Richard, an old-time acquaintance of mine, related an experience he’d had while at an engagement party with two female friends. The posh country club location and over-the-top floral decor matched the extravagant food being served by candlelight. Melt-in-your-mouth quiche appetizers. Platters of seafood piled high. Prime rib by the thick slice. Dressed Cornish hens. Rich French cheeses. Vegetable casseroles and sautés. Wine and champagne flowing freely. Luscious pastries, iced cakes, gelato, and hand-dipped chocolates.
Laura (one of the women), he narrated, went crazy stuffing herself, visibly enjoying each jumbo shrimp after jumbo shrimp dipped in Cajun cocktail sauce. Can you believe this food? she squealed in between bites. Kay (his other friend), in front of the bountiful salad bar, picked up the tongs to scavenge for only the most perfect leaves. Do you think the spinach is organic? If it isn’t, I don’t know what I’m going to eat tonight! she fussed.
Richard was taken aback, not by the magnificence of the cuisine, but by the diametrically opposite ways his escorts met the banquet before them.
Although this may strike you as hyperbolic, it’s a true story and clearly a very good metaphor for the Banquet of Life.
How do you tend to respond to what life has (pardon the pun) dished out to you?
We are taught you must blame your father, your sisters, your brothers, the school, the teachers – you can blame anyone but never blame yourself. It’s never your fault. But it’s always your fault, because if you wanted to change, you’re the one who has got to change. It’s as simple as that, isn’t it? ~ Katharine Hepburn
Do you engage yourself fully with what is before you or habitually find fault?
However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names … the fault-finder will find faults, even in paradise. ~ Henry David Thoreau
In my research, I happened upon the following keynote that summarizes well the spirit of this post:
One man gets nothing but discord out of a piano; another gets harmony. No one claims the piano is at fault. Life is about the same. The discord is there and the harmony is there. Study to play it correctly and it will give forth the beauty; play it falsely, and it will give forth the ugliness. Life is not at fault.
If you enjoyed The Banquet Of Life, you might also like to read: Take Time To Smell The Roses.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Whether by fault or providence, we may not control many of life’s circumstances but must certainly assume responsibility for managing them. By doing so, we make meaning out of the often random things that happen to us.
Nice post! I got a different picture of banquet flowers in the subscription e-mail that was exquisite! I like the candles, too!
I like the closing keynote – for some reason it brought back memories of struggling through sheet music at our place in Descanso … being able to play those harmonies was more rewarding having worked to produce them.