A Life Parable
From The Immortal by JJ Dewey
"On a certain night Jim, Mike, Ron and Dave died. Shortly thereafter
they all found themselves walking on a beaten path. It seemed right to
follow the path. Finally they came to a dividing point. One path veered
to the left; the other to the right. They stood a moment pondering what
to do when suddenly a man in white appeared and gave them instructions.
"Welcome, my friends," he said. "You are approaching your new home and I
am here to instruct you as much as is permitted. You notice that there
are two paths before you. One of them takes you to Heaven, a place more
beautiful than you can imagine. The other takes you to Hell, a land full
of darkness, despair and wretched individuals. All I can tell you at
this point is that you are to chose a path, but once you reach your
destination you cannot turn back. Once you get to Heaven you will stay
there or once you get to Hell you will stay there. One more word I can
say. Do not be frightened for that reward which you get in the end will
be that which you deserve. Go forth confident that if you have led a
just life that you will reap as you have sowed. You must proceed one at
a time and each walk the path alone."
After saying this the man disappeared. The four were astonished at this
somewhat random method of reaching heaven or hell. Finally, they decided
that they must go forward and drew straws to determine who would go
first.
Jim got the first opportunity and chose the path on the right. He
thought that perhaps this would lead to heaven because the "right" is
always associated with "good". But as he proceeded he heard the fierce
sound of wild animals, clouds seemed to hide the sun and the earth
seemed to shake.
He became very frightened and thought, "Maybe I have chosen the wrong
path." He turned around and went back to the beginning and told the
others of his experience. Then he decided to try the left hand path
instead. As he ventured forth on it he saw more ominous signs. He kept
wondering how far he could go before he could not turn back and with
each step he became more and more frightened until he was forced to
retreat back to the beginning.
Seeing that Jim could not make a firm decision as to which path to take
Ron and Dave suggested to Mike that he now take his turn. Mike, however,
was paralyzed with fear for, according to Jim's story, neither path
sounded very heavenly. "I'm going to think about it awhile," he said.
"Someone else can take a turn".
It was now Ron's turn and he said, "I'm picking the right-hand path and
not turning back." He followed through with his decision and went past
the sound of wild animals and through the darkness and storm clouds
until one moment he found himself in a place of unspeakable beauty and
peace. He assumed he was in Heaven and rested there.
It was now Dave's turn to move onward. Jim said he thought he heard a
wild animal eating Ron and a chill of concern spread through them all.
Dave was not sure he was making the right decision, for he chose the
path to the left. He thought within himself: "No matter what happens
I'll go forward on this path and make the best of it."
As he proceeded things went from bad to worse. There were horrific
shrieks from wild animals and storm clouds with fierce thunderbolts were
everywhere. Still he proceeded until he reached a sign that said "Hell".
Behind him the path disappeared and there was no retreat. Before him was
a depressing place dark and stormy, full of inhabitants living in run
down shacks. The people lived in constant fear of attacks from the
animals and also roaming gangs that stole whatever they could get their
hands on.
Everywhere he went he was told that this was a land cursed by the devil
and that things are going to get worse for all eternity.
Dave thought long and hard within himself. "I promised myself that I
would not retreat from this path and make the best of it. I refuse to
listen to these voices of doom. Within myself there is no hell and my
conscience is clear. So why should there be Hell on the outside?"
From that point on Dave went forth in confidence and taught the people
that they did not have to live in the run down shacks and that they could
change their circumstances so they would not have to live in fear. He also
questioned their belief that the land was cursed by the devil. A handful
of people took hope and listened, but the rest were afraid and even looked
upon Dave as an enemy fearing he would make things even worse than they were.
Dave gathered the people who would listen. They refused to accept the
slum they were given as a final resting place and made blueprints of new
beautiful homes. The best land they could find was an uninhabited swamp.
They drained it and built their homes and a beautiful city with teeming
gardens and landscapes. The gangs did not bother them for the
inhabitants supported and protected each other. The wild animals became
friends for the people nutured them. Even the dark clouds and storms
began to subside and bright sunny days became a common sight.
The people who were against Dave saw what had been accomplised and they
took courage and one by one other parts of Hell became transformed into
beautiful cities and landscapes. After a period of time there was
nothing but beauty and peace as far as the eye could see.
Dave surveyed the now beautiful land and came to the realization: One
more thing needs to be done. He walked over to the original entrance and
found that old sign which said, "Hell" and tore it down and replaced it
with one that said, "Heaven". As he did so another path with a fork in
it appeared and so did the man in white. His look caught Dave's eye and
he said, "I think you know what you must do."
Dave looked back and said, "I see I must choose again."
"Correct" said the man.
"Before I proceed, can you tell me the fate of the other three?"
The man answered: "Ron is in the city that resembles the place that you
have created. He has one regret and that is he wishes that he had a part
in creating it. When the desire becomes strong enough he will be given
another path to choose and will wind up in a place called "Hell" as you
did, and be given an opportunity to build Heaven.
Jim and Mike are still paralyzed with fear, afraid to make a decision.
They are the ones who are truly in Hell, yet sooner or later they must
proceed onward.
"And what lies ahead for me?" asked Dave.
"The unknown," said the man.
The statement made Dave afraid, yet glad at the same time. And with no
hesitation, he proceeded on the path leaning to the right.
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