Let’s eat at the dinner table

“Let’s get together and be alright.” — Bob Marley

New concept right? Eh, not really.

For generations, our society has shifted away from being one to reflect on our day with family and friends through a pleasant meal. Instead, we look to sitting in front of the TV, laptops, or phones and are transfixed on another stimuli. (Undoubtably, I fall also under society’s new “digital table” I will call this).

Can we get out this rut of being social distanced before social distanced was even mandated? Well, I am glad you asked! But do I have the definite answer you might be hoping for? Probably not. I can guarantee you will walk away with a different perspective on how home cooked meals can solve civil unrest and misunderstandings between individuals from opposing sides.

What is your favorite meal to cook for guests? For me it is anything with chicken: chicken parmesan, chicken marsala, honey garlic chicken, chicken piccata, teriyaki chicken, just to name a few. I still have to learn how to make the phenomenal Indian and Southeast Asian chicken dishes, if you have any suggestions leave it in the comment section. I will be forever grateful to you!

Usually, I will invite over friends and we will sit around the table just to feast and talk about life. Often times, we just agree to go out to eat somewhere and the conversation is different. The talking is on a surface level, yes we talk about current events, the latest Netflix show we are hooked on, and dating life, but does it get to the heart of understanding each other deeply. No, it does not.

But when conversations happen around the dinner table it changes and becomes more intimate. A waiter or waitress is not asking you if the steak was cooked to your liking or the child in the table in front of you is making faces in your direction. This distractions derail any conceivable connection you can have out with family or friends.

Understanding childhood and how the dinner table with family can be triggering if a fight happen to break off, leaving a family with more difficult matters than figuring out how to fit all the leftovers in the fridge. (A solid game of Tetris can figure this out in a shoooop)

As we all can observe and look at the climate of the world today, the social climate and not the weather. I can save that issue for another day, got to stay focused on the cause at hand! (Self-talk is healthy y’all, try it out once in a while)

All of us has an opinion and we think we are right above the other; no matter the justification or factual information you provide to them, you will still be considered wrong in their eyes. So instead of having a Presidential style debate because we all witnessed how that mess played out.

If you have not noticed, it is best to have dinner with someone you consider completely different from yourself and invite them over. Simply talking to one another about yourselves can build more binds than it can unravel them.

Conversation topics to think about:

1. Passions, hopes and dreams everyone has and feel deeply connected to. We all still hold onto our childhood wonders about what and who we were going to be when we get older.
2. Traditions if you are feeling like you had nothing in common with the other person on a religious level and notice how what you practice is in part similar to what they do as well.
3. Food, you are around the dinner table anyway so, why not? I am always down for a new recipe, as state previously in this article. When we engage in discussion with something we find comfort in, the rest of the conversation just flows.
4. Entertainment can be anything from the newest book from Danielle Steele on how love was found, Netflix show on Peaky Blinders following the wondrous life of Thomas Shelby, or the newest Disney movie all kids are singing in their rooms daily. Remember the world is not just my oyster or your oyster, it is our oyster together. Share it. Embrace it. Become one with it.
5. Play a game of Sorry, Guess Who?, Clue, Cards Against Humanity, or anything! Just genuinely enjoy your time together and discussing about the latest Tik Tok challenge you think is awkwardly cool.

Guess where this can all be done? You guessed it! Around a dinner table. Bringing loved ones, acquaintances, foes, coworkers, and strangers today for a dinner invite could in a small way change the world around you. For all of you head strong and motivated individuals who want to make a difference, it is simple. Open your homes, hearts, and ears to a person you will never think of inviting over for dinner and have a conversation. If you would like to use one of the topics or suggestions above to guide your conversation for the night, please feel free to do so.

I suggest just let it flow organically and see where you and your company end up at the end of the night. Life is meant to build connections, relationships, and binds outside of those you consider friends.

Try it for one night, your guest or guests (more the merrier) will be glad you did and so will you. We all need more perspective of the world.

Happy eating and conversing with family, friends, loved ones, acquaintances, foes, strangers, or whoever they are to you. At the end of the night, they can mean much more to you after you had just spent this time with them.

Let me know how your future dinner plans go in the comment section (this is another shameless plug for recipes, if you would be so kind!). Eat well, talk lovingly, and embrace others. Until next time, be easy friends.