Mr. Burchett is a banker in Tennessee.
Two and a half centuries ago a very wise old prophet spoke these words: “Your ears shall hear a word behind you saying: This is the way, walk in it.” The adjuration is like a flawless diamond with rays of truth flashing out in many directions to invite serious thought.
As any and every individual attains a new milestone in life, he can be aware that he is seeing the dawning of a new day that is his very own, and he may realize, though dimly, that behind him there have been many voices which have spoken to him. The words he has heard most clearly were given that clarity, of course, by his own attitudes; and the results are his own inescapable responsibility. Some of those words or voices would help him and some would hinder, but all have influenced him to some degree.
At each milestone of one’s life, as at the time of a student’s graduation, it behooves him to pause and listen. The graduate is perhaps most aware of the voices of his recent instructors. The work and effort and training of these teachers have crystallized into words which were intended to assist each student as he moved onward to walk in the path he chose for his future. In the days ahead he will remember the collective voice of those instructors as they said to him, in effect: “This is the way, walk in it.”
He reaches a further stage in that great adventure known as Life, and he consults those who are experienced in science or agriculture or other fields of endeavor. Axioms related to the field of his inquiry will be suggested; and as he goes on he will remember those voices he must leave behind.
Among the voices will be that of the family physician who pointed out the way of a healthy body and mind and said to him: “This is the way, walk in it.”
The voice of his rabbi, priest, or minister emphasized to him the importance of belief in the Divine Creator and, without equivocation, that voice spoke clearly: “This is the way, walk in it.”
Again and again the voices of his parents gently but firmly said to him: “This is the way, walk in it,” and patiently directed the way his feet should go.
Nor should one forget or neglect the voices of the ancients who spoke so eloquently concerning many facets of life. New experiences are ahead, and one’s feet must walk in unfamiliar paths. There will be new joys, unexpected problems, perhaps sudden tears, best met in the light of wisdom from the voices of the past.
Brevity need be no barrier to the might and power of true wisdom. The brief instruction, “Know thyself,” is variously ascribed to Socrates, Plato, and others; but its value lies in its intrinsic worth and the rigorous mental discipline required of anyone attempting the task.
A young girl volunteered to sit through the night with a friend who was seriously ill. She had no duties except to report if any unfavorable change should occur in the patient. Through the long hours the girl undertook to analyze herself, frankly and sincerely reviewed her life, and determined that a new day should and would dawn for her. She made a beginning toward knowing herself.
So should we all, in our busy lives, take stock of ourselves and also try to partake of the richness of bequests from the past:
Thought is the property of him who can entertain it, and of him who can adequately place it.
–EMERSON
It is by presence of mind in untried emergencies that the native metal of a man is tested.
–LOWELL
You cannot run away from a weakness; you must some time fight it out or perish; and if that be so, why not now, and where you stand?
–STEVENSON
Why live a shallow life when unfathomed depths are possible to us? Why suffer restricted vision if capable of looking to far horizons? Why accept the degradation of servitude when the heights of freedom are to be climbed? Why bear drab existence when the heart so easily can be rich with melody and the soul filled in appreciation of the beautiful?
Even now a new day is before each of us, measured by neither hours nor miles. It is our day. Individually we face the question: What will I do with this my own new day?
As you stand in the dawning of a new day, many voices call for your attention. Some come from out of the past, while others are yet beyond you. There is the voice of shallow gaiety, and you hear the voice of accomplishment — and others.
But, listen!
Another call is coming to you.
This voice does not ring with the sound of festivity nor is it the roar of merited acclaim. It seems that this voice must be muted because so few ever answer, despite its air of pathos and urgency. This voice sounds of suffering, hardship, heartache, and poverty.
Suffering and hardship can lead to enlightenment, build strength of character, and disclose unrealized abilities. And even those who have known little but sunshine may be privileged to share some of those “treasures of darkness” if they will listen and respond selflessly to that soft, plaintive appeal.
Such a call comes rarely to some, while others hear it with an intensity and a dedicated response that is forever. Only the unworthy will wholly refuse to hear and heed when from beseeching hands and broken hearts comes the whisper: “This is the way, walk in it.”
