I have a lovely silver teapot. My husband, who owns an antique shop, brought it home from work one day as he thought I would like it – and I did.
When he first brought the teapot home, it looked dull and tarnished. I thought the silver had all been worn off, leaving only the underlying nickel. But the teapot had a lovely shape and feel and so I used it to make tea. It was beautifully designed so that when you poured the tea all the leaves stayed in the pot – no strainer needed – and the tea tasted great.
So I used the teapot every day and as I drink quite a lot of tea, it was handled frequently. One day, after all this handling, I noticed the handle had become shiny and silver.
And I wondered if, underneath it all, the whole teapot was still lovely and silver.
I bought some silver polish and started to rub the teapot gently. As I did, the teapot started to shine. I was now inspired to reveal what I knew lay beneath, and willing to do whatever it took to bring it to light. My husband walked past, and was amazed to see what was being revealed. He said: “I have a product at the shop which will help – why don’t you come and try it?”
So I went to the shop and gently rubbed the teapot, and as it became cleaner and shinier and more and more reflective, a beautiful genie appeared!
Now this was not a great big blue fast-talking genie, but one who was equally capable of everyday miracles. One who could transform a dull teapot into a shining vessel of beauty and grace, that reflected this to all the world.
And what the genie realised as she cleaned the teapot more and more, was that the teapot was a metaphor for her own body.
The years, and life, had left the teapot (and her body) slightly tarnished, on the surface, with a few little dings here and there where life choices had not been so kind to it. But with a little tender loving care, and some dedication and commitment, the tarnish easily came off, leaving the underlying beauty there for all to feel and see.
I brought the teapot home and showed it to everyone with the innocence of a child, and my family were amazed to see how beautiful it was.
I noticed after a day of using the teapot that it had fingerprints on it, and was starting to dull again. With this I realised that it will need to be cared for and cleaned and then rested every day if it is not to tarnish again.
Keeping my teapot clean will be a daily reflection and reminder of love now –and it will reflect to me the care I have been taking with it – and with myself – every time I stop to have a cup of tea.
In every moment, and in every action, no matter how seemingly small and insignificant, we are offered another gorgeous opportunity to learn from life.
I am forever inspired by the life and work of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine.
by Anne Malatt, woman, wife, mother, grandmother, Australia
Further reading:
How True Service First Begins With Caring for Self
The Truth about Serge Benhayon 
Thank you Anne for such a powerful blog. “But with a little tender loving care, and some dedication and commitment, the tarnish easily came off, leaving the underlying beauty there for all to feel and see.” The fact that love never leaves you, and realising that it is a daily commitment to make sure life does not tarnish you is really powerful. As well as the fact that it’s never too late to deal with the tarnish, and reveal who you truly are, once again.
I agree ariannekasi, it is a beautiful line.
This is so beautifully expressed Arianne, and Anne such a playful way of looking at life and how we can make different choices that wipe away the tarnish, we are all shinning and beautiful.
I felt this to be true on my fathers death bed, it is truly never too late to be with our essence! The underlying beauty is so gorgeous it is amazing that we do such a good job of hiding it! Takes a lot of force to do this. I am rather like you Anne committing to loving and caring everyday for my beauty to shine more and more each day.
Arianne, a true line worth repeating and rereading again. We are all shining beauties underneath who are worth the dedication and commitment, and no matter how tarnished you will always find the shine.
Well we did learn the ditty “I’m a little teapot…” as children – and so it is!
hahaha… I remember singing that song too when I was young and also the actions that went with it. It is such a simple song and I really enjoyed singing it and doing the actions!
Such a great reminder, Anne, that we all have beauty inside that just becomes tarnished with everyday living unless we constantly live in harmony. As we are not perfect we do need to ‘clean our teapot’ by returning to ourselves when we get caught up in the busyness of the world or go off on a tangent into the future.
I love the tender and gentle way you cared for your teapot Anne, accepted it the way it was and allowed for the silver to shine through. A beautiful metaphor of self-love and self-care.
I love this too Anne, when we stay open to life there is so much we can learn.
I love your analogy, Anne – we are all beautiful and shiny underneath our ‘wear and tear’.
I love the simplicity of your blog Anne, yet the message it brings is profound. I am learning to care for myself and your blog has inspired me to continue developing this as the magic that is inside of me will come out more and more to shine for all.
love this Anne on every level, especially the part where continued care is required everyday, consistent, gently tender loving care.
This has inspired me to polish my own teapot!
Thank you Anne, my feeling is we all tend to leave our mystical genie (love) in the cupboard locked away for a rainy day. Thanks to the genius genie Serge Benhayon, we have all been shown that love should not be stored away but needs to be expressed.
Thank you Anne, I love this story, a perfect story for a story book, the simplicity and wisdom about life.
A truly beautiful and lovely metaphoristical story Anne. It’s amazing how little everyday moments can reflect so much wisdom and remind us of deeper truths under all there is and we do. Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you for reminding me Anne, that everything can be a reflection for us if we are open to it and stay aware of all that is happening around us, and if we respect and are gentle with everything we touch it seems to come alive. The magic truly does happen!
There are so many opportunities every day offering us to grow. What I love about this blog is, in a simple activity of cleaning and taking care of a tea pot so much is revealed and then later to be reminded every time when having a cup of tea. Reading this beautiful article has really made me stop and see the grandness in everything I do.
What a beautiful reminder Anne of the power of self-love and self-care and the dedication and consistency that is required to truly be all the Love that we are.
I enjoyed reading your sweet expression here Anne.
There is a great humility in accepting that we are meant to be out there working and we will get tarnished and dirty but we are meant to be shiny and we have everything we need to become shiny again if we put our attention to it.
Absolutely Nicole lovely reminder.
I once had the realization that we all wear a golden crown on our head – you may not see it, but everyone can feel it. And to let this crown shine is a joyful responsibility because it reflects our connection to God. So everyone can find out what his or her crown ask for to shine that day – if it is accepting, beholding, appreciation, caring, celebration, awareness or …polishing.
what a gorgeous and sweet blog Anne and so inspiring. The love and the care for the teapot and yourself is obvious and i can feel the shine coming through your words. It has put a smile on my face, thank you.
A very important lesson to learn indeed Anne, self love is never ending, but the end and constant result is magical. And worth it.
What a gorgeous sharing Anne. I absolutely love this part,
‘ In every moment, and in every action, no matter how seemingly small and insignificant, we are offered another gorgeous opportunity to learn from life. ‘
I love the tender feel of this blog Anne. The delicateness and tenderness you write with is deeply felt.
So gorgeous. So true. So lovely. The beauty is always there – we just learn to cover it up. How amazing for you to learn to uncover it and realise the daily commitment it takes to keep it shiny. Enjoy the cuppas!
Anne Malatt what a joy to read. I love that there was not a big blue fast talking genie – hilarious, imagine if there was…..this would be a very different blog.
A beautiful metaphor about life, about going deeper, discovering the amazing light we are and the powerful reflection for others. Thank you Anne.
I love the simplicity of your sharing Anne, and the recognition of the care and love required to maintain the shine of your teapot and of yourself.
I shall be looking at my tea pots in a whole new way from now on Anne. I shall be on the look out for a genie too.
And remarkable genie….thank you for the magic of you sharing. The appreciation is superb and inspiring, playful and innocent. Reminding all that every moment can be one of renewing.
Anne, your reflection on a teapot proves that even the most mundane tasks can be magical.
Nailed it Anne. Love this metaphor…now to go and find some ‘brasso’ for my body to give it a polish.
I love this Anne, the idea of revealing the beauty within with tender care and patience and the need to tend this loving beauty daily. And how awesome to have it revealed and reminded through the tea ritual! I love tea 🙂
A great reflection indeed, and what I love from this is the fact that just because you did it the once you can not sit back now and think the work is over….every day there is something to look at and work with. Beautiful.
Love it what a gorgeous story!
This blog itself offers a gorgeous opportunity to learn from life, thank you little teapot. The simple things…!
Your blog definately brings a smile to my face, so much can be learnt from the simple things.
Gorgeous Anne. We all have an inner ‘genie’! It’s just there waiting to be revealed through tender loving care.
This is a beautiful metaphor!
Anne, it was lovely to read your beautiful story. Throughout I could feel the love you have for yourself and the world around you – very inspiring!
Three of us, as women, were talking about this very subject this morning and playfully sharing similar metaphors. I love this story and the way that you tell it, letting it gently unfold – as we can do with ourselves. Just gorgeous, thank you Anne.
Anne what a beautiful reflection and a reminder that we have to take care of ourselves all the time, every moment otherwise we will tarnish our bodies.
Tears filled my eyes reading this Anne. The gift of truth can be found all around us. Thank you.
Tears filled my eyes too, Leonne. On pondering why this was, I understood that it was the simplicity of the teapot and genie analogy, and the recognition by Anne that she herself was the genie – “one who was equally capable of everyday miracles”. This is beauty-full learning for me as it completely banishes self-doubt.
Thank you Anne for the revelation that it is never too late nor can we be too darkened to not be restored to the amazing light that we are all from.
What I love Anne is that first you accepted and enjoyed the tea pot for its ‘tea potness’, and only later found underneath the tarnished exterior shining silver.
How true that when I accept others (and me) for who they are, not what they look like, then the silver can shine through.
How truly beautiful is life when we let ourselves learn from every situation. Everything is there to support us to evolve if we choose.
So true Elizabeth. Well said.
Beautifully expressed Elizabeth.
Anne what you have shared is so simple but is revealing and gorgeous. All of our imperfections are opportunities to feel what is happening in our body thus giving us an opportunity to clear them- how gorgeous is that!
It’s a great reminder that our imperfections are not a permanent tarnish. They can be polished with self love. And perfection is not the desire, it’s the love and care that will restore our beauty.
What a beautiful metaphor for self-love Anne. I will forever more refer to moisturising my body as ‘polishing my teapot’!
I love this tale Anne, your analogy of the teapot and how the simple task of cleaning it allowed you to claim an ongoing deeper care for yourself – and how every time you stop to have a cup of tea you are reminded of this. There are so many everyday movements that we can incorporate into our day as little reminders of ourselves.
Anne what a gorgeous story. Your line: ‘In every moment, and in every action, no matter how seemingly small and insignificant, we are offered another gorgeous opportunity to learn from life’. is incredibly powerful and so very obvious that I wonder how it was that I was not able to know the truth of this for most of my life. Like you, I too have been inspired by Serge Benhayon to now truly and deeply care for myself and reveal the true beauty that I am.
Beautiful Anne and Penny, deep self care is lived by Serge Benhayon, deep appreciation for what he reflects is shared by all of us.
Beautifully said Penny, and Anne this is absolute truth.
The truth of our innate beauty is always there, awaiting the care and attentiveness to be given the opportunity to shine in the light of day, every day… What a perfect metaphor the teapot is – one I can completely relate to also, as just this morning I knew my body needed deep rest, and I’ve allowed myself this space, with no apology but only the deepest honouring of who I truly am, and what is needed – today – to love and care for myself so deeply.
With daily care we can keep that shine, without it we can dull to the point where we may not even recognise what we are made of in the first place and/or even believe we are made of something we are not. I know this to be true as if I make choices that make me feel dull (Eating heavy foods, walking around with issues/judgements/songs in my head etc) then ‘shine’ and show that dullness to everyone around me as if that is who I am. However if I choose to not make those choices I feel lighter in myself and feel more relaxed and focused and that is what is shown to others. Thank you for this Anne for sharing that shining does require a constant commitment but that ‘constant commitment’ need not be a chore, because when what is underneath is appreciated how can it be?
I love what you have written here leighmatson: ‘With daily care we can keep that shine, without it we can dull to the point where we may not even recognise what we are made of in the first place and/or even believe we are made of something we are not.’ It is so true – the more we self-care and self-love the more we shine.
Such a timely reminder for me leighmatson. I am overseas and have been faced with food choices that I would not usually choose to eat and my body is feeling rather dull. My shine can be restored!!
Anne what a truly gorgeous analogy.
I love how now you need to take loving care of your pot everyday and how that is a lovely reminder to take care of you.
Lovely metaphor. these small moments in between the obvious ‘big’ stuff in life, are the moments that I have really began to appreciate. This moments when you are on your own cleaning the house, driving, getting dressed for example, are ones that I have realised are wonderful opportunities just like any other to support and care for myself and they are just as significant.
A beautiful metaphor for us all Anne, for we are all beautiful and shiny underneath our layer of tarnish.
A great analogy, Anne, that it is never too late to re-ignite the glory and splendour we have inside, and the magical formula is the consistent love and care for ourselves and our bodies.
Such a beautiful metaphor for taking loving care of ourselves so that we can shine out into the world. Thank you for sharing Anne and inspiring me to treat myself super gently today when I have woken up feeling achey and tender.
A gorgeous analogy Anne – that once we start to slowly see the beauty within us and others (a shiny handle) we can be inspired to look at every aspect of our lives, and appreciate the beauty that has been quietly resting there – waiting to ignite.
What a magical story you have woven with your teapot Anne! I once thought that what life had dealt me meant I was probably tarnished and damaged beyond repair. Since working with the Sacred Esoteric Healing modalities, and attending Universal Medicine workshops I’ve been delighted to find that this is not true. What I’ve carried and identified with is the tarnish you speak of Anne, but underneath, and as it all peels away, my sparkling self is still there in all its glory shining brightly.
Such a beautiful story. I can feel the amazingness of that tea pot/you and it’s preciousness, and how with a little daily love and care it will always be shiny and a pleasure to be around.
Beautiful Anne, thank you for sharing. I love the line: “In every moment, and in every action, no matter how seemingly small and insignificant, we are offered another gorgeous opportunity to learn from life.” Seeing life this way takes away the frustration I have lived with for most of my life, the frustration of wanting everything to be perfect instead of seeing everything as an opportunity to learn from.
I love your blog Anne! So simple and beautiful in its analogy… we all have that inner shine and sparkle, that with a bit of care and love can come bursting through!
Anne I really love blogs which give me a visual reminder to take into my day. A truly beautiful start to my morning, thank you.
Having been tarnished and dinged a bit myself over time. I cant truly relate to what a little bit of daily love and attention can expose what has been hidden for years.
This is such a beautiful article anne, I agree with you that ‘In every moment, and in every action, no matter how seemingly small and insignificant, we are offered another gorgeous opportunity to learn from life.’ I am really feeling this at the moment, there is so much learning in every moment and a choice to be loving, nurturing and caring and to shine like your teapot or a choice to dull myself and override what Im feeling and to not shine.
Gorgeous and playful Anne and a brilliant metaphor of what the true meaning of a genie is. 🙂
“In every moment, and in every action, no matter how seemingly small and insignificant, we are offered another gorgeous opportunity to learn from life.”
Yes Anne I agree with you, the metaphor is pure magic, I love those moments.
Thank you for your inspiration.
That’s such a lovely story Anne and a beautiful reflection of what happens to us and how we can take more loving care of ourselves, and our true beauty is always there to be uncovered under all the impositions and the stuff we have taken on that’s not really us.
I love this Anne a simple and yet profound sharing and a huge, great reminder of how committing to taking loving care of ourselves is such a huge support and enables us to shine for all to see our true beauty. Thank you Anne for sharing.
Such a beautiful analogy for how we can love and care for ourselves, however tarnished we may feel. With such nurturing the true essence is revealed.
I can feel the level of care in your cup of tea for yourself, Anne. After having brought the teapot to shine this level of care gets the appreciation it deserves. Great confirmation.
What this blog reminded me of is that no matter what happens on the outside, who we truly are and our true beauty is always there regardless.. In fact our inner hearts are always just waiting to shine, even though sometimes we need to remove or work on any coverings on the outside that may be masking our brightness and our light!
Thats such a lovely story Anne. It was warm and felt lovely. I also love making tea in a teapot.
Anne this is so gorgeous! What a lovely gift to share. I absolutely love your teapot too.
To keep a silver teapot polished, shining and cared for takes great care and consistency, what a beautiful analogy and reminder that the dings are not the important part it is the self care that makes us shine.
A beautiful parable. And if you just put the teapot on a shelf and don’t use it then it will lose its shine. The tea poured from the inside of this shining pot quenches the thirst of all who drink from it.
Anne thank you a great metaphor and reflection. Very inspiring.
What a great example of how life offers us an endless array of lessons and opportunities to deepen our commitment and love.
“In every moment, and in every action, no matter how seemingly small and insignificant, we are offered another gorgeous opportunity to learn from life.” This is what I am finding too Anne the more I stay open to everything no matter how small and insignificant it maybe at the time, there is alway something I can learn by relating it back to my body and how I am living. It is the detail in life such as your teapot, that can offer some of the greatest changes.
I feel your tenderness and loving care while reading your simple and beautiful message of how everything in our lives gives us an opportunity to return to our innate beauty. A great reminder at the start of my day, thank you Anne.
Anne this blog is GOLD or should I say silver. Love it! I am accepting the grace of each moment more and more and being open to the learnings on offer.
Lovely metaphor Anne. The silver in us is always there, but sometimes we think it is not there at all. So first we have to know that it is there, even if it is not seen, and then we have to take the layers away that are hiding the silver from the outside.
Thanks of bringing this playful blog out to the world.
Superb Anne, my lamp has definitely had a few bumps and scrapes over the years some will eventually shine up and some are a permanent reminder of the times I should have taken more care of it and cherished it for the special gift it is.
When we stay connected to our inner essence of wisdom, innocence and beauty, life is indeed full of gorgeous opportunities to learn from life. Thank you for sharing Anne.
And all these magical moments are such a support once we truly open up to them. They are like looking into a mirror that will reflect a truth in you that before you were not able to see.
In every moment we are offered another gorgeous opportunity to learn from life…..I am very much looking forward to what life is going to offer me today. There is so much to learn, and there is so much to love. Thank you Anne.
“In every moment, and in every action, no matter how seemingly small and insignificant, we are offered another gorgeous opportunity to learn from life.” I Love this Anne and your story of your tea pot. What a beautiful way of looking at life – to see the reasons in all that is presented to us. Thanks for sharing it has prompted me to look more deeper into the messages I receive in my day.
Yes Anne, I too have experienced that when we are deeply present, everyday, ordinary tasks can reveal so much about ourselves, and about life.
Anne reading your blog has brought a big smile to my face, as a kid I loved the TV series ‘I Dream of Genie’ and have always found it quite mystical the idea of a genie coming out of a bottle (or teapot)! I can relate to the metaphor of our bodies being like your teapot, the more care and love we bring, the more our own inner light can shine outwards for all to see. But as you mention Anne, this takes a daily commitment to keep rubbing away at the tarnish (healing our hurts) so that we can feel more of who we truly are (love).
What a beautiful reflection of life you show to me Anne Malatt. It is so true, everything in life is geared for us to show us the way back to where we are coming from. We only have to allow ourselves to be aware of this fact and these magical endeavours will be revealed to us and become part of our everyday lives.
This is so lovely. The power of being innocent and having no doubt is just beautiful. It’s so simple that it takes away the heaviness and the stickiness of the word ‘commitment’ that I have often associated with.
Anne , I love the analogy you use here with the tea pot & your body. As you share with care, you were got the shine out & back on the tea pot which was always there hiding under the tarnish. Just like how we all are just shiny & beautiful from inside but have lost that connection to that beauty that is ALWAYS there for us to connect to. Thank you for this beautiful reminder in such playful everyday manner of keeping your tea pot shiny.
This is a lovely a reminder Anne to treat ourselves with tender loving care and to know that whatever we’ve done in life, at our core our essence is unchanged.
That’s right Deborah, it’s no wonder the tea tasted so good from the ‘unpolished’ days.
Such a beautiful, simple yet oh so powerful blog Anne.
Thank you for your gorgeous expression and wisdom.
I particularly loved how you have summed it all up;
“In every moment, and in every action, no matter how seemingly small and insignificant, we are offered another gorgeous opportunity to learn from life”.
The tale of the tea pot ~ where wisdom comes in a cup of tea. Thank you Anne 🙂
Love the analogy Anne. Is there any chance of getting some of that cleaner? I’ll need a lot (for my wife) to rub over my body each day.
Great analogy Anne.
Like the body when it isn’t properly cared for it becomes dull, slow and tarnished. However with a bit of loving care the body can be in its full light once again. Instead of silver polish the body loves walks, loving relationships, connection, supportive exercise to name but a few.
Anne what a beautiful reflection for all. From such a simple task so much magic comes forth. Thank you.
Anne, this story of you polishing yourself and your teapot is adorable. It is a great reflection for us all. And yes, we may be tarnished and have a few dings from the careless way in which we have lived, but we can change that if we feel to. Thank you.
Well said Rosie, I totally agree. We can always change and polish out the dings from our careless way of living, when we are ready to do so.
More than a few dings Rosie, but the shine is always there underneath just waiting for the opportunity.. and the more it shines, the clearer the reflection.
Hello Genie Anne 😉 I can feel the joy in this, it is exquisite, thank you.
Beautiful Anne, this is pure magic gracefully shared, discovering the daily reflection and reminder of love as you shared that “In every moment, and in every action, no matter how seemingly small and insignificant, we are offered another gorgeous opportunity to learn from life.” especially every cup of tea !
I absolutely love metaphor and this is a beauty Anne. Thank you for your inspiration!