Is Life Is Finishing School?

The Secret’s philosophy (by Rhonda Byrne), which says that we must not wait for the things we want, but rather “expect the things you want” (93), is a philosophical dichotomy with The Handbook Of Epictetus’s teachings. The Secret tells us to be grateful for what we have and what we want to have to “turbo charge your desires and sends a more powerful signal out into the universe” (93) and the universe will grant them. However, The Handbook of Epictetus says that we must, as if in a banquet, “reach out your hand politely and take some. It goes by: do not hold it back. It has not arrived yet: do not stretch your desire out toward it, but wait until it comes to you” (15.15) In brief, what must we do when approaching the things we want in life: Do we politely take what is offered or scream across the table demanding for what we want?

Respecting the Secret’s teachings would be a rude thing to do in a metaphorical banquet like the one described in The Handbook of Epictetus. I believe that the stoic philosophy of The Handbook would shun the Secret’s imprudent and disrespectful way of leading life, demanding anything and everything upon mere whim. This contrast of teachings reflects the enduring question of our purpose of being. What place do we have in the cosmos? Are we unique, entitled to rightly demanding our wishes? Or are we simple guests in the divine banquet of gods who demand supreme modesty and respect? We shall never truly know.