A Tea Gift Box to Encourage Awareness
"It is easy to acknowledge, but almost impossible to realize for long, that we are mirrors whose brightness, if we are bright, is wholly derived from the sun that shines upon us."
-C.S. Lewis
About the Couplet Tea Gift Box | Ways to Acknowledge Others | How to Write Acknowledgement Cards
Sip your favorite tea and acknowledge the people in your life.
When we are positively attentive, we add value to our relationships, and when we value our relationships, we develop empathy and respect. As our personal experience becomes part of a larger, more connected experience (through our relationships), our capacity for love opens up and we become more receptive to feelings of gratitude, compassion, and joy.
About The Couplet Tea Gift Box
In poetry, a couplet is two-lines of successive, rhyming verse that’s goal is to express a complete idea. The goal of the Couplet Tea Box is to create two-line acknowledgement notes, each completing a single expression of appreciation (while sipping tea of course). The more we acknowledge and appreciate others, the more satisfied and connected we feel in our relationships.
The Couplet Tea Box is the second in a series from Poetic Tea Company and The Narrative Boutique. This gift box is comprised of two medium-size, premium loose tea tins, a strainer, a pack of six blank acknowledgement cards, a wooden teaspoon, and a gift tag with your optional message. The idea is for the recipient to take a moment of solitude and interweave tea time with simple acknowledgement journaling. The process of preparing and brewing tea is a perfect time to focus one’s thoughts on someone else, and to become conscious of how the person in mind might be feeling and what they deserve recognition for. As the tea begins to diminish, the blank cards will fill in with two-line acknowledgements, and the writer will begin to feel a conscious sense of appreciation and empathy for the people in his/her life.
It’s up to the writer to decide how to journal what comes to mind. The important thing is that two lines are extracted from the journaling process and placed on each card. It’s up to the writer to decide how to give the cards to each person deserving of one.
The Couplet
This tea gift box includes two premium, refillable loose tea tins of your choice, a set of six acknowledgement cards, a wooden spoon, a tea strainer, and a gift tag with optional message.
Ways to Acknowledge Others
HOW to BUILD AWARENESS and strengthen connections
SMILE - While smiling subconsciously opens the gateway to joy and laughter, it also presents itself as a conscious choice — one that can potentially benefit our health and wellbeing. Plus, since there is really nothing more positive than a warm, genuine smile, smiling has the added benefit of radiating good energy all over anyone in its path. When we smile with sincerity and smile with awareness, we reap the rewards of feeling great and gifting others with positive energy.
STRIVE TO SEE OTHERS AS THEY SEE THEMSELVES - We tend to subconsciously see others as a reflection of how they see themselves anyway, but when we intentionally bring this reflection into our consciousness, we gain empathy and compassion that is vital to strong relationships. The more we allow ourselves to come from a place of non-judgement — a place where we allow others to be who they are without the expectation that they should be different — the more accepting and willing we are to change our own behavior (rather than try to change others’ behavior) when relationships face conflict. The practice of committing to see others as they see themselves can go a long way in de-escalating and resolving relationship hot-spots.
RECOGNIZE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GIVING FROM A PLACE OF INDIFFERENCE AND GIVING FROM A PLACE OF THOUGHTFULNESS - Life tends to be too busy to be thoughtful all the time. Sometimes we just have to fulfill an obligation and thoughtfulness is not the priority. That’s okay. What we can acknowledge and prioritize, however, is that there are times when it is important to be thoughtful, and making a conscious decision to deliver that thoughtfulness is an acknowledgement of others like no other. When in doubt, we can simply apply the moral philosophy of the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” If you would require utter thoughtfulness from others in a particular situation, then chances are good, you should return the favor. If indifference would be acceptable to you in a particular situation, it’s likely just fine for someone else too.
ADVOCATE FOR OTHERS - If the goal is connecting to others, there is nothing more powerful than advocating for them. On top of boosting their sense of value, it boosts one’s own sense of value because it gives us purpose outside of ourselves. One of the best things we can do to change the world for the better is to advocate for people who are less fortunate than we are. Sometimes “less fortunate” can simply mean someone is being misunderstood and your advocacy can help clarify. Sometimes “less fortunate” means someone really needs a strong voice from others to get a hand up in the world. When we advocate for others, it is important to first employ empathy and do our best to gain an understanding of where someone is coming from and what they are experiencing. Once we’ve done our empathetic due diligence and have permission to advocate, we can use this advocacy to build strong connections that empower ourselves, others, and our relationships.
USE GRATITUDE - By “using’ gratitude, I mean tap into the gratitude that already exists inside of you. Undoubtedly, and even in hard times, there are zillions of things in your life you are thankful for. When we consciously adopt a grateful mindset, we approach others from a place of humility and awareness — it is from this place that we make some of the deepest connections to others.
ACKNOWLEDGE OTHERS’ POSITIVE ACTIONS - By nature, people want to be acknowledged when they do something good — something brave, something compassionate, something challenging, something thoughtful. It makes people feel good to be acknowledged. When we make a conscious decision to acknowledge others’ good traits and deeds, it gives us heightened awareness — we begin choosing collaboration over competition, we choose creative solutions over destruction, and we choose intuitive positivity over negative thought patterns. Acknowledging others’ positive actions generates win/win energy that empowers and strengthens relationships.
How to Write Acknowledgment Cards
In the following example, this first line states the acknowledgement and the second expresses gratitude.
I am aware of all you do for the family and how hard you work to ensure we are all taken care of. I am so grateful to you for all the effort you put forth.
In this example, the first line states the acknowledgement and the second line expresses encouragement.
Even though I know it’s been a struggle for you, I want to let you know how proud I am of you for persevering through school. You’re making a good choice by not giving up and you will be rewarded for the effort in due time.
In this example, the first line states the acknowledgement and the second line offers support.
I realize that your world has been turned upside-down with all the tragedy and change in your life right now. I just want to let you know that I am here for you and you can count on me to help you get through this.