A fresh attempt at lingering - I bought a dining table

I bought a dining table yesterday - for 13 years in my condo I've only sat at the kitchen counter to eat meals. The same counter where I sort piles of mail, and laundry and groceries. It is the largest flat surface in my house so it typically has some sort of "mess" on it - mosaics, bills, ingredients for my next meal etc. It is far too often a stopping ground for all the things I'll get to "soon." So, when (if) I "sit" to eat, it has been typically on a stool and looking at whatever the current piles of papers or groceries or things to do is. Not very relaxing.


So in an effort to be more intentional in lingering at mealtimes (as opposed to my typical routine of spending 20-30 minutes creating an amazing dinner and taking 5 minutes - sometimes even still standing - to wolf it down), I splurged. I went to the mecca of good, reasonably priced furniture, Ikea, and bought a table where no other messes will be allowed to gather. One where already I have felt the normal temptations to keep going at a breakneck speed and multitask during mealtimes, halted. I can look out my windows at the birds. I can relax and be fully present to every taste and texture. I never thought a dining table would help me cultivate a more worshipful attitude in my day. Go figure - the holiness of the ordinary.

www.paulagamble.com