I love Europe for its museums and castles, Asia for its food and beaches, and North America for the countless things that make it a great place to call home. But South America I love for its sobre mesa – the art of the long, drawn out table where friends and families loiter together for hours after a meal. It represents everything I admire about Latin culture: togetherness, leisure and the art of savoring life’s simple moments. It is likely the reason why, when we go to Argentina or Spain or Mexico, time stretches as if everything is in slow motion. There’s nothing urgent enough to hurry over; no task, errand or meeting too important to make you skip a meal or coffee with the important people in your life. I always return from these visits fresh with wide spaces in my mind and body where joy and pleasure have room to roost.
I’ve thought a lot about meaning over the last few months and though I don’t have the golden key answer to the purpose of life, I’m convinced that a good meal shared with loved ones has a lot to do with it. Children laughing at the table, a grandmother’s story over wine. These are the moments that fill our cups and make our days worthwhile.
In Latin America economies may tumble, governments may flounder, and cost of living may rise and fall, but the love and camaraderie of friends and relatives remain daily constants in life. And for this there is no price. It is a wealth that cannot be matched.
