How Long is Your Table?
I don’t mean “How many seats does it have?”, I mean “How long is it?”.
Does it extend past your dining room? Your kitchen? Your house?
Yourself? Your family? Your friends?
Are the seats filled with the familiar and the friendly? Do you leave spaces for unexpected guests or out-of-town drop-ins? Do you start the meal precisely on time, or are late arrivals permitted?
Is the focus of the meal the food, and the exquisite nature of its preparation (ie you, and your hard work), or the comfort of your guests and the social community bonds that are built over drinks and appetizers (ie them)?
Before we can fill the seats and prepare the menus, we need to ask ourselves, soberly, honestly, openly — what is the table for?
At my grandmother’s house, and in times of old, the table is (and has always been) the center of the house. It was a sacred place of prayer and thanksgiving after a hard days’ work. It was the chance, after a distant and often isolating day of work in the fields, the office, or the kitchen, to sit down with those we love most and break bread together.
The table was also a place to host guests. It was a place to show hospitality, generosity, manners, and grace. These are all clever, upper-class substitutes for kindness, care, and love.
The table is a place to offer some of what we have to those who don’t. It’s a place to share laughter, wine, good stories, fancy cocktails, bad stories, and grandmother’s recipes. It is a place to build bonds that last, and be generous. We don’t do it with the hope of getting anything in return; we do it because we can, we will, we must.
The challenge for today, on a day when part of the country (the eastern part) is barracaded in with snow and blizzard warnings, is to lengthen your table.
Find the people who need the most some of what you have to give. Open your hearts to a neighbour in need, a friend from time gone by, a stranger on the street, a coworker you haven’t fully connected with, anyone you think you can give to. Invite as many as you can host. Then invite 5 more. You can always squeeze in a few extra.
When we lengthen our tables, we invite our best selves to join into the party; we offer generosity and invite transparency, openness, humanity.
In exchange for a simple meal, that’s the best bargain around.
A bit about me…
I’m Brendan (hey!) the OEM Hardware Lead at Mosaic Manufacturing where we are building the future of 3D Printing Technology.
In my spare time, you can find me kicking a soccer ball, drinking Americanos, adding to my cookbook collection, and repping Venture for Canada.
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