samsamsam

I was in Holland a month ago at my girlfriends place. And there were many times when we were out visiting places and had to rush back in the evening to prepare food at home. It would be in precisely this order:
1. oh no, we are late
2. rush home
3. rush cook
4. rush eat

Once the food is in the stomach, the world moved at normal speed again. Calmness was restored and one could think rationally. And so it made me think. Why do we need to eat? If it wasn't for eating, I could be doing so many other things, erm, like… watching tv, playing mindless Facebook games, listening to the Mr Brown Show, you know, interesting other things besides eating.

What a waste of time (eating, that is).

But upon further inner musings, a 15W Philips eco-friendly light bulb flashed above my head. A revelation descended and I realized eating was not just about chewing and swallowing.

Tingling the senses. What is this life if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare, smell, touch, and taste. Being human means I am obliged to enjoy myself through my wonderful five senses. That's why if you don't have one of them, you're considered handicapped – not fully human.

Communion. Eating is a selfish thing. You want to fill your stomach, the intaking of nourishment and energy, to meet your own life's demand. If the other guy gets the food, I will go hungry. But when you are at a table with others, you are supposed to share your meal. That makes you vulnerable, you are putting others on a higher level than yourself by feeding them your food – the same food that you are eating. When people eat together, they develop a bond. Like the Arabs; after two sides, friendly or otherwise, have made an agreement, they would all sit down for a meal. Then both parties will depart and as long as the food you ate together at that table is in you (the Arabs say 3 days), you cannot harm the other person. That gives both sides enough time to get away from each other in a hostile environment. To break that covenant is evil and a sin against man and God. Like the Nykoping feast. Some insecure Swedish king held a feast for the rulers of the surrounding lands. After the guest retired to their rooms in the castle (located in Nykoping), the king's guards broke into the rooms and shoved the guests into the dungeon, leaving them to starve to death there.

Sharing and caring. Again, the table is not just a place to fulfill your selfish bodily needs but to enquire of the other parties. The host asks the guests if they have had enough, or would they like more of this or that dish. At the last supper, Jesus broke the bread and passed it on; the table is a place where people come to receive and to give. So many TV dramas portray a family unit by showing them at a table having a meal. And when someone leaves the table, or if another person disrupts the meal, the family unit is perceived to be in jeopardy.

So when you set the table next time, remember, its more than meets the eye. You got to set it to invite everyone to come, set it so everyone will be satisfied with the food, and set it so that people partaking the food will not only be filled physically but when they walk away, will realize the human bond has strengthened.