The Tea Strikes Again

Okay, well this was another tea fortune that was too insightful not to write about. The other night, after moving into my new Chicago apartment, I was preparing to relax with a nice cup of tea. I looked at the fortune as always, surprised to see only two words: "Keep up."

Now that could easily be interpreted as a sort of nagging fortune. But I felt encouraged by the two little words. I could have taken it as an observation of how I've been lagging behind in various areas of my life. And on some days, I would have. But this day, I saw it as a cosmic acknowledgment of my efforts. Rather than understand it as "Keep up with everyone else who's ahead of me," I read it as "Keep positive." The "up" seemed to refer to my mood, not my pace. Although, it's not a bad idea for me to keep up with momentum when it strikes. And I'm trying to pay attention when it does. But this interpretation made sense to me that day. And it made me smile.

That night, I consulted my AweManac. I may have referenced this book before in an entry here; can't remember. I always read the day's entry before doing my journaling each night. Sometimes there are quotes worth noting or writing prompts that spark my journal entries. At the bottom of the page were these words: "Lighten up." Well, again I smiled. Because I couldn't believe how perfectly that went along with the earlier advice. Each phrase consists of only two words, yet the meaning and interpretations for both can be extremely fluid. And both can unexpectedly offer inspiration. Put together, they seem to double their mood-boosting capabilities. I hope by sharing them here, they might bring someone else some comfort or insight. Or at least maybe a grin.

It's a short one, but I'm taking my cue from tiny inspirations tonight.

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