I’ve been asked about my method for studying Chinese tea and culture many times, and unfortunately my answer has and always will be “time and patience”.
While I don’t have any revelatory insights on faster methods of study, I do have a new poem that I hope inspires you.
Studying is a great pain
fueled by hours of bitter tea
yet I have never bent knee
in the face of adversity
– Jason Cohen, 10/16/2021
After 10 years of waiting, the partial tear in my ACL (high-school fencing injury) finally snapped (rock climbing injury). Since the surgery a few weeks ago, I’ve been in a full leg brace and have very limited mobility, which will last for another 5 – 6 weeks, when I will have only partially limited mobility.
On the whole – I have nothing to complain about. The pain is light, I have good healthcare, and will return to climbing next year, after 6 – 8 months of physical therapy. And last year’s quarantines really prepared me for spending weeks alone in my office.
While my writing output in preparation for the next book on teatechnique.org has declined during this early recovery, I did manage to write a poem reflecting on my condition:
Felled by worn sinew,
Many limp months await,
As I bide my time in the study,
Brewing torn pieces of tie bing[1],
Mending what is broken and stitching new thoughts.
Jason Cohen – 10/12/2021
[1] 铁饼, “Iron Cake”