Alright. I admit it. I stole it. I was standing in line at my favorite bakery and I was perusing the bulletin board announcing yoga classes, daycare openings, a yard sale, and several notices of upcoming neighborhood meetings. Nestled among them was a postcard for The Space, a gallery and creative workshop in New Richmond, Wisconsin. The postcard was for an exhibit that actually happened in May entitled "A Place at the Table". The question that followed the title was "If your life was a table, what would your chair look like?"

So, I couldn’t help myself. I took down the card….it was outdated anyway and would soon be thrown in the trash. On the card was a chair, resting on velvety, green moss, surrounded by grapevines, that wound up the legs and back of the chair. The seat of the chair was covered with nails. Yikes!

If my life was table, what would my chair look like? I love questions like this. It probably stems from my earlier life in the theater where I spent countless hours in class being a sizzling piece of bacon or a gently flowing stream. These kinds of questions allow us to open our imagination wide. They require that we don’t think in a linear way but in metaphor, to think playfully rather than logically. So…………..

I would hope that my chair would be comfortable, soft, yet sturdy, built to last. I think I would choose a deep green upholstery with maybe a tiny understated leaf pattern……to represent growth and hide the dirt. By this time in my life I would like the chair to be worn on the arms, where my hands had rested and those of my children. Maybe the arms would be a little soiled, a memory of a graham cracker or an apple juice spill. The chair would have to also be a rocker…..there is nothing more calming and centering than the smooth glide of a rocking chair mirroring our heartbeat, our first womb home. This rocker would also have to be roomy….so someone else could join me if they needed to….or if I needed them to. My chair would need to be near a window so I could see all the seasons unfolding,watch the birds at the feeder, the chipmunks playing,snow and rain falling, and give thanks for each. My green, leafy, velvety chair would also have to be light enough for me to move now, when my arms are strong but also easy in years to come when they have lost some of their power .My chair would have known laughter, some tears, a sleepless night here and there, a lost dream or two and lots of miracles. It would have been present for all the important holidays, Christmas, Thanksgiving, all of our birthdays, and would hold in its fabric the love that family and friends have shared.

It’s Tuesday. Kind of an ordinary day. So, let me ask you a question. If your life was a table, what would your chair look like?