The Parable of the Stranger in the Cemetery
He noticed a man pacing up and down between the headstones...
Early one brisk Sunday morning, a young man headed down to the cemetery, to visit and mourn his mother who had recently passed away. Despite the day, the cemetery was quiet and the man found himself sitting by his mother’s headstone for a while, lost in thought. When he came back into his present surroundings, he noticed a man pacing up and down between the headstones just a couple of rows before him.
This man was a middle-aged gentleman, dressed in a three-piece, tartan suit. As smart as it was, it was not the kind of suit one would wear to a funeral, the young man thought. The gentleman looked intent on being where he was, while also not seeming to be focussed on any of the headstones in particular, or even the cemetery as a whole- his gaze consistently dead ahead of him, unwavering as he paced up and down.
The young man then realised this gentleman had been here since before he himself first arrived- a little over an hour ago now- and the gentleman gave no indication of leaving anytime soon. He continued to watch the gentleman carry out his regimented process for a few more minutes, before his curiosity got the better of him.
The young man walked around to the end of the row that had become this gentleman’s pacing track, and attempted to inconspicuously wait to speak to the him. As the gentleman approached to complete another length, the young man smiled and extended a good morning. The gentleman returned the gesture with politeness, but without enthusiasm. He turned about and set off back down the row of headstones. The young man waited for him to come about again, and this time asked him directly: “Are you alright?”. The gentleman replied politely: “I’m good, thank you.” Before turning around to continue onto yet another length. As he turned though, the young man interrupted, “Sorry, I don’t mean to disturb you, it’s just I’ve been watching you pacing up and down for a while now. I just wondered who you were here to visit?”.
“Oh, I’m not here to visit anyone in particular.”
“Then why are you pacing back and forth between these graves?”
“It’s a habit of mine. I always do it before I go to the races.”
“Before you go to the races? Why?”
“To soak up some luck.”
“Luck? What luck can possibly be found here?”, asked the young man- confused and somewhat unnerved at this point.
“Well…” replied the gentleman, “there are a lot of rich men in the cemetery.”
Moral of the Story
There are indeed a lot of rich men and women in the cemetery. They of course however, cannot use any of the wealth they passed with. A lot of times we save that which we have accumulated- whether it be financial wealth or otherwise- with the view that we should not use today what we may need tomorrow. This is a prudent practice in many circumstances. However we must be careful to not take this philosophy too far. If done so, then in saving what we have for tomorrow, we may never get to use it today. In too many circumstances; tomorrow never comes.
What drives this philosophy? Greed? Maybe in some instances. Fear? Maybe in more instances. Do not use all today, what you will need some of tomorrow, but do not save all for tomorrow, what you could use some of today. We can talk about abundance mindset, but even that is irrelevant to a certain extent. Say you do not have more wealth- of whatever kind- coming round the corner to you, the fact still remains that you must use what you have at some point, or you will eventually lose it either way.
When our time comes, we can take nothing with us; not our bank balance, not our perfectly working joints, nor our unbroken heart. So take the risk: better that you be a poor person who lived, than a rich person who died.
Spend it today, and have a blessed day.