Course for Quality Communication

Course for Quality Communication
by Rebecca A Field

Anywhere in the world mealtime is or can be the best time of day!

Dinner time, especially “preserves the essential aspects of communion”, according to John Yemma in The Christian Science Monitor Weekly, June 25, 2012, p. 3.

Photo by More Good Foundation at www.flickr.com

It is a holy time. The scent of food beckons family members to gather. The cuisine is rarely fancy. In many households the older members bow their heads or signify their gratitude.
Well armed with facts from a parenting class, parents hope that dinner will be a peaceful and pleasant event. The kids learn at school the scientific aspects of eating nourishing and wholesome food. Whether they follow the nutritional interests of the Obama family or eat as their ancestors have eaten for centuries makes little difference. Dinner is usually the meal when the family is together.

Sometimes Dad cooks but most of the time Mom is the chef. Family dinner time is the most important time of day for many. Coming together for the evening meal has important dimensions beyond just eating. Conviviality reigns! There’s a chance for everyone to express and communicate what happened to and for them earlier in the day. It is a special time for stories.

During mealtime there is a chance for all the family members to identify with each other, not only to hear what has played out in their lives, but also for identification in the higher sense of experiencing a great Whole together, a completeness that stays with them for the rest of their days. The intangible and multidimensional mutual familiarity dots other meals at other times with far-reaching possibilities for understanding, tenderness, humor, forgiveness, caring, openness and inclusiveness.

An undeniable loyalty develops at mealtime which integrates family members and becomes a holy thing. For some it develops into a loving silence.

For others the constancy of mealtime sharing grows into compassion. When shared meals have the effect of developing character and life-long love, they take on the quality of sacredness that is deeply nourishing and enduring.

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