When travelling, I often carry with me a tin mug and a pair of little immersion heaters. These simple electrical devices sit in a mug of water and heat it to boiling point, allowing me to make chai and satisfy my addiction to tea.
However, through faulty manufacture, or perhaps by design, when the heaters are plugged in, everything becomes live: The mug itself is connected to the electricity supply. Touching it results in a mains-voltage electric shock. So, far it has happened to me three times.
The first shock was completely unexpected. Having grown up in a part of the world where everything is made safe, or at least as safe as possible, my awareness of potential dangers has been dulled. It did not occur to me that I could receive an electric shock from using the heaters, it was not in my consciousness at all.
After the first shock, I became very careful when using the heaters. Nevertheless, a second shock came when I tried to stir the tea. I was using a metal spoon. Chai conducts electricity very well, I discovered.
The third shock came with a moment of inattention, when my arm brushed against the handle of the mug.
Once is happenstance, twice is circumstance, three times and life is trying to tell me something. The making of chai has become a meditation for me, demanding total awareness of what I am doing, in the moment.
Seeing all this, one companion commented, “Somehow this is very Andy: risking life for a cup of tea!”
