Frodo and Samwise

The ring is very heavy, Mr. Gamgee. I will throw it in the pit. Look at the elves, Mr. Frodo. They know the way. I was given this quest, dearest Samwise. To destroy this evil ring forever. I have seen the Eye, Sam. It is very scary. It can see into my heart, but I can see into it’s emptiness as well. Well, Mr. Frodo, in ages to come, a strange guy named Tolkien will tell our tale to a bunch of people who forgot about the war of the ring and the beauty of the elves. Yes, Sam. It is very sad. They will have forgotten all about magic, and about how powerfully GOOD it is, in fact they will start to call it evil. That is indeed their loss, Mr. Frodo.

They have all forgotten about the good Shire. Jolly old hobbits, prancing about and drinking that wine. They have forgotten how to dance. They do not listen to Gandalf the White. He goes by many names, of course, like Gandhi, Mother Earth, The Great Spirit, Yahweh. He is in the heart of all little hobbits, playing games in their hobbit homes and giving people all the presents in the world. They have forgotten what it really means to laugh, to pick the mushrooms from the farm. Dearest Sam, we have saved the Shire for them. Why do they not return to who they used to be? I sailed away to the West with the elves, Sam, but I did not want to fall out of love with your beauty. It is your turn to love Rosie Cottontail.

Women can be prophets too, of course, although before the ring we did not speak with words like that. We had many years playing in the fields and gardening and attending parties, and then we had the adventure that was given to us. Going to Rivendell, befriending Gollum, destroying the ring. It was a great adventure, my Sam. It was ours, and I love you. I often still hurt from where the black riders stabbed me. The pain is dull but ever present. It, too, is a great present, Samwise. Yes, yes, that is it, it is a present. It is wisdom. Though it is disguised as pain, as bitterness, as suffering, it is a great present. It is such a joy to unwrap, Samwise. It is wisdom itself.

Do you still tell stories? Do you still laugh in the garden and water the flowers? Do you spy on the hobbits that are talking to Gandalf. It is all in good heart, Sam. I am thankful you went with me all the way to Mordor and back.

And to the subject of magic. I am with the elves now and I am immortal. In today's world so many people are stoic and magicless. Many of them see it as a great evil. Magic itself is not evil. It is like a knife, a tool; it can be used to hurt someone, or it can be used to heal someone, to bless someone. Witches were put on this earth to seek wisdom, listen to the Earth, and cultivate the flowers of the lands. They were put here to use their power to make things right in the world again. Their quest is much like the quest to throw the one ring into the pits of Mordor, if this strange new world's churches, mosques and temples will let them. It is such like the ring, dearest Samwise: "Keep it secret, keep it safe." Because many men would choose to condemn them, to call them wicked when what they are is wise, to call them devils when they are more like angels. Not quite angels, something different, something a lot like the hobbits of our time in the Shire.

I talk to Arwen all the time. She has told me many times that she has wished to make Aragorn immortal. And they would have their dance, after their time ruling the worlds of Gondor. It is all very special, Samwise. I will tell you more of it another day. Let us be happy that that old ring of Bilbo's isn't there anymore. There are other beasts, other monsters, other devils than Sauron. Some of them are worse, let us be lucky that they mostly let us be, leave us alone. Just as we tossed the ring into the pit of Mordor, I think we could banish them if it came to that.

So keep in touch, Samwise. You are still the best gardener there is. Isn't Jesus a gardener, taking care of the blooming flowers, making sure those quiet flowers just soak in that sunshine? They do not labor or strain. They have not a worry. The best flowers are just that. Not a worry. Not a word to the elf, like the dwarf said. I am so thankful that you were my gardener and guide.