01 Sep Parea: The Beautiful Greek Idea of Coming Together
There are some words that seem to capture far more than their literal translation.
Parea is one of those words.
Parea (παρέα) is a Greek word associated with companionship, group of people who enjoy spending time together, sharing conversation, food, laughter, ideas and experiences.
But, to me, its meaning feels much bigger than simply being in a group.
It’s about how we feel when we’re together.
It’s that moment when you’re sitting around a table and nobody is rushing to leave. The plates might be empty and the glasses nearly finished, but the conversation keeps going.
Someone tells a story.
Someone else says, “I know exactly what you mean.”
Another person makes everyone laugh.
And somewhere in amongst it all, people who may have arrived as acquaintances begin to feel connected.
That’s Parea.
More than simply getting together
We live in a world where we’re supposedly more connected than ever.
We have social media, WhatsApp, emails, Zoom and hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people within reach of our phones.
But being connected isn’t necessarily the same as feeling connected.
There is something very different about sitting opposite another person, putting the phone away and giving them your time and attention.
Parea isn’t about how many people are in the room.
It’s about the quality of the connection between them.
And perhaps that’s something many of us need more of.
Food has always brought us together
Some of the most meaningful conversations in our lives happen around a table.
We celebrate around tables.
We make decisions around them.
We tell stories.
We share news.
We laugh, debate, disagree, put the world to rights and occasionally stay far longer than we intended.
Food gives us a reason to sit down together, but often the conversation becomes the most important part of the meal.
That’s one of the things I love about the idea of Parea.
It isn’t complicated.
There doesn’t have to be an agenda.
Sometimes the simple act of making space for people to come together is enough.
Why Parea connected so deeply with me
When someone introduced me to the word Parea, I immediately connected with it.
Because without knowing the word, I realised I had already been trying to create its feeling.
I created Women with Flavour after being inspired by strong women who understood the value of bringing women together over dinner.
My first Women with Flavour dinner began with just six women around a table.
But I didn’t want it to be simply dinner.
I wanted there to be intention behind it.
So at each gathering, I brought a question to the table.
A question that could take the conversation somewhere beyond the usual:
“What do you do?”
“Where do you live?”
“How do you know Frances?”
Instead, we had an opportunity to talk about something with a little more meaning.
I began describing it as Dinner with Intention.
We ate, talked, listened and shared our different perspectives.
And that’s why discovering the word Parea felt so special.
It gave me a word for something I had already been building.
The importance of the women around your table
I believe the people we surround ourselves with matter.
The right conversation can encourage you when you’re doubting yourself.
Another woman’s experience can help you see something differently.
An introduction can open a door.
Someone else’s courage can remind you of your own.
And sometimes what we need isn’t advice at all.
We simply need to sit with people who listen.
For me, that’s also at the heart of Women with Flavour.
I want women around the table who want the best for themselves, but who also genuinely want the best for the other women sitting there.
There doesn’t need to be competition.
Another woman’s success doesn’t take anything away from our own.
We can celebrate each other, recommend each other, challenge each other, introduce each other and make space for each other.
We all bring our own flavour
There’s a reason I called it Women with Flavour.
Flavour comes from difference.
If we all thought the same, had the same experiences, lived the same lives and held exactly the same opinions, the conversation would be pretty boring.
Our flavour comes from what we’ve experienced.
Our personalities.
Our careers.
Our families.
Our successes and failures.
Our humour.
Our opinions.
Our wisdom.
And the stories we’ve collected along the way.