my tea cups

Good morning. After having my breakfast of green tea and pandesal (with either cocojam or alaska condensed milk), I started puttering around the house, shuttling from the kitchen, to the living room, to the bedroom, picking up things that doesn't belong there, and moving it to where it should be. I'm always challenged to focus on just one thing at a time. Do women always multitask? If I look at myself, I always do. And having seen and said that, I vow to be intentional in doing things, focusing on one task at a time. If I get carried away again, I'll sweetly remind myself to go back and refocus. I just seem to be easily inspired by thoughts and things and when I think of it, I tend to seize the moment and just go for it. Sometimes it works wonders for me, sometimes it doesn't especially if it's outside of what I initially planned to do. The charm of spontainety and the challenge of being focused - I want both!

So as I was sweeping the floor, and looking at the things around me, I saw some of the things I've collected over the years. Some are souvenirs of places I've been to. I noticed I have several tea cups - japanese tea cups, chinese tea cups, malaysian tea cups. I remember my first time in Singapore, that was in 1998, I went shopping with Evelyn, my singaporean friend. We went to a toy store as I wanted to buy some gifts for my sons. What caught my attention right away were the small stalls selling those authentic and cute chinese tea cups. Evelyn was so amused to see me getting several. I went home with 5 sets. As for the toys, I bought just one toy each for my boys.

So now I'm looking at those tea cups. They remind of that trip. And they're collecting dust too. I think I will continue to collect - selectively - as I know I can't really take them with me when I "go". And yes I can pass it on to somebody and carry with it some history (I better start creating some great story for it ha ha!). But that's how far it goes. Nothing much except for the pleasure of indulging in a hobby. And so it got me thinking, for several days now, actually, aside from what can I get or buy or have, what can I leave behind? For me, for now, there are three main reasons (purpose) for my existence. One is to fullfill my obligations - as a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sibling, and a community member. Two is to pursue my interests, my hobbies, my passion. And third, to make a contribution, to leave something behind that impacts a lot of people. Maybe being a social entrepreneur. Or someone who builds public libraries. What else? I will keep my eyes open to possibilities as I travel to places and collect those tea cups. Blessings!