don't let the rim of our cup dry...

The Jar With The Dry Rim

The mind is an ocean… I and so many worlds
are rolling there, mysterious, dimly seen!
and our bodies? Our body is a cup, floating
on the ocean; soon it will fill, and sink…

Not even one bubble will show where it went down.

The spirit is so near that you can’t see it!
But reach for it…don’t be a jar
full of water, whose rim is always dry.
Don’t be the rider who gallops all night
and never sees the horse that is beneath him.

The picture is from Rumi Quotes on facebook, whom I've been following. Rumi always touches your soul!

Those of you who frequent teachat probably have heard of the sad news that a long-time beloved teachatter, Ian, recently passed away. 

In the past, besides enjoying some thoughtful posts from Ian on teachat, I had a few exchanges of emails with Ian and some short and pleasant online conversations. Overall I only know a little about Ian, but in my mind, he represents the good experience from an online tea community.

My online tea store had a summer break and some orders were collected in late August. I fulfilled an order from Ian just at the end of August. There was no message exchange upon the order. But Ian's tea selection made me smile. I knew he was restocking some of his old favorites. Sometimes when you know a person's tea tastes, you would feel you are acquainted with him in some sense. 

In these a few days, when I think of Ian, I always experience a moment of disbelief about the fact that he has left this world. It is hard to believe that few weeks earlier, few days earlier, everything looked normal. Then, somebody would suddenly leave! But that is life, isn't it? In fact, the sadness I have is a little more than I myself had expected. Probably because I'm getting older and easier to feel sad. Also to a large degree I feel sad for Ian's family. With time being, I've understood more that when death happens, usually the family of the deceased would suffer much more than the one who passed away. Death is usually a lot more unbearable for those survived.

But, as Chip of teachat said, Ian enriched our lives. Ian was a good tea friend, and he was a good rider of life. We shall carry the inspiration from him. And we shall remember, life goes by fast. Life is not just about having the cup full. We shall remember not to let the rim of our cup dry.