Friday, March 16, 2012

Refined Table Setting

Recently, I challenged a dear friend with the question: "Who would be at your table?" Meaning, if you could invite ANY person from ANY time in history to sit and eat and talk with you for a few hours, who would you invite?

It's a tough question, for a few reasons:

1. People will often adjust their answers depending on their audience, like mentioning "Jesus" to look holy and spiritual, or saying "Rush Limbaugh" to look like an asshole, or "Brangelina" to look socially and environmentally conscious, as they throw their Styrofoam lunch-cases in the trash and drive away in their Hummers.

2. Others delve into instant fantasy world and conjure the dreamy objects of their affection, thereby revealing their sexual un-fulfillment or shallowness... These are the ones who go home still believing that this game may have a piece of reality attached to it--where is George Clooney? I ordered him an hour ago. They then become rabidly depressed in a few days when they hover back toward reality.

3. Few will allow the best, purest, and most influential folks in their lives. It's a tough list to narrow.

I struggled myself when I first wrestled with the question. I cannot post my list for fear that those NOT included will be offended. I know it though. And I know who's at my dream table: The humans that have challenged me to live fully and without regret, those who've pushed me past materialism and shallowness, past surface congratulatory life circumstance, those who've met me at the deep center of myself, those who've ignited my desire to be the best possible person I can be, those who've spoken to my soul. They are there. And it's intense. And marvelous. It's one fine dinner. Oh, and it's catered.

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