Day 11 - Inner Ring

Looking back at high school, I remember looking at the soccer team with absolute envy in my heart. Because my school's soccer team was so prestigious, every member of the soccer team would be looked at with appreciation and treated fairly better than the other non-soccer players. I was jealous of their status as the school's "Overlords" and "Elite". I personally enjoyed playing soccer too, which added onto my desire to join the team. Unfortunately, because of my short legs and weak stamina, I was eliminated after the first rounds of tryouts. Pretending not to care, my heart yearned for a spot amongst the "inner circle", so that I, too, would feel better of myself as an "important" part of the Forest Hills Central high school.

Such burning desire to be fitted into an "inner ring" is what C.S Lewis talks about in his article "The Inner Ring". In the article, which seems to be directed to college students, C.S Lewis opens up a world of rings which are classified by other inner rings and those rings are founded in other inner rings and... you get the point. In this limitless world of rings, we all are classified under some sort of ring, but sometimes we yearn to be in the inner circle of other rings. Work, school, friends, sports... as college students we all fit into several of these rings. C.S Lewis points out that as we move on beyond college, when we come in contact with "whatever hospital, inn of court, diocese, school, or business...", we will find the Rings.

But it is the kind of inner rings we join and desires we feel that impact the evil that lurks among us. For example, I discovered near the end of my senior year that most kids on the soccer "circle" were involved in several kinds of drugs. I also realized that the envious desire I had felt in joining the soccer team had destroyed my inner perception of the intrinsic value of the very thing I was passionate about: soccer. Instead I was too preoccupied with my sense of belonging in a certain group.

C.S Lewis states clearly in the article that the existence of Inner Rings is certainly unavoidable. Nor are these Inner Rings evil. The question lies in the purpose of each Inner Ring. For example, the inner rings of gangs and family would certainly be different. Adding on to this, it is also important to check on the desires that come with wanting to join a certain circle. It is important to check yourselves, as college students, now and then to make certain that your intentions and desires are at the right place.