~Ring Lord~
The Dark Lord of Mordor

We all have the capacity for evil. We are made of equal parts light and darkness, it is in our nature as humans. It's my belief that to deny this darker half of ourselves, is to give it the power to destroy us. We have seen this played out in recent times, were fear has become a dominate focus in our lives... we see it in our leadership and in ourselves. We project evil onto others that we fear, and in so doing we blind ourselves to the darkness the we also have within ourselves. No one is perfect in this world. To suppress the darkness within, is to deny it's presence in ourselves and in our culture. This is a dangerous course to take. It manifests it's self as anger and hatred, which we project onto others out of fear and ignorance. It creates a culture of thought that believes that 'the means justify the ends', in my thinking 'the end NEVER justifies the means', because the end has no meaning, if it's achieved at the cost of our own humanity. This thinking creates an environment were dominance and control over others to save ourselves, becomes acceptable. It's only through checking ourselves and being open to the fact that we too, are cabable of evil and that we do have the capacity to commit wrongful acts, that we can begin to steer ourselves on a path of compassion, forgiveness and love of all people, yet at the same time, except no acts of evil perpetrated by others.

The Ring represents the evil manifested by Sauron, who is unredeemable, but can be destroyed if the Ring is destroyed. The Ring however, can bring forth the evil within us, if we are not careful to watch it's power and influence over us. Frodo does not hide the Ring or give it to another or cast it aside, what he must do is take the Ring in the full knowledge of it lethal potential and go on a quest to destroy it's power. He is changed in the process, and must give up who he was, and so become something greater. Without darkness, there could be no light. Gandalf describes Frodo at his beside in the House of Elrond... "He is not half through yet, and to what he will come to in the end, not even Elrond can foretell. Not to Evil, I think. He may become like a glass filled with a clear light for eyes to see that can."

I see this also, as a quest in my life. Not to turn from evil in fear, but to walk openly toward it and seek the enlightenment that comes form facing the Shadow within and overcoming it.

Now... I must also admit, that I find evil in literature and film fascinating. Lilith... Grendel... Dracula... Kong... Vader... and yes Sauron, all fascinate. I think that through myth and storytelling, we are able to face evil and destroy it, which I believe is what each of us as humans is doing each day of our lives... within our own skin. I find the Darker characters in Tolkien's world, to have a unique power and beauty all their own and so I decided to make that my focus, which for me is an expression of the joy of reading & entering Tolkien's world. I have received any number of responses, both good and bad from within the Tolkien Community. From disdain to outright mistrust, anger and fear to to a genuine appreciation for the journey I have taken. What I did not expect, was to find a community of like-minded people who for reasons of their own, who have decided that they too relate to and embrace Mordor... the Land of Shadow. Together we are on a Quest to discover what lines within the Shadow.

That has been the real joy of this experience.