Room of Empty Chairs

Dedicated to all those who have an empty chair to fill.

The following is a tale of tragic proportions that has been told many times before. Each time the tale is told, and each time it is conveniently forgotten, until the tale needs retelling.

Outside there is no lack of people going about their lives. Their numbers include a group of teenage boys off to play a game of baseball at the park, aspiring business men and women in fancy suits, a young mother with child in tow, a middle-aged man walking a small dog, and an older man with graying hair ambling towards his favorite park bench. Each person seems to move with purpose, pursuing their present errand with a sense of immediate urgency, totally absorbed by their own cares. They are so intent upon their own activities that they do not see the house.

This particular house is not unlike any other house with its two car garage, shaded front porch, and small yard. Flower pots planted with geraniums and marigolds add color and warmth to the house. A closer look reveals a welcome mat on the front porch and a front door that is ajar. Inside the house is a long dimly lit hallway. At the far end of the hallway is a room and within this room is darkness. It is empty except for a large number of chairs. At one time each of these chairs had an occupant, but now they are empty. The people who once sat in these chairs have not passed, but they have not returned. Their chair is still here, yet they are not.

In this darkened room is a single figure, a man sitting alone. Only a dim light, which was once very bright, illuminates his figure. His shoulders are slouched, his face tilted downward; he is crying. There is much to know about this person. Who is he? What are his life experiences? What are his hopes and dreams? What are his emotions? What are his beliefs? What does he hold dear? Why does he sit here alone? In this dark and deserted room, filled with empty chairs, he freely speaks the answers to all these questions. Yet the chairs are empty, there is no one to listen. He wishes there was someone, even a single person to share things with, but there is no one. They have come and they have gone.

So alone he sits, in this dark room filled with empty chairs, welcoming people to enter. Outside there are so many people. There are enough chairs for many, yet no one takes the time to care. One day his chair will be empty. How many will return to remember the man they once sat with in this room? Will they have forgotten or will they only realize him when it no longer matters? How many others sit in an empty room just like this one, alone, yet welcoming people to enter?


In the past few weeks I have added blog entries.
Maybe I will not blog for a while...