Am I Your Cup of Tea?

It's time to balance the scale.

Since April 2022, I've been writing a Friday column here on Substack. Without fail and often within minutes of my weekly post, I receive messages from readers who willingly share their impressions with me. A community has grown up around these exchanges, and I am grateful for the engagement. Simultaneously, I can always count on a flurry of email disableds, readers who, for whatever reason have chosen this moment as an opportunity to opt out of my musings.

I'm not delusional; I know I'm not everyone's cup of tea. I know that I can sometimes shine too bright a light on the unhealed regions of your heart, and/or you think you're too young, too old, too smart, too whatever to relate. I get it, and frankly, my goal is to build a community of spiritual ninjas who can relate. When someone unsubscribes from my email list, I know I am drawing closer to that sweet spot.

So I'm presenting a challenge this week. I am actually inviting you, gentle reader, to unsubscribe if, after all these months, my words lack punch, lack meaning, lack a place of relevance in your life. Let's not waste each other's precious time and bandwidth.

But if, as author Donna Ashworth writes, I can be your first sip of a cold drink on a sunny day, or a warming hot chocolate when you come in from the rain, or the pop of a long-awaited champagne cork, or a stiff shot of tequila when things go awry, then come love me hard. Engage. Tap the heart. Leave a comment. Become a paid subscriber. Become a Mighty Muse. It's hard to ask people to start paying for a product or service that they've been getting free for so long, but perhaps think of it as having had time to try things out, a complimentary period. If you decide to leave, thanks for coming along for the ride; you'll be missed. If, however, you've come to value the weekly content, and the work I'm doing in the world as a creative midwife, then for God's sake, throw some money in the hat.

Now here's the full piece by Donna Ashworth. 

YOU CAN’T BE EVERYONE’S CUP OF TEA by Donna Ashworth

There will always be someone in this life who just doesn’t like you, no matter how hard you try to please them.

There will always be something that you say, or do, which causes offense or division. 

Whether you meant to or not.

There will always be someone who finds fault in you, your life or your words.

You may never find out why, please don’t waste your precious time trying to.

You can’t be everyone’s cup of tea.

Then there will be those who like you on impact. 

A little fizz of energy that passes between you. 

Silently, unseen, bonding.

Those people will not only like you but they will like you fiercely. 

They are your people. 

Whatever spare time you have, spend it on them.

You can’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but you can be someone’s first sip of a cold drink on a sunny day…

Or a warming hot chocolate when you come in from the rain

or the pop of a long-awaited champagne cork

or a stiff shot of tequila when things go awry

Find your people, 

love them hard.