Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice. Proverbs 27:9
“The House by the Side of the Road
There are hermit
souls that live withdrawn
In the peace of their self-content;
There are souls, like stars, that dwell apart,
In a fellowless firmament;
There are pioneer souls that blaze their paths
Where highways never ran;-
But let me live by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.
Let me live in a house
by the side of the road,
Where the race of men go by-
The men who are good and the men who are bad,
As good and as bad as I.
I would not sit in the scorner’s seat,
Or hurl the cynic’s ban;-
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.
I see from my house
by the side of the road,
By the side of the highway of life,
The men who press with the ardor of hope,
The men who are faint with the strife.
But I turn not away from their smiles nor their tears-
Both parts of an infinite plan;-
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.
I know there are brook-gladdened
meadows ahead
And mountains of wearisome height;
That the road passes on through the long afternoon
And stretches away to the night.
But still I rejoice when the travelers rejoice,
And weep with the strangers that moan,
Nor live in my house by the side of the road
Like a man who dwells alone.
Let me live in my
house by the side of the road
Where the race of men go by-
They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong,
Wise, foolish- so am I.
Then why should I sit in the scorner’s seat
Or hurl the cynic’s ban?-
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.
Sam Walter Foss (1858-1911) in Celtic Daily Prayer (New York: Harper Collins, 2002) 610-611.
Sold the townhouse. Living in an apartment. Where is the next place to live or is this it for now? I think I found the answer, it is a to live in a “house by the side of the road” with access to be a friend to others.
Notice, in the thinking of Sam Walter Foss, this requires me to see people differently and generously. Some need hope and help. Others need not be judged, even as we ourselves are far from perfect. All need friendship.
In the times in which we find ourselves, and as many like me regain strength post-Covid (went to the gym yesterday for the first time and I am sore today), perhaps let’s focus on how we can be a friend an bring pleasantness wherever we go.
This will be a stretch for me. Perhaps you too? God help us.