And how easy it is to raise our weapons. With
just a tapping of the keys....
It may be useful to remember Gimli, at such
times. Dear bluff, stubborn, loyal, hard-fighting, never-say-die Gimli,
built low to the ground and facing things head on and eye-to-kneecap.
For beneath that bristling, battle-toughened exterior beat the heart of
a true Artist. One who saw the subtle beauties in crystalline
stone...and treasured three frail hairs....
There is a line in Antoine de St. Exupery's
Little Prince: "...It is only with the heart that one can see rightly;
what is essential is invisible to the eye...." ("...on ne voit bien
qu'avec le coeur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux....") It is a
truth, as the fox says sadly, forgotten by most of us.
The bonds between Frodo and Sam or Pippin and
Merry are marvelous to behold. But they require no great leap of faith
to appreciate. Like easily cleaves to like; such is the natural order
of the world. The friendship between Gimli and Legolas, starting as it
does in a mire of suspicion and long-held prejudice--now, that is the
true marvel. It is the recognition of what really matters--that
invisible truth of the heart--and it bespeaks the greatest hope of
earth. For peace, for acceptance. And for seeing beyond outward
difference and beholding inward solidarity.
So, as we continue to celebrate Gimli Day,
each in our differing ways, perhaps recall, from time to time, why we
are really here and together. And strive to see what is essential, for
surely it is fragile as three hairs....
