"Después de tantos años estudiando la ética, he llegado a la conclusión de que toda ella se resume en tres virtudes; coraje para vivir, generosidad para convivir, y prudencia para sobrevivir". Fernando Savater
Tom Bombadil is the most mysterious character in The Lord of the Rings.
He's the oldest being in Middle-earth and completely immune to the Ring's power — but why?
Bombadil is the key to the underlying ethics of the entire story, and to resisting evil yourself...
Tom Bombadil is an enigmatic, merry hermit of the countryside, known as "oldest and fatherless" by the Elves. He is truly ancient, and claims he was "here before the river and the trees." He's so confounding that Peter Jackson left him out of the films entirely.
This is understandable, since he's unimportant to the development of the plot. Tolkien, however, saw fit to include him anyway, because Tom reveals a lot about the underlying ethics of Middle-earth, and how to shield yourself from evil.
The hobbits meet Bombadil early on in their quest, before they reach Bree and the Prancing Pony Inn. He rescues Merry and Pippin from Old Man Willow, and invites the hobbits to stay at his house in the Old Forest.
There, the hobbits realize something strange about him: the Ring has no power over Bombadil whatsoever.
When he wears it, he remains visible. He treats it as a plaything, making it disappear with a magic trick. Indeed, at the Council of Elrond, Gandalf rejects the idea of giving the Ring to Tom, for he would likely misplace it or forget about it entirely.
So just who is he, exactly?
When Frodo asks this very question to Tom's wife Goldberry, she simply responds "He is." It's a cryptic answer that echoes God's famous answer to Moses in the Book of Exodus: "I am who I am."
Thus, many theorize that Bombadil is God, some kind of angelic being, or even the spirit of the Music of the Ainur (due to the fact that he is constantly singing). But Tolkien's letters reveal something considerably more interesting…
In April 1954, Tolkien wrote:
"The story is cast in terms of a good side, and a bad side, beauty against ruthless ugliness, tyranny against kingship… but both sides in some degree, conservative or destructive, want a measure of control.But if you have, as it were, taken a 'vow of poverty', renounced control, and take your delight in things for themselves without reference to yourself… then the questions of the rights and wrongs of power and control might become utterly meaningless to you, and the means of power quite valueless…"
So, Bombadil is a representation of what it means to take pure delight in the world around you — to experience people and things simply as they are, without any thought for what they could be or how you could use them. And this is why the Ring has no power over him.
To Bombadil, the One Ring is simply a ring, and the possibilities of what can be achieved through its power are of no importance. He is able to resist its evil precisely because he is entirely content with the world around him.
At the end of the story, having accomplished what he set out to do in Middle-earth, Gandalf pays Tom a visit before returning to the Undying Lands:
"I am going to have a long talk with Bombadil: such a talk as I have not had in all my time."
If Bombadil is the epitome of simply enjoying life and being, Gandalf is the epitome of doing. He guides the hobbits, fights the Balrog, and runs up and down Middle-earth to help destroy the One Ring.
But now that he's finally liberated from doing, he immediately heads to Bombadil's. He does so with a sense of relief, as if he's at last able to access a purer and higher mode of being — a sort of innocence that cannot be fully experienced by those consumed by doing.
Of course, by this Tolkien doesn't disparage the value of action. The entirety of LOTR displays the importance of rising up against evil, even in the face of all odds. But with the inclusion of Bombadil, he does remind readers that fighting isn't all there is.
Bombadil reminds us that while it's important to strive and *do*, it is just as important to occasionally step back and *be*. Indeed, your ability to do so plays a crucial role in helping you resist the allure of evil…
Read the full piece here:
https://t.co/aqK2daehIL
The unsung hero of The Lord of the Rings...
Mañana comenzará el Mundial, y muchos estarán atentos a los partidos. El fútbol nos recuerda algo que no debemos olvidar: la vida no es una carrera para lucirse en solitario, sino un camino que aprendemos a recorrer juntos. Quien no sabe pasar el balón, aunque tenga talento, todavía no ha entendido el juego. Y quien no sabe vivir con los demás y para los demás, todavía no ha entendido la vida. #ViajeApostólico
إنَّ الإنسانَ قد يتحمَّلُ الفقر، وقد يصبرُ على الجوع، لكنَّه لا يستطيعُ أن يتحمَّلَ فقدانَ الحنان.
إنَّ كلمةً طيِّبةً، أو لمسةً حانيةً، قد تُضيءُ قلبَه وسطَ ظلامِ الحياة، بينما قد تجعله كلمةٌ قاسيةٌ يشعرُ بأنَّه عارٍ في مواجهةِ العالم.
نحنُ لا نحتاجُ إلى الخبزِ فقط لنعيش، بل نحتاجُ إلى أن نشعرَ ��أنَّ هناك مَن يفهمُنا، مَن يشاركُنا أحزانَنا دون أن نحكيها، مَن يلتفتُ إلينا حين نكادُ نضي��ُ في زحامِ الحياة ."
- فيودور دوستويفسكي
من رواية: المساكين
“I want to be loved like I’m unforgettable—held with a kind of care that lingers, wanted with a depth that feels undeniable, and cherished in a way that reaches the quietest parts of me. A love that feels certain and sincere, where my presence matters, my absence is felt, and my heart is valued completely. I want the kind of connection that feels rare and irreplaceable—where being loved doesn’t feel temporary, but like something deeply chosen, deeply treasured, and impossible to replace.”
Sur la peur – Khalil Gibran
"On dit que, juste avant d’entrer dans la mer,
une rivière tremble de peur.
Elle regarde en arrière le chemin qu’elle a parcouru,
depuis les sommets des montagnes,
la longue route sinueuse à travers forêts et villages.
Et devant elle,
elle voit un océan si vaste
que s’y engager
revient à disparaître à jamais.
Mais il n’y a pas d’autre choix.
La rivière ne peut pas faire demi-tour.
Personne ne peut revenir en arrière.
Reculer est impossible dans l’existence.
La rivière doit prendre le risque
d’entrer dans l’océan,
car ce n’est qu’alors que la peur disparaîtra,
car c’est là que la rivière comprendra
qu’il ne s’agit pas de disparaître dans l’océan,
mais de devenir l’océan."
“when i choose to see the good side of things, i'm not being naive. it is strategic and necessary. it's how I've learned to survive through everything”
¿Qué clase de respuesta al cliente es “verifico su información y en el transcurso del día nos comunicamos con usted” @TELMEXSoluciona? Necesito saber si el problema se puede solucionar rápido o no para tomar decisiones.
@Telmex buenos días. Tengo una falla de internet y quisiera saber el estatus. La respuesta del chatbot es mala y quisiera información más precisa, como si es fallo de mi línea o de la zona.
@TELMEXSoluciona buenos días. Tengo una falla de internet y quisiera saber el estatus. La respuesta del chatbot es mala y quisiera información más precisa, como si es fallo de mi línea o de la zona.
¿Conocen @RokuMX_Oficial ? Pues lanzó en México su nuevo servicio #Howdy, de #suscripción de video (sin anuncios), desde su plataforma, a través de una nueva app y en The Roku Channel. ¡Muchas gracias por incluirnos en esta celebración!
"Tenía mil cosas para decirle, pero me las tragué... no sé si porque no se merece que se las diga o porque no se merece que yo las sienta".
José Luis Borges
La voz a ti debida: verso de Garcilaso, título de Salinas.
La soledad inmensa de saberse el único dueño de un silencio. Un sí, un silencio. La constatación de que el amor es un acto de introspección externa, un oxímoron: ir y quedarse, y con quedar partirse, que dijo Lope.
Cuando el ser humano se reduce a un rendimiento, un consumo o un dato estadístico, surge inevitablemente un profundo sufrimiento interior. Muchos jóvenes viven hoy bajo el yugo de las expectativas y el rendimiento, inmersos en una competitividad exasperada que genera ansiedad, miedo de no estar a la altura y desorientación.
https://t.co/sEW9MQiuRb