I have a confession… I’m a HUGE Lord of the Rings fan. And I’m also going to admit that when I typed that title “What’s LOTR Got To Do with…” I totes mcgoats sang it with my best Tina Turner impression. What can I say? I’m a child of the 80s. And if you can’t tell already, I’m a HUGE nerd. 😂 I wear that badge proudly.
This story of hope, strength, and courage — that even the smallest person can make a big ripple in this big, wide world speaks to my soul. Lord of the Rings got me through some pretty rough times… finding courage in an abusive relationship and finding strength while my dad transitioned from this world. I found solace during Frodo and Gandalf’s conversation:
This story makes me feel GOOD and brings me joy even in the darkest of moments. And in times of light… it helps me to BE a beacon of light to others.
Recently I discovered a podcast/YouTube channel called Signum U that has an entire series called “Exploring the Lord of the Rings”. The “Tolkien Professor”, Corey Olsen, deep dives into each chapter of Lord of the Rings, reading it carefully to uncover more nuggets of wisdom and goodness from this epic tale. It reminds me of my favorite times in English class where we’d deep dive into classic novels and glean all we could out of the tales. It provided unique perspectives and insights that we tend to bypass when we read casually.
Y’all… I’m obsessed. 😂
As I began listening to this epic tale again, I thought looking at Lord of the Rings under a microscope would simply expand the world of Middle Earth for me, squeezing even more story, adventure, and insight out of Tolkien’s world. I never anticipated that it would expand my own world… and I’m only in Chapter 7! (Frodo and Friends are sleeping soundly at Tom Bombadil’s house.)
Following the Hobbits on this in depth adventure, I began noticing subtle ways that Iluvatar, the Creator/God/Spririt of this realm, intercedes on behalf of the Greater Good. And when I say subtle… I mean it’s not totally obvious when you’re reading through this (or listening) at a usual clip. Or at least it wasn’t to me the many times I’ve read it before. Heck, I can recall as I read the story or watched the movies in the past, wondering, “Where is their Higher Power in all this?”
Making my way through the story this time, guided by The Tolkien Professor himself, slowly and intently absorbing and reflecting on each passage… I began to notice the seemingly imperceptible ways that a Plan for Greater Good was actually at play. Even in the darkest of moments. Especially during those times. At first it took some serious investigating to notice the presence of Good and to see the ways Good intervenes. Almost like upturning each rock to see what lives beneath it. And in doing so, you find a whole other world.
You see the presence of Good and a Greater Plan when Frodo, Pip, and Sam encounter Gildor and the other elves in The Shire. The seemingly “chance-meeting” (“if chance you call it”) spares them just in the nick of time from capture by the Black Riders a second time. Even the first encounter had the touch of fate when the Black Rider rode off just before Frodo put on the ring, which would’ve given the whole adventure away. Providence intervenes in the Old Forest when Tom Bombadil comes down the path at just the right time to save Merry and Pippin from the grasp of Old Man Willow.
And all of this got me to thinking…
What’s to say our own Higher Power doesn’t intercede on our behalf? And how many times do we miss it or are unable to recognize it?
Many of us, myself included, get so absorbed in the day-to-day that we forget to pause and reflect or to look under that rock to see the many ways that Spirit has our back. Especially in the smallest of situations.
As I began my woo-woo walk and finally embracing my own magic, it took a bit of a mindset shift to see that Spirit wants to guide us not only in our personal lives, but also our businesses. In every area! But we have to be open and present to it.
Whiiiiiiiich helps me to understand and appreciate the purpose and necessity of meditation, the pause, self-care… it helps us to open ourselves up to BE that conduit of change for the Greater Good. It helps us to be present to all the ways we’re blessed, instead of wallowing in “why me?”.
Afterall, that’s why we’re here right? To be that conduit of change… and perpetuate a world of do-gooders doing super goodness!
This revelation… finding Spirit in even the most mundane situations (even while reading a fantasy tale! 😂) drives home that we ARE Spiritually supported. We just have to be willing to slow down to see.
If this resonates with you and you’re thinking it’s time to to marry Spirit with strategy and infuse your own magic into your next launch (be it a new offer, course, program, brand, website, sales funnel, book, freebie… any new interaction clients have with your business), I invite you to check out my free workbook below. 💖
✨ Shine on, you magical being, you! ✨