Consume

In case you haven't noticed, our lives revolve around food. The simple activity of sharing a meal with another person has profound effects that oft go unnoticed. We create bonds with people when we dine with them. In fact, the need for food is a common thread that unites every living thing. There is some dynamic about the act of eating that requires one to be vulnerable. Normally, we don't sit down and eat a meal with someone we don't like. We let our guard down when we eat. Eating is such a primitive and ancient activity, one of the few that has remained constant and prominent throughout all of history. In some ways, eating a meal with someone else is one of the most intimate things we do in public. It is commonly said that we are what we eat. Perhaps this saying rings even more true in the context of communal dining. When we share a meal with another person, we are joining in synchronously with that person and nourishing our selves from the same platter, which unifies even the most distant hearts.