If you ever eat with monks you’ll find they have a curious practice in that they listen to a reader during many of their meals. This comes from Benedict’s instructions; he says in Chapter 38: “Reading will always accompany the meals of the brothers.” While everyone is eating, one monk reads from a book. Many times the book is faith-based, but one monastery I visited was reading a history of Franklin Roosevelt's presidency while I was there.

I like bookstores, and years ago I was looking through the stacks of a bookstore while the person who ran the store was interviewed for the radio. I quietly listened, and the bookstore lady commented that she could often tell what was going on in customers' minds by the books they chose. To me it’s interesting that a monastic community focuses their common imagination, at least while they are eating, on the same subject matter. Their times when they have conversations are limited, but I wonder if they often discuss what they’ve heard in the mealtime readings.

I live alone, so I don’t know how this would work, but I wonder if families or those who regularly eat together could replicate this practice, having one person read while the others eat. To me it’s a simple practice of not only learning together but also building community by focusing thoughts on the same thing.