E209: Birthday Thoughts (Are you sitting at the Kiddie Table of Life?)

In this episode, Mark and Adena let the listener experience a conversation about Mark's birthday thoughts.

1. I’m done sitting at “the kiddie table.” Here is what I mean. At family gatherings the kiddie table is obviously for the kids. It’s not a bad table, but it’s not where the decision makers sit. Speaking metaphorically, sometimes I feel like I live at the kiddie table and wait for an adult to authorize me to make decisions. This mindset makes me live small. This mindset makes me look for someone who has authority to give me permission to do something. 

2. I am done trying to sit at “the adult table.” Here is what I mean. Let’s face it. We all like the kiddie table better than the adult table. Kids are free. As adults it’s easy to be fake. At the adult table we have accumulated grudges against some people, and agendas with other people. The real stuff is easier to find at the kiddie table. The innocence of children leads to more laughter and unguarded love. The adult table can be full of insecurities and posturing. 

3. I am done thinking about what table I am sitting at. I feel like I have spent so much of my life trying to find my spot at a table. As a kid in school I used to look around the cafeteria and wonder if I belonged anywhere. I wondered how everyone else seemed to have friends. I wondered why I didn’t. Ultimately, I’m done trying to fit in. It’s the wrong goal. 

4. I want to spend my life serving the tables. A life full of service is a life full of opportunity. There is nobody to impress…ever. There are only people to lovingly serve. 

5. I want to spend my life with the people who are serving the tables. Culture pressures us to get the best seat, at the best table, and get the best steak. I don’t judge those who fall into that trap, because we all have. But I want to spend my life around people who have exchanged that exhausting pursuit with the fulfillment of a life of serving