Rings

“There are many magic rings in the world, Bilbo Baggins, and none of them should be used lightly.” – Lord of the Rings.

I suspect most of my readers are familiar with the novels of J.R.R. Tolkien and the movie adaptations. For those unfamiliar with The Lord of the Rings series, it takes place in a fantasy realm called Middle Earth and involves a magic ring, called the One Ring, that grants invisibility. The One Ring was created by an evil being named Sauron, who, if reunited with the ring, would obtain the power to conquer all the land. To keep Sauron from obtaining the ring, the protagonists go on a quest to a far-off land to destroy the ring and head off Armageddon.

The Lord of the Rings series, a sequel to his children’s book The Hobbit, has been loved by generations of readers. The complex and rich world he created, the beauty of his writing, and the tales of adventure have captured the imagination of many. Tolkien drew upon his vast knowledge of myths and language to build his stories. Along with incorporating many mythical creatures, mostly from Norse mythology, it’s widely thought that he adopted several classic myths about magic rings. 

There are two classic stories involving magical rings that Tolkien likely drew upon. One was the Ring of Gyges, and the other was the Ring of Andvaranaut. 

The classic Greek story of the Ring of Gyges is in Plato’s book The Republic. In this story, a shepherd finds a ring on the corpse of a giant. Shortly after, he accidentally learns that he becomes invisible if he turns the ring one way. Using the power of invisibility, the shepherd successfully seduces the queen, murders the king, and gains the throne. 

The Ring of Andvaranaut was a Norse myth about a magical ring of the same name. To summarize this rather long myth, Andvaranaut gave the wearer the power to acquire vast amounts of gold. However, it was cursed, and everyone who wore it was murdered by those who craved the ring. (Fun fact: Andvaranaut also appears in the German epic poem Nibelungenlied. The Nibelungenlied inspired Wagner’s opera Der Ring des Nibelungen.)

In The Lord of the Rings, the magic ring is more than just another myth he incorporated into the story. Nor is it simply a MacGuffin (commonly an object in a story that motivates the characters. Think of the statue in The Maltese Falcon). The One Ring is a metaphor for the dangers that can come from the desire for power. 

It should be noted that the power of the One Ring isn’t just any power. According to the story, ‘into this Ring, he poured his cruelty, his malice, and his will to dominate all life.’ What we find in the story is not a critique of all power but the desire, driven by hate, to have power over others. 

Would you be able to walk away from the power of the One Ring?

Missed Opportunities

“Missed opportunities were never superficial wounds; they cut straight to the bone.” - Jodi Picoult, American Writer.

The American football player Harrison Butker, with the Kansas City Chiefs, has recently been in the public eye for all the wrong reasons. For those who missed the news, back in May, Butker was invited to give the commencement speech at the Catholic university Benedictine College. During the speech, he spewed a message that was homophobic, transphobic, anti-Semitic, anti-choice, and anti-diversity. He capped it off by telling the female graduates that the most important titles they could have would be housemakers.

I won’t point out all the errors in Butker’s views, for they are legion (to use a Biblical allusion). Many others have done that already. Even the nuns of Mount St. Scholastica publicly criticized his statement about women’s roles.

I want to do something different. In this post, I want to focus on how he could have handled this speech better, regardless of his beliefs. 

American football has a history of remarkable personalities that he could have drawn upon. For example, there is a quote by the legendary coach Vince Lombardi, “Football is like life. It requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication, and respect for authority.” Being a successful football player, this quote would have been perfect. Butker could have built an entire inspirational speech around this without touching on religion. 

Some may push back, saying that, as a Christian, he was obligated to “preach the gospel.” However, according to his own Bible, “To everything, there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). To put it in less poetic terms, there is a time and place for everything. That includes when and where to express what he knew would be divisive and controversial.

But let’s say he still insisted on inserting religion into his speech. He could have worked in that you should treat others as you want to be treated (Matthew 7:12) or the importance of being gracious (Colossians 4:6). Today, when there’s so much rudeness, anger, and strife, those passages seem appropriate. I don’t have to be a Christian to know that these are universal virtues that build up rather than tear down.

Unfortunately, Harrison Butker missed the opportunity to be remembered as one who builds up others.

Measuring Life

Recently, I saw the following meme posted on social media: 

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”

From what I understand, this quote, in its current form, came from the book Tahitian Choreographies by Vicki Corona, published in 1989. 

There’s a profound truth in this quote.

It’s through physical existence that we have a chance for experiences, both great and small. The feeling of heat from the sun on a warm summer day and the brisk chill of a winter morning. The joy of hearing the beautiful laughter of a small child and the shock of the bone-rattling sound of thunder from a spring storm. 

These, and so much more, are experiences that life offers us.

Embodiment in this world is an opportunity, not an endurance test.