If you know me, and you should by now, at least a little if you have followed my blog, you would know that food plays a big part in my life. I wrote a while back that cooking was a big part of my life, and like love, is something we should completely commit to, or not at all. Tonight I think I’d like to talk about the importance of the dinner table.
I think sometimes we tend to forget the power of sitting down at the dinner table, and sharing a meal, and alongside, our thoughts of the day, our feelings, our love, in all honesty. I have always believed that families are formed, and strengthened, at the dinner table. And you might think that is a bit extreme, but is it really? I can speak from experience, my own life. My wife and I would sit in front of the TV and eat dinner, every night, and don’t say much at all to each other. So concerned about what was going on on the TV, we slowly forgot to pay attention to each other. And to be honest, that has led to a lot of the issues we need to work on; communication; it is as if we completely forgot to talk to each other. And yes, of course, nothing of this sort justifies what happened, but I also believe in accepting everyone’s responsibility in the matter. I have not, and will never blame myself for what happened; those were my wife’s choices, but that is in the past and I’ve moved on. However, I do know, and understand, that there were things I could have done differently, we all do. And I am happy to be able to see these things, and accept them, as if we are to repair our marriage; we both have to accept the mistakes made, face them and be willing to work on them, and us.
But let’s go back to the dinner table; after all that is the whole point of tonight. As we become more and more separated from the world we live in and what makes it human, we remove ourselves from human emotion, from understanding feelings, and even from being empathetic to them. Sitting in front of the TV to eat dinner is, in my opinion, not something to be done; on a regular basis at least. I wish I could change the past, but I can’t; I can only look forward and try not to repeat the same mistakes.
I grew up in a family were we all had dinner together, at the table, where we talked about our days, shared memories and after all, build even more memories, together. Cooking, and eating, are both such big parts of my life and something I’d like to share with my new family, my wife. I hope for dinner to be a time of day with no distractions, no noise; where we can simply be together to talk, and be with each other. In today’s fast paced society, we tend to forget that sometimes we need to stop and take a minute to enjoy and look back on the day’s events, to listen to those we love; to stop and enjoy what we cooked as a family and to relax, together. We shouldn’t look at dinner as a chore, as something we must do because we would otherwise starve; that is the completely wrong approach.
Eating brings people together, dinner brings people together, and it has been for generations. The TV will never create memories for a family; sharing ideas, thoughts and experiences, will. I know I need to make the time to stop and enjoy life a bit more, that is something I know I need to work on, and I have been; for myself and for those who love me. Sitting down at the dinner table is one of those things. Just know that TV can always wait, your favorite shows will be there tomorrow; your loved ones however, might not. Pay attention to them and make the time to nurture and care for those relationships; the dinner table is a great place to start.
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