We are not meant to live in isolation. What makes us healthy and whole is the connections we form with one another. With our families. Our friends. Our colleagues and our community… The thing we need the most to feel healthy has become harder to get.
After more than 30 years in the field of social work, I know one thing to be true. We do not need to be victims to our situation. We have choices to make, each and every day about how we want to live our lives. How we choose to show up for ourselves and each other.
Practice #9 - “Gather” Around the Table
One night last summer I gathered at the table with these wonderful people. We had just finished walking some 18 miles along the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. I was in terrible pain. My feet were covered with so many blisters I could not set them flat on the floor. The hospitalera (the person in charge of the lodging) served us a wonderful dinner of homemade stew, fresh bread and plenty of wine. It wasn’t fancy, but it was hot and it was plenty and it was enough.
The conversation was lively. If you were there you could have heard Chinese and French and German and English all being spoken at once. There were stories told, a lot of laughter and even a few tears shared that night and when it was over my heart and my belly were full. And when I shuffled back to my bed that night, my feet hurt just a little bit less.
Sharing a meal can do that. It is one of the things I miss the most right now.
Try this:
Tonight, share your supper with someone you love. Cook a simple pasta carbonara. Set the table and perch a laptop or cell phone in the center, right between the pitcher of water and bowl of salad. Zoom in or FaceTime or Google Hangout with your son or daughter, your friends Jeanne and Winston or your Uncle Joe. Share stories, laughter and yes, maybe even a tear or two. “Gather” around the table with the people you love.
