Keep on Dealing, Sam

So a couple of weeks ago at church, someone gave a talk about Lord of The Rings.

About it being a metaphor for life and all.

Not about explaining the different types of orcs and elves and wizards and whatnot, if that’s what you were thinking.

She's a Sam; this picture is supposed to symbolize all my Sams.

But about life.

And life metaphors are great since we don’t seem to be satisfied with simply trying to comprehend life at face value. We search for ways to make life more relatable (because we can’t relate to our own lives?), or maybe we’re trying to deepen connections with things like running, literature, music, and good. Whatever the case, we obviously need help understanding life.

 Fortunately, this talk helped me understand more about life rather than about Lord of the Rings. Since I seem to have a harder time coming to grips with reality than with fantastical stories. #livetheparadox

Anyways, the speaker emphasized finding a “Sam” in our lives—someone who will stay by our side and support, help, and love us no matter what. And then once we have a Sam, we can’t let him go, we can’t distracted by the Gollums in life and forget who truly loves us.

I naturally contrasted this with something my favorite vulnerability researcher Brene Brown suggested during an interview, that we should carry around a tiny piece of paper with the names of our Sams so we don’t forget whose opinions matter and whose don’t.

So that we can remember that in the long run, we can underscore the following opinions and influences, those of…

·      nasty Gollum classmates who criticize your stupidity or your intelligence (whatever is furthest from them)

·      nasty Gollum friends telling you you’re not raising your kids right (I should probably mention these aren’t personal Gollums persay)

·      nasty Gollum grades that lower your self esteem

·      nasty Gollums that think you’re just a fat hobbites (perhaps he meant hobbitess…)

·      nasty Gollums of uncertainty and pessimism

I am grateful for the personal Sams I have in my life that drive away the Gollums and remind me of what truly is important. Which usually happens to be Sam himselfJ 

I think my Sams change over time. My parents, along with my Heavenly Father, have definitely been my most constant Sams, but I’ve had many friends over the years that I’ve been lucky enough to have stand by me as well.  Because Sam doesn’t care if you’re weak or confused or even just plain dumb. He loves you just the same. He fights with you. And sometimes even though he can’t carry your burdens, he can carry you.

I am tempted to start introducing people as one of my Sams, because “Kristin from my mission” or “Kiley from my freshman year” or “Christian from high school” just sounds like they were common peasant folk. What I want to say  is “This is one of my Sams from high school, Marcia.” Or “My Sam Kristin literally carried me up a mountain” (and then I’ll have to explain I actually didn’t mean literally, that I was just trying to make life more relatable by using a hiking analogy).

Another symbol of Sam

Thank you Sam for loving me even when I whine or cry or am sad, when I lay on the ground and freak out needlessly (#storyofmylife), when I barely escape a spider’s lair and look definitely a lot worse for wear.

Thank you for exemplifying Napoleon’s words: “Leaders are dealers in hope.”

sometimes Sam comes in the form of ice cream...

Keep on dealing, Sam.