Family Life, Life Adventures, Philosophy, Poetry

The World Table

Nineteen years ago, in the summer of 1993, seven of my friends got together.  Realizing the rich differences of our backgrounds, we decided to have a dinner in which each person would have to bring a dish of food from their native country.  We dubbed it the International Party.

buffet-table-1

One friend brought chicken with peanut sauce.  Another brought exotic Persian rice. Still another brought pita bread and humus made with sesame seed.  Carmen, who would later become my dear wife, fried platanos with black beans.  I flipped hamburgers.  It was our way of representing the entire world.

Being adopted into a loving family who could not provide information about my biological origins, I spent many years searching for the definition of mother.  Perhaps the greatest consequence of my quest has been the Why Mom Deserves a Diamond® contest. Every year, thousands of kids from every background come to recite their words of appreciation to their moms, dads, and other significant persons in their lives.   When words of love are spoken, they emit a positive force that gives us purpose.

After nineteen years, we celebrated the International Party once again. The magical moment of the past was reawakened.  Also, if mother is defined as one who nurtures and instructs our footsteps, then our beautiful earth must also be our mother.

The result of my combined thoughts is The World Table.  I cheerfully give it to you.

The World Table

Today we bring food to the World Table. As we sit and eat with people from all nations, it is easier to see our sameness than our differences, and that we are all wonderfully interwoven.

As we savor our fellowship and the flavors of our cultures, we can see the reflection of ourselves in each other. At the World Table, our hearts define all things.

At the World Table, we know a single spark has ignited our glowing torch.  The universe gave birth to the stars and our Earth.  Our Earth gave birth to us.

At the World Table, we are all children of the same Mother.

Until we meet again at the World Table, we will remember our joyous feast. We will do all things with great love, and we will love and care for our Living Mother, who has so perfectly loved us.

Written by Diamond Mike Watson

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24 thoughts on “The World Table”

  1. Funny thing — just today I proposed an international feast at my office for a going away party next week. As an Irish-American, I’m bringing Guinness!

    Thanks for following my blog. I look forward to reading more of yours.

  2. Great idea to have an international feast. I am soon to have a celebratory international assembly at the school where I work as there are many children there who work outside the U.K. I am inspired by your ” why mom deserves a diamond” foundation and thanks for coming by Mr Oh again. I look forward to following further reflections in your diamond days…

  3. This is something that was a part of my life for many years due to the diverse nature/cultures of friends and family. As an immigrant, I met and kept touch, through my mother the organiser, with many of us ‘foreigners’ to this land. Apart from the occasional Sunday afternoon coffee and cake, where each would bring a cake from their own cultures, with real filtered coffee (aah, the smells….delicious) and have wonderful discussions about all things, global and local, politics to domestics. I miss those occasions! I’m glad you do this as well.

  4. This is really cool! My school has a diversity day every year where you bring a dish native to your family and you share it with your class. I’m so glad that there are traditions like this that help us appreciate other cultures 🙂

  5. ah! This sounds like a lovely idea. My family is so used to eating stew, rice, or meat all the time that we don’t eat other types of dishes…maybe I should do this “world table” thing with my friends 🙂
    – Thebohiranian

      1. oh! I love paneer and chicken curry is a common dish (now) in our family <3

        I'm going to try Ethiopian recipes…thanks for the idea

  6. What a wonderful story. This brought back a wonderful memory for me from 1988. I did a Nursing Internship at Texas Children Hospital in Houston. I stayed at the Texas Women’s University dorms. I worked the night shift at the reception desk. I was the only American on my floor. My roommate was from Peru. Everyone was earning doctorate degrees or working on Research studies. We decided to have an International Dinner on our floor. There were people from Germany, India, Pakistan, China, Japan, Lebanon, Peru, France and there were a couple I can’t remember. It was a wonderful dinner that lasted for hours, with dancing afterwards on the floor. Our floor was the hit for the night. I do have pictures and when I dig them out I will make sure you get to see it. I made American Chile one with meat and one without for those who ate no meat like Indian’s. Thank you for helping me to remember such a good time. I know you had a wonderful time too! 🙂

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