Last summer I was reading a book called, “Your Money or Your Life”. The book is awesome and I highly recommend it. The author challenged dreams and desires. She said to dig down deeper to figure out why we have certain dreams and desires. So I did just that and a MeetUp was born.
I have always loved to travel. I am curious about the world and how different cultures work. This is probably why I love meeting people. I dream of travel, seeing new lands, meeting new people. I’ve pictured myself in foreign lands, living in a village, getting to know the people and their ways. In the process of digging deeper, I realized this basic desire comes from the fact that I love meeting new people. Yes, I love seeing new places, but I can find those all around me, the states close to me, and the country I live in.
My mind shifted to; how do I meet new people outside of my dating life? Plus, I didn’t want to be dating the rest of my life. I could join some new clubs, scour Meetup for groups I would be interested in, or just have people over for a meal and talk. The first thing that popped into my head was “Dinner with 10 strangers”. I could host a quiet meal with questions that would open people up, let them drop their walls, and really share. Yes, this is what I wanted!
I kicked around the idea with some friends that were less than enthusiastic about me having strangers in my home. I talked to my guy (who wasn’t my guy at the time) and he was on-board and intrigued. He asked about the questions I would ask, I came up with a list. He asked how it would be mediated, I wrote up some guidelines. Boom, it started to come together.
By this time, I was getting my house back in order after my 2017-18 remodel. My house was still a disaster and I was gearing up to go to Italy. My heart was in a bit of turmoil thinking I wouldn’t have Mel around when I got back from my trip. The last thing I wanted to do was to get tied to him in my scheme. As fate had planned, Mel and I were together when I arrived home. Yay!
Mel tied me down one evening and said we should create a MeetUp group, Dinner with Strangers. Unfortunately, that name was taken by someone on the east coast. We settled on Evening with Strangers instead. We hosted our first event on December 5th. We had 4 strangers for dinner. It was a fun evening, just the way I was hoping. We had a second and third potluck with 1 stranger and 2 strangers. All good times!
We hope the attendance will grow. We have invited people we know since the questions we ask give a deeper understanding of people. Answering the questions myself, out loud to others, has given me insight into my deeper beliefs and longings. I feel like I am getting to know myself and Mel better. It is a really good exercise. And exactly what I desire; I’m meeting new people and seeing how others think and feel.