True virtuous masculinity lies in a balance between strength and gentleness, self-discipline and service to others, as exemplified by Aragorn's leadership, which prioritizes duty, protection, and healing over personal power or glory.
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the hands of the king are the hands of a
Healer and so shall the rightful King be
known this single sentence sums up so
much of what makes Aragorn an incredible
leader King and man masculinity is one
of the most misunderstood Concepts in
current thought whether in news media
fiction or influencer culture the
rejection of many traditional masculine
values and the suggestion that seeking
them is toxic commonly perpetrated by
large news outlets or just some random
Blog has generated a knee-jerk reaction
that does nearly the same amount of harm
there is no shortage of voices telling
young men that they should seek personal
success and wealth at all costs that
being a superstar is what men should
pursue these calls are attempting to
drown out the opposing cries for men to
reject their desire for greatness to be
meek weak and gentle as is all too
common in today's political climate both
sides viewpoints are overreactions to
what they dislike about the opposing
perspective and neither out look has it
all right or all wrong true virtuous
masculinity lies somewhere in the middle
between the commonly espoused Extremes
in the golden mean between vices this is
the brand of authentic masculinity
demonstrated by Aragorn son of arathorne
King of Gondor and his example is one we
don't deserve but absolutely need right
now Aragorn is first and foremost a
protector that is what both a king and a
Healer are someone who cares for and
defends the lives entrusted to him one
might be tempted to think that being a
king is desirable for the power wielded
by the Monarch for the status and
comfort that come with royal office that
is a flawed selfish Outlook that Aragorn
does not Embrace we know this due to the
manner in which he ascends to the throne
of Gondor due to his Royal lineage being
the only living heir of elendil Aragorn
could have walked into ministereth and
claimed the throne at any point but he
did not rather than seeking power Aragon
sought his duty Duty which was to
protect those who could not protect
themselves his long years in the north
of Middle Earth were spent safeguarding
the lands there such as the Shire from
the many evil forces that still dwelt
nearby when he encounters the hobbits in
Bri Aragorn takes it upon himself to
protect them from all enemies and
continues that commitment throughout
their Journey until assured by Gandalf
that the hobbits are in safe hands upon
reaching eteros Aragorn readily joins
with the forces of Rohan in their fight
against Isengard and finally Aragorn and
his company provide the decisive blow in
the battle of the planor fields
relieving the siege of ministereth upon
reaching the White City having won a
glorious saving Victory just outside its
walls what does Aragorn do does he ride
through the streets displaying the
banner of Lendale proclaiming himself
king of Gondor no he senses that such an
entrance would cause unrest argument and
strife in a city so long without a king
I will not enter in nor make any claim
until it be seen when either we or
Mordor shall prevail Aragorn has no
interest in seizing Power Authority and
Status acknowledging that there is still
much to do still battles to be fought in
defense of the land entrusted to his
care he declines to distract both
himself and the current leaders of
Gondor by causing political confusion he
still has a job to do he has a country
to protect that is his kingly duty which
he will carry out whether or not he
wears a crown however Aragorn does at
Gandalf's insistence enter a ministereth
not so he can claim the throne but
rather because he is needed in the
houses of healing where pharah mere aeon
and Mary all lie stricken with wounds
beyond the skill of normal healers they
are encounters with the nozzle keeping
their minds from healing even as their
bodies begin to mend to this point in
the story Aragorn's role has largely
been one of a warrior he defends those
entrusted to him yes but mostly through
violence even though he was able to care
for Frodo after The Hobbit was stabbed
on weathertop Aragorn's lesser skill and
the intensity of the wound precluded him
from being able to fully heal Frodo not
so now it isn't entirely clear whether
Aragorn is now able to heal the three
stricken Warriors due to him coming into
his own the relatively lesser wounds
they suffered or a combination of both
those factors what is clear is that
Aragorn's mission of protection extends
Beyond War the ability to be aggressive
and violent when needed is necessary and
good for those who would defend their
friends and Country but the capacity for
gentle care must also be present if one
is to express full authentic masculinity
Aragorn became known to the people of
ministereth as their King not only
because he arrived to turn the tide of
battle in gondor's favor unfurling the
banner of alendil and thus striking
panic and despair into the hearts of his
foes but also and more importantly
because he could heal the wounds of war
the worst of injuries that no other man
or woman could Bend and soon the word
had gone out from the house that the
King was indeed come among them and
after War he brought healing and so
tenderly caring for those who needed him
most Aragorn demonstrates perhaps the
most crucial point of why his example of
masculinity is so needed today his
strengths and abilities are not for
himself but for others
Aragorn spent many years he's 87 during
the war of the Ring training in Warfare
becoming an expert swordsman an
unparalleled Warrior the kind of
dedication needed to attain such Heights
of skill is arguably the most necessary
trait for those seeking to become
proficient in any discipline indeed if
you listen to just about any currently
popular speaker on masculinity they will
repeatedly drive home the idea that
discipline Trump's motivation every time
and they are correct for example you
cannot attain the strength you desire if
you only go to the gym when you feel
like going you set a schedule and you
maintain the discipline to stick to it
what the influencers who espouse this
idea often fail to recognize or at least
do not State outright is that without a
purpose such training is only building
up your own vanity Desiring and working
towards strength is a good thing but are
we doing it so we can physically care
for and protect our loved ones to stay
fit and healthy and thus not be a burden
on others or because we want women to be
impressed by our packs nothing wrong
with wanting to be attractive of course
but that is not by itself a healthy
reason to seek strength that is because
your strength is not for yourself it is
for others physical power is important
for masculinity yes but that is because
it allows us to better protect Those
whom we love and carrying out that duty
is one of if not the central aspect of a
man's job
as long as there have been Wars it has
been largely the role of the man sadly
often the young man to defend his Nation
his people if something goes bump in the
night what kind of man stays in bed
while his wife goes to investigate when
the Christ child was in danger it was
Saint Joseph who was entrusted with the
mission to bring the Holy Family to
safety by nature men are granted a
larger frame denser bones and more
muscle mass than our women and with
those physical advantages comes a duty
that cannot be denied without denying
the very essence of what it means to be
a man in relationship with others
indeed embracing full authentic virtuous
masculinity requires one to be in
relationship not in a relationship mind
you I'm not saying you can't be manly if
you don't have a wife or girlfriend but
human beings do not exist alone we were
not made for ourselves but rather for
each other as already stated Aragorn
clearly knows this he seeks the company
of those who need him and bonds with
them as they Journey throughout Middle
Earth we witness his Fierce protective
love for the hobbits as he chooses to
pursue a whole company of urakai to
rescue Mary and Pippin from their cruel
captors in those same scenes we see his
capacity for leadership as he takes it
upon himself to lead the hunt but also
relies on his companions when they are
more capable than he at Helm's Deep
Aragorn gently encourages a boy thrust
into combat far ahead of his time facing
nearly certain death then I shall die is
one of them not with them but rather as
one of them the men of Rohan around
Aragorn are not just any men they are as
he says at the black gate my brothers
does he know them personally no but he
is in relationship with them he has
formed a bond through their common
struggle and enemy their mission is not
divorced from his he does not hold his
own life more dearly than that of any of
those standing on the wall with him that
kind of Brotherhood the type that can
only be forged in the fires of combat
and staring death in the face is what
makes it possible for men to do great
Deeds on the battlefield they may fight
for King country and cause yes but more
importantly they fight for each other
Aragorn reminds us of this fact just
moments before the final desperate
battle against the innumerable Orcs of
Mordor a day may come when we forsake
our friends and break all
Michael the downfall of man will not
come solely because of the strength of
their enemies but because men forget why
they stand their ground against
impossible odds because they lose sight
of how vital the bonds of Brotherhood
are in saying this Aragorn reminds us of
the necessity of magnanimity that is the
desire for greatness but not for one's
own sake men should strive to do great
things even if we lead simple ordinary
lives we should Endeavor to be great
husbands and fathers to excel at our
line of work to become the best versions
of ourselves that we can be however
whatever greatness we achieve should not
be for our own sake our own vanity but
for the sake of our loved ones the
longest study on happiness conducted by
Harvard found that close relationships
more than money or fame are what keep
people happy throughout their lives what
is the use of a high-paying job that
allows us to buy whatever we want if we
have forsaken meaningful personal
relationships to achieve that level of success
success
certainly the two aren't mutually
exclusive but we only have so much time
and energy to pour into the various
Pursuits of life if we see greatness
that benefits only us we fail no matter
how much material wealth and success we
obtain Aragorn's pursuit of greatness
was never for his own vanity if it was
he would have been on the throne of
Gondor long before turning 87. instead
he sought to become an expert swordsman
tracker Navigator and healer in order to
best serve those who would need him when
the time came one might characterize
Aragorn's decision in that matter to be
humility and one would be correct but
perhaps not for the reason you might
think as I've mentioned before in
previous videos humility is not
self-degradation but rather an accurate
recognition of your own strengths and
weaknesses and the ability to act
accordingly the man with true humility
isn't worried about self-image because
he knows who he is he knows his duty and
his place in the world to put it another
way humility is not thinking less of
your yourself it is thinking of yourself
less truly knowing your abilities and
your duty allows you to think about
others more than you think of yourself
as you might expect Aragorn exemplifies
humility throughout the story but
perhaps his most impactful display of
this virtue comes after the battle of
polenor fields has been won and the men
of the West must decide their course of
action not yet knowing the fate of Frodo
and the ring Aragorn understands that as
Amir States we cannot achieve Victory
through strength of arms and yet leads
the men of Gondor and rohunt the black
gate nonetheless aware that his forces
are much depleted after the battle at
ministereth Aragorn knows that he cannot
defeat sauron's armies head on and yet
that is exactly what he seemingly sets
out to do the Lord of Mordor sees the
approach of the men led by the standard
of elendil and believes that the
arrogance of the new King has led him to
foolishly believe that what remains of
gondor's might can conquer the hordes of
Orcs still within Mordor but Sauron miscalculated
miscalculated
Aragorn acknowledges his own relative
weakness and inability to win the day
but he refuses to cower in the face of
overwhelming odds rather he recognizes
that he is not the hero of this story
but that he still has a role to play in
these events that are determining the
fate of the world in doing so he
demonstrates a key principle of humility
our circle of control and influence is
small there are many factors that affect
us that are beyond our Authority and
ability to affect change the idea that
you are 100 in control of your life that
everything is your fault is an absurd
knee-jerk reaction to What some might
call victimhood culture a perpetuation
of the harmful myth that many people are
simply powerless victims of circumstance
in the system as usual the truth lies
somewhere in the middle we can assert
control but only to a certain extent we
have to react to things beyond our
control and peacefully accept those
which we cannot change it is possible to
commit no mistakes and still lose the
that is not a weakness that is life to
this point in the story Aragorn has made
no significant mistakes he has
accomplished great things with the aid
of the fellowship the rohiram and the
gray company the decision to advance on
the black gate was one made after
careful consideration and wise counsel
Aragorn knows that it is possible his
actions will have no effect on the
outcome of the war that he will fall in
battle with all his men that Frodo and
the ring will be found and that all of
Middle Earth will be plunged into a
second darkness and it wouldn't be
Aragorn's fault he did all he could he
never accepted defeat but rather faced
it head-on sword in hand and Friends by
his side can anything more be asked of
any man Aragorn's defining moment comes
not as he wins the decisive battle for
the good of the world but rather as he
prepares to lose one so that maybe just
maybe the world he leaves behind will
remain beautiful and free
why is all of this so important today
now more than ever men are bombarded
with two drastically differing
viewpoints on how men should speak and
act with very little if any Common
Ground between the two sides Aragorn's
example of masculinity shreds these
false ideals these absurd extremes and
shows us that yes we should grow strong
we should succeed We should strive for
greatness but not for ourselves
Aragorn is as J.R.R Tolkien put it in a
letter from the trenches of World War
One a great instrument in God's hands a
mover a doer even an achiever of great
things a beginner at the very least of
large things tolkien's idea of greatness
as displayed by Aragorn could never be
defined by obtaining material wealth or
social status but rather by doing one's
duty loving one's friends and perhaps
even laying down one's life for them we
may never know in this life the
consequences of our actions but if we
strive to do great things with
magnanimity humility and
self-sacrificial love we cannot fail
ladies and gentlemen we are made for
each other I cannot emphasize that point
enough we are made to be in relationship
with one another meant to do great
things for the sake of those we love to
see this ideal embodied look no further
than Aragorn son of aerothorn Lord and
king of Gondor
I hope you enjoyed this video please let
me know your thoughts in the comments
and I will see you in the next one thank
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