The Community Table

What if one of the simplest ways to make the world a little more peaceful was breakfast with strangers?

On a February weekend this past winter, I had the extraordinary privilege of traveling to Santa Fe, New Mexico.

I had never been before. But I am in a season of just doing the thing! So when I saw that one of my revered spiritual teachers, Abraham Hicks, was offering a highly affordable workshop weekend in Santa Fe, I impulsively registered - and that felt good!

I would have gone on my own, which is a new thing for me too. But on a whim I reached out to the group of wonderful women I met on retreat back in October, and one said yes. Another leap. To go away and share a room with someone I had literally spent three days with once.

We had only known each other a few months, but something about my connection with all six of the women from that retreat is easy and real.

It was an incredibly powerful and energizing couple of days. Being surrounded by more than 300 people with open hearts and curious minds aligned with the spiritual norms I aspire to and practice shifted something in me. There is a collective energy that builds when people gather around reflection and growth.

But one of the moments that stayed with me the most had nothing to do with the workshop itself.

It was breakfast.

Our first morning, we headed to a place I now enthusiastically recommend to anyone visiting: Cafe Pasqual’s, a tiny, vibrant café and art gallery in downtown Santa Fe.

I had tried to make a reservation the night before and found nothing available. When we walked in around 8:30 a.m., it was clear why. The place was buzzing. Every table was full. The energy was warm and lively. Servers moved through the room with the rhythm that happens when a restaurant is fully alive.

The host gave us the only option available if we wanted to eat and still make it to the first session of the workshop. Two seats at the community table.

Without hesitation we said yes.

We are both humans who genuinely love humans. Happy to connect, chat, and learn about whoever happens to be sitting nearby. I have often had meaningful conversations with the Uber driver, the server, the person next to me in line at the DMV. Ask my kids - It is their favorite. 😉

So we slid into our seats among a group of total strangers at a lovely wooden table, a stunning floral arrangement ablaze with yellows and purples in the center. (Including aubergine calla lilies, my wedding flower.)

Immediately conversation was flowing in every direction.

Another pair of women friends from New York were also in Santa Fe for the same workshop. A group of young guys were on a road trip from Biloxi, Mississippi, driving all the way to Oregon. Another couple was enjoying a rare weekend away from their very young kids. One pair of parents from Tennessee told us about their daughter’s college experience, which turned into a whole conversation because my friend is an alumna of Texas A&M, where their daughter attends.

There we all were. Ten strangers sharing coffee, breakfast, and stories.

And it was delightful. Full of energy, laughter, and “oh my gosh, me too!” moments. The commonalities were everywhere. No matter where the conversation went, we found connection.

My heart and mind immediately began turning. I am always ideating, always asking the bigger question inside the moment.

What would life be like if we had more community tables?

Not just in restaurants, but everywhere.

Spaces where we sit next to people we might never otherwise encounter. Places where we break bread, share stories, ask questions, and remember that the world is far bigger and more interesting than the small bubbles most of us live inside day to day.

Even those of us who travel or connect widely spend most of our lives surrounded by the same people, the same routines, the same circles.

And there is comfort in that.

But there is true magic in sitting down beside someone whose life looks completely different from your own and discovering the small threads of shared humanity that run between you.

So much of what I see in my work comes back to this.

I often describe my work as human centered. We start with the human being first. We understand the people involved, the relationships, the lived experience. Then we build strategy from there.

Because when we skip that step, systems get built that may look great on paper but do not actually work for the people inside them.

I see it all the time in organizations.

People working side by side but feeling disconnected.

Teams operating efficiently but not really trusting one another.

Leaders trying to solve cultural challenges with policies and structures instead of relationships.

But when people truly see each other as human beings first, conversations open, curiosity replaces assumption, and trust begins to grow.

From there, better systems follow.

Human connection is not soft work. It is the foundation that makes real strategy possible. It is also the kind of shift that ripples far beyond workplaces and organizations.

When we actually sit with one another, listen to one another, and see one another as human beings, it becomes much harder to reduce people to labels, sides, or enemies.

I truly believe we would see much less conflict in the world, fewer wars would be fought, if more of us simply sat at tables like that. Sharing a meal. Hearing each other’s stories. Remembering that we belong to the same human family.

And sitting there that morning, that possibility did not feel theoretical.

The vibe at that community table was quietly radical.

A glimpse of what the world could look like if we were reminded more often that the “other” is almost always just another human being with a story.

For now, I am holding onto the image of that long wooden table in a crowded little café.

A community table.

And a shout out to Elizabeth Hunt, my incredibly badass friend who said yes to the adventure, showed up brave and open all weekend, and reminded me what life looks like when you are willing to be up for anything at any time.