Eating at the table

Eating at the table, is there someone coming over, a celebration, nope none of them. In all honesty, this was a habit that I wanted to cultivate but struggled with for many years. It was slowly leaning towards eating just for fuel. For me, I wanted to aspire to eat my meals at the table in a calming environment. Great, but how? There were quite a lot of things to consider.

The first was starting with simple and quick meals. It was more realistic for me to create simple rather than complicated things and give ourselves a fighting chance. Next is setting the table. You know those lovely plates that are dusty in the cupboards, use them! We go to restaurants, and we appreciate the dining experience of a beautifully laid out table, so why not integrate this at our own home. The numerous lockdown has made me realise the importance of having a calming ambience. I had collected most of my dinnerware from op shops vintage and antique stores. The fact that these were bought with a fraction of the price, has a history and story behind them makes me look forward to using them. Candles lit, with some light background music, the table set up creates an inviting and relaxing time to eat. To me, these are times where I can slow down, not be bombarded with tasks, messages, emails, phone calls, and just to be. By doing so, I savour my meals, eat more mindfully and invite others to have great conversations. It may take a couple of minutes to set up. You will reap the rewards, develop a positive relationship of eating at the table and appreciate your meals no matter how simple or exotic they are. An inviting atmosphere that is not overwhelming to create will more likely lead to sticking with the habit of eating at the table.