teamoment #intentionalliving #matchatea taken in Bandung, Indonesia by @colorsofmytea

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22 days ago

REMEMBER

A sudden sound, and then stillness.
My beautiful black chawan broke today.

Holding the pieces, I’m reflecting on everything this chawan held besides matcha.

It held the quiet mornings.

Small notices in unfamiliar hotel rooms, and the deep, familiar stillness of our hotel room in Kyoto - our home away from home.

A piece of every place I paused to notice right in front of me.

A little bit of the life I’ve lived along the way.

Things break, but the moments remain.

Immensely grateful for all the moments. Thinking to have it mended with gold (kintsugi)—its story isn’t over yet. 🍵

May your tea stay warm, your heart stay whole (even in the breaks), and your day make room for quiet. 💙

#equinimity #remember #chawan #presence taken in Jakarta, Indonesia by @colorsofmytea

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a month ago

what if nothing needed to happen next?

not to be productive.
not to create.
not to prove that we are making good use of our time.

just sit.

to breathe.
to pause
to notice the warmth of the bowl in our hands.
to let the mind grow quiet without asking it to solve anything.

a moment with nowhere to go.
nothing to prove.
nothing to accomplish.

just this.

and perhaps we need more moments like this than we realize?🙏

Can you let one moment today be completely unproductive?💙

🍃: 64 by @sakatamatabei
🍵: amber chawan by Ohi Chozaemon XI.

#tearitual #matchamoment #pause #payingattention #presence by @colorsofmytea

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a month ago