Three Cups of Tea

Jon and I joined a book club this year, and our first book was Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson. It's an amazing story of how one man, after failing to climb K2, decided to dedicate his life to changing the lives of others by building schools for girls in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. To date, he has helped build more than 60 schools and several other community-based programs in the region. 

Moretnson is also a co-founder of the Central Asia Institute, a non-profit organization that continues to carry out his mission of promoting peace via education, and one of its programs Pennies for Peace.

The evidence that one man really can make a difference is incredibly inspirational. It has me wondering what I could be doing to make a difference in this world. Should I finally submit an application to the Room to Read program, an idea I've been considering ever since ordering the book Leaving Microsoft to Change the World by John Wood (not John Wood as in Jon's uncle, but John Wood a former Microsoft Director of Business Development)? Perhaps I'll contact that friend of my aunt who makes baby quilts to send to Russian orphanages - maybe I could join her cause, a cause that now hits close to home. Perhaps I could do both... For someone who is so moved by these kinds of stories and the unselfish act of giving, why do I do so little of it?  

I love the title of this book, Three Cups of Tea. At first I wondered why he chose this title, but I soon realized just how fitting it is. The three cups of tea are symbolic of Mortenson's dealings with the village elders of Pakistan. The first time he was invited for tea, he was a stranger. The second time, a friend. By the third cup, Mortensen was considered family. Negotiations were never made without first sharing a cup of tea! Now that I'm about to start my chadō lessons, I'm fascinated by the power of tea, or 'the cup of humanity' as Okakura Kakuzo refers to it in The Book of Tea. Nearly every culture in the world has its traditions surrounding tea, and people the world over take delight in the simple act of sipping and sharing a cup. 

"The story of tea is the story of humankind in a nutshell, or perhaps a teacup. It includes the best and worst of who we are and what we do. Throughout its long history, tea has been used as medicine, as an aid to meditation, as currency, as bribes, and as a means of controlling rebellions. It has been the instigation for wars and global conflicts. It has also been the reason for parties, for family gatherings, and for high-society occasions. In short, tea has touched and changed our lives as no other beverage has, connecting us all - from the workers to the monks, from the pluckers to the emperors, from the British to the Chinese, to me."

- From Tea: The Drink that Changed the World by Laura C. Martin