Two diverse traditions give us the ‘Appointment in Gilead’ and ‘There Is a Balm in Gilead.’ Those describe two paths that individuals, organizations, and states can take: a path fated to lead to suffering and death, or the other path leading to healing, wholeness, and flourishing. One focuses on despair and fate; the other on hope and faith. One is reminded of Robert Frost’s poem, ‘A Road Not Taken’: ‘Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference.’
In an old Babylonian tale, a merchant sent his servant to the marketplace in Baghdad. There he saw Death threatening him. He ran to borrow his master’s horse so he could flee from death to Samarra. The merchant accosted Death and asked why she scared his servant with a threatening look. She replied: ‘I did not threaten him. I was just astonished to see him here. I thought I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.’
The tale describes fate that individuals experience through social, physical, and psychological declines leading to death. We all experience those to a degree. In addition, we experience multiple invitations to paths that lead to decline in morality, behavior, and purpose. Examples of individuals and groups that eagerly follow that path surround us. Other people are depressed and give themselves up to apathy, accepting the emptiness of inevitable fate. The result is a hole in the central core of a Self from a lack of meaning or noble purpose. Some people refer to that as the ‘God hole.’ The evil people do might be just the loss of morality and their innate goodness gone astray. No one is as bad as their worst actions.
An African American Spiritual offers a second path for those who feel discouraged and think their work is in vain. The chorus refrain is; ‘There is a Balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole. There is a Balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul.’ The text does not downplay trouble, temptation, and despair. In fact, echoing from oppression, the song suggests a move toward hope and a better future.
That better future is the goal. Even so, isn’t it more moral to be good and do the right thing for its own sake? Isn’t that the true sign of the good, perhaps even the healing Balm? The story is told of a Boy Scout who, when seeing an elderly lady at the curb, paused wondering if his urge to assist was selfless or an attempt to gain applause from others, perhaps a merit badge. While he pondered, the woman fell and was hit by a car!
Whether we embrace the fate of the Babylonian tale or follow the path of hope suggested in the Spiritual could make all the difference in our lives and in the future of Crawfordsville and Montgomery County. The path of hope leads us to find meaning and purpose that transcends ourselves in service with our neighbors. We might find ourselves rather than losing our souls.
Wabash Professor of Psychology, Robert Horton, conducts research about the Self. He made an important point in his recent LaFollette lecture. The empirical story the Self has to say about a meaningful life is not something to be found in isolated attempts at self-discovery, and certainly not in the pursuit of the trappings of social power and status. Goodness in life more often and more powerfully emerges when the Self is quiet, and we engage deeply and sincerely with community.
Good living engages work that flows from the needs of the people around us. That leads to the best of our humanity.
Raymond Brady Williams, Crawfordsville, LaFollette Distinguished Professor in the Humanities emeritus, contributed this guest column.
