The Banquet of Life

Philosopher Epictetus once gave us a unique metaphor for 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.

 Life has a lot to offer, but we must be courteous in our acceptance of what life offers us. Life isn't always like a buffet, at which we can take whatever we want and leave the rest untouched. Sometimes, we can't get what we want, and we must accept the meal that's set before us. Yet, we can do so with a certain amount of grace and nobility. We can savor the good of the things life offers us, and we can learn to stomach that which is less savory, while doing our best to be courteous to the other banquet guests and to our Host. And if we act well enough at this banquet, we might be invited to the next one.