As soon as I set my new table on my deck, my world changed. Instantly, I had an outdoor room. There were some chairs out there before, but the table focused the energies of the space toward tangible eating, creating and gathering. Seeing the power of this table to transform space into a place, I realized that tables are altars for daily living. On the horizontal surfaces of tables we offer food, our creative juices and friendship. We offer the imaginings that shape the world. On tables, world leaders sign treaties and children do homework. On tables, gamblers test their luck and writers risk expressing their most intimate thoughts. At dining tables, we celebrate the networks that gather sun, soil, water and air, farming, distribution, and cultures that produces food. At a table, someone designed the great pyramids and the neighbor's bathroom remodel. Without tables we would have no place to set out keys. At wedding feasts we would hold plates on our laps. Without tables it would be a laptop world. How often do you rest your laptop on your lap anyway? Without tables, lovers would have nothing to support the candles and wine glasses that sparkle in their gaze.
How many tables have you tucked your legs beneath and rested your elbows upon in your life? Countless. Think of the wonderful and horrible moments that have involved tables. Would those essential life experiences have been different if no table was involved? From the Formica tables at McDonalds to the oak and stone tables in ancient monasteries, tables have been the focal points for the mundane and the sublime. Notice all the tables that influence your life today and discover their power to transform your world.
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