T

February    19th

THE BANQUET OF  LIFE

“Remember   to  conduct yourself    in  life    as  if  at  a   banquet.    As  something   being   passed  around

comes   to  you,    reach   out your    hand    and take    a   moderate    helping.    Does    it  pass    you by? Don’t   stop

it. It  hasn’t  yet come?   Don’t   burn    in  desire  for it, but wait    until   it  arrives in  front   of  you.    Act this

way with    children,   a   spouse, toward  position,   with    wealth—one  day it  will    make    you worthy  of

a   banquet with    the gods.”

—EPICTETUS, ENCHIRIDION,     15

he next time you see something you want, remember Epictetus’s metaphor of life’s banquet. As you
find yourself getting excited, ready to do anything and everything to get it—the equivalent of reaching
across the table and grabbing a dish out of someone’s hands—just remind yourself: that’s bad manners
and unnecessary. Then wait patiently for your turn.
This metaphor has other interpretations too. For instance, we might reflect that we’re lucky to have
been invited to such a wonderful feast (gratitude). Or that we should take our time and savor the taste of
what’s on offer (enjoying the present moment) but that to stuff ourselves sick with food and drink serves
no one, least of all our health (gluttony is a deadly sin, after all). That at the end of the meal, it’s rude not
to help the host clean up and do the dishes (selflessness). And finally, that next time, it’s our turn to host
and treat others just as we had been treated (charity).
Enjoy the meal!