ChaplainUSA.org

View Original

An Irresistible Banquet

“Life is a moveable feast” – Ernest Hemingway

Years ago, it was trendy and popular to participate in progressive dinner parties with a group of good friends.  A progressive meal is one in which guests travel from home to home, eating one course at each.  Five families volunteer to be hosts and it would be their homes that people would travel to and from.  Usually, some kind of theme was used (for example a detective who-done-it, football, a foreign country’s cuisine, pioneer days, the 1950s, and so on).

The invitation was designed as if it were a restaurant menu, listing each course and where it would be served. At the first home, appetizers and drinks would be served…at the second home, soup and salad….at the third home would be the main course…at the fourth home, dessert and coffee. Finally, at the fifth home, some kind of party games would be played.  These feasts were terrific and always very entertaining.

Hemingway tells us the feast is everywhere because it is easy to forget that life is a banquet.  We become so focused on our troubles, our busyness, and our duties, that we fail to celebrate.  We move from day to day as if everything was such a terribly serious matter.  We are here today.  Our very lives are reason enough to rejoice.  Wouldn’t it be a good idea to make today different by joining in on the feast?

How can I enjoy my life today by participating in its miracles and happiness?

Robert Kenneth Jones is an innovator in the treatment of addiction and childhood abuse.In a career spanning over four decades, his work helping people recover from childhood abuse and addiction has earned him the respect of his peers.His blog, An Elephant for Breakfast, testifies to the power of the human spirit to overcome the worst of life’s difficulties. We encourage you to visit and share this rich source of healing, inspiration and meditation.

Contact Bob Jones on Linkedin

Bob Jones’ blog An Elephant for Breakfast