A Parable for Our Time
I’ll be honest: I’m finding it hard to hold all that is unfolding in our world right now. I’ve put up some strong boundaries around how much news and social media I take in every day, and even with that it is a challenge to stay grounded and resilient in the midst of it all. I’ve found, though, that there is a story I heard long ago that keeps circling back through my mind. I’m not exactly sure when I first heard it, but it clearly struck a nerve, as I’ve remembered it for years. It’s a parable that illuminates this moment in ways that I find are powerful and relevant. I share it here in the hopes that it might resonate for others as it does for me.
The story is about a traveler who is walking on a long road. Eventually, he arrives at a town, and is amazed by all he sees. Everywhere he looks, he sees beautiful statues, stunning murals, immaculately tended gardens, and artfully designed buildings. Soon after entering the town, he meets a resident.
“Tell me about this beautiful town,” he asks.
The resident is eager to chat. “In this town, we revere art, beauty, and creativity. Our children learn about art, theater and literature and dream of creating something beautiful. We use our taxes to fund public art projects that fill our common spaces with beauty. We love to surround ourselves with objects, images and spaces that delight and inspire our souls.”
The traveler spends several wonderful days in the town, soaking up the beauty and creativity before moving on down the road.
After a few days, he enters another town. He notices that every sidewalk has a ramp for wheelchairs, and every crosswalk includes sound to make it easy for the visually impaired to navigate the streets. There are beautiful playgrounds everywhere, and everywhere he looks he sees people holding doors for each other, patiently granting the right of way, and saying “thank you” with genuine appreciation.
Before long, he encounters a resident and again says, “Tell me about this beautiful town!”
Again, the resident is eager to chat. “In our community, we revere kindness and compassion. Our children learn to care for each other and to always keep an eye out for the vulnerable and marginalized. We work hard to treat each other with dignity and respect, and do what we can to make sure that people in our community can live with at least a basic level of comfort and security.”
Again, the traveler spent several enjoyable days in the town, experiencing acts of kindness and respect from all he encountered before heading on to continue his journey.
After a few days, he arrived at a new town. This place felt dark and desolate. The buildings were old and dilapidated, the roads full of potholes and trash. There were people begging for money on most corners, and most people refused to make eye contact with the traveler. Eventually, he found someone willing to talk to him about the town.
The resident explained “In this town, we dream that our neighbors will suffer some misfortune. We all have grievances about ways that we have been dismissed and disrespected in the past, and it gives us pleasure to see someone we don’t like suffer a setback or defeat. We don’t like public services because we’re sure that they will benefit someone who doesn’t deserve the resource. We teach our kids to dream of one day dominating those they don’t agree with, because that’s what it means to use strength and power.”
This town was a bleak place, full of suffering, sadness, and anger. The traveler moved on as fast as he could, wondering why anyone would choose to live in such a place.
Again, this is a parable that I’ve found myself thinking about constantly in recent months. On the one hand, I find it disturbing to see how much of our public life now seems centered on grievance, anger, and a drive for domination. On the other hand, I find it comforting to realize how many other possibilities exist, how possible it is to ground our communities in ways of being that fill our worlds with beauty, compassion, and possibility. It reminds me that each of us always has the choice to let grievance take up a central role in our lives, or to continue to strive for truth, creativity, and kindness.
May we all find it within ourselves to make that second choice in the difficult weeks and months ahead.
