Indulge in Life

The co-founder's personal journey behind Tielka

10th Anniversary, 5th August, 2019

I am totally convinced that whatever life throws my way, whatever curve-balls I meet, it's still possible to find pockets of joy and rest in an underlying peace. It's a God-given gift. That's what it means to Indulge in Life. It's why I believe Tielka exists.

Too often we believe we can only be happy, we can only experience joy when life is going well. The reality is life is messy. Life is imperfect. Life rarely goes according to plan.

At the beginning of 2018, my husband Alexei and I were thrown a curve-ball we never expected. On February 14th at 9:06am we welcomed into the world a new baby boy. We were so excited. We had been anticipating his arrival for so long! Almost immediately, it was evident not everything was ok. He was having trouble breathing, he was weak. On his second day of life, he was flown to Brisbane for life-saving surgery. Our whole family relocated almost 500 km to be with him. We received the news that our perfect little boy who we loved deeply also had Down syndrome.

Our whole world was turned upside-down. We were completely blindsided. We were exhausted. Strangely, under all this mess and confusion, we both felt peace. I remember one evening, as we were walking through the parklands of South Bank with our two older boys, my gaze lifted towards an overhanging sculptured metallic archway, covered in lush green vines backed by distant flickering fairy lights. In that moment, something unexpectedly allowed my heart to open up and I gasped with wonderment. It was magical. In what was probably the most challenging season of our life, there was still joy to be found. We were able to Indulge in Life.

This phrase "Indulge in Life" has been our mantra since we created Tielka in 2009.

For me, the power behind this phrase is tied up in my morning ritual. In the morning, I make myself a cup of tea and sit down on our back deck under a very large umbrella. I listen to music, I drink my tea, I think, I read, I talk with God and connect deeply. These mornings set the tone and have a beautiful flow-on effect for the rest of the day. I have strength to be who is truly me, I have strength to love generously, I have strength to find joy and rest in this underlying peace even in the most difficult times. This is what it means to Indulge in Life.

And that is why Tielka exists.

It's taken me almost 10 years to fully realise Tielka's purpose and put it into words. My years of drinking endless cups of my tea under my umbrella have taught my heart to Indulge in Life and set me up to know peace, anchored by what I believe, through life's curve-balls and detours.

Now I want to pass on this experience to others and Tielka tea is a beautiful part of this picture. The tea is fresh, the flavour lingers, it brings joy. It is truly beautiful. Tielka creates spaces and moments where something special can happen, and in these moments the strength to Indulge in Life is found.

Rebecca Domorev, co-founder, Tielka

To read more on this, check out Rebecca's personal blog BrollyBlue - what she believes and her faith journey as a T21 mum through finding rest, loving silver linings and connection (and of course, drinking endless cups of tea) when life doesn't go to plan.