Epictetus Stoic teachings
Epictetus: Live as though at a shared feast. When…
Live as though at a shared feast. When something comes to you, take a modest portion. If it passes, do not grab after it. If it has not arrived, do not ache for it; wait. Do this with family, office, wealth, and honor, and you may be fit for divine company.
A paraphrase of a teaching associated with Epictetus, written for modern readers. Not a transcription of a copyrighted edition.
Life offers opportunities unevenly. Someone else receives the assignment, invitation, promotion, or attention you wanted, and the instinct is to reach across the table. Yet grasping rarely improves the situation. It can make you careless, resentful, or blind to what is already in front of you. The banquet image suggests a different posture: accept what is available with gratitude, take no more than you can use well, and let passing things pass. This does not forbid effort. You can ask, apply, prepare, and advocate for yourself. It asks that you do so without believing every desirable thing must be yours immediately. Moderation also makes enjoyment possible; when we consume everything in a rush, we barely taste any of it. Today, practice receiving one ordinary good slowly—a meal, praise, a free hour, help from another person—without turning it into a demand for more.
Related passages
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- Marcus Aurelius Accept what comes without pride; release what leaves without clinging.
- Marcus Aurelius Do not treat what you lack as already yours. Value the things you have by imagining their absence, but do not cling so…