And yet, over the years my attitude toward power has nuanced. The same power that can tip into domination and conquest can be used to create spaces of flourishing.
There's a moment in The Lord of the Rings when Gandalf faces off with Denethor, the Steward of Gondor. In their testy exchange, Denethor pontificates that, in his role of Steward, his duty is clear: Put Gondor first, above any other interests or considerations. To which Gandalf responds:
“The rule of no realm is mine, neither of Gondor nor any other, great or small. But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, those are my care. And for my part, I shall not wholly fail of my task, though Gondor should perish, if anything passes through this night that can still grow fair or bear fruit and flower again in days to come. For I also am a steward. Did you not know?”
In many ways, The Lord of the Rings is a prolonged meditation upon power. At the center of the saga is the Ring of Power. To one side of a moral divide are those who seek power, Sauron and Saruman and those who follow them. On the other side are Gandalf, Aragorn, Elrond, Tom Bombadil, and Galadriel, individuals of enormous power who put their power to work in the service of others and the natural world. Eventually, we even see Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin return to the Shire to use their hard-won power to rescue and heal the Shire. I'm particularly struck by Sam's work as a gardener, and how he eventually becomes the mayor. Sam turns his entire world into a garden.
The point is that power is really a neutral thing. It's just an ability to affect the world. The critical thing is how that power is directed and toward what ends. We can use our power to dominate or we can use our power to steward and heal, to carve out places where fair and fruitful things might grow.
Jana and I have adopted a saying. We cannot remember where we first heard it, but the saying is this: "Who flourishes because you have power?"
