The quest of the Inner Ring will break your hearts unless you break it. ~C. S. Lewis
What's the Inner RIng?
The easiest way to answer would be to say it’s the title of an essay* delivered by C.S. Lewis at King’s College in 1944. In this case, the description does not address the meaning. That’s a whole other set of words, and its definition is difficult to address effectively. While C.S. Lewis is a favorite thinker of mine, he often dives deeper into concepts than my inadequate brain power can absorb. But I’ll share my thoughts, meager though they are in this case. *Source is C. S. Lewis Society of California website.
The inner ring refers to a group, perhaps one you haven’t been invited to join. Let’s say it’s the leadership group of a club or even a group as informal as five people who go out to lunch together every Friday. So far, so simple. The problem, according to Lewis, is the motivation. What’s the impetus for wanting to have that sense of belonging in a particular clique, and what difference does it make?
What kind of gravitational pull is your kryptonite?
So we’re on to another difficult question. I saw a television drama a few days go that contained a subplot about this very issue. A man had masqueraded for years as a cancer survivor, garnering high praise for his perseverance and attracting high visibility contacts. His defense was that initially someone just assumed he lost his leg to cancer and he didn’t correct them immediately. In actuality, he lost his leg due to his own drunk driving accident. He never corrected the misunderstanding. Instead, he used his notoriety to raise masses of donations for cancer research. What if the man went along with the lie because he primarily wanted high visibility? Was he wrong? A little? A lot? Not at all?
I believe that C. S Lewis would say the man did the wrong thing, but I never met Mr. Lewis. What do I know? Is deception acceptable when it achieves satisfactory and charitable results for those who need the benefits even though it fulfills a shallow goal? What did the man achieve personally? Simply acclaim, or new skills and strong relationships?
An article found in an attorney’s website, Christian Small, sheds further light on the meaning of Lewis’ essay. That author suggests that we need to ask ourselves whether our self-esteem needs propping up, if you will, and we think attaining acceptance in an elite group will do the job. Or perhaps it’s just an ego fix. Not for the purpose of making you feel better about yourself, but so that other people will look up to you for this leap in status. That may be what the character in the TV show was after. Who knows?
There are excellent reasons for wanting to be a part of a small group. Perhaps you will enhance your skill level if surrounded by experts. Perhaps you know that your talents will blend perfectly to bring a project to a successful conclusion. Those are solid reasons for yearning to be included.
Both the Christian Small piece and an article by Institute for Faith, Works & Economics suggest the desire for inclusion can be a detriment if it’s for the wrong reasons. I don’t disagree, and here’s why.
Two sides of the inner ring
When the focus of your life is climbing farther and farther up the chain of elitist groups, you will be challenged to develop real friendships or any type of satisfying relationship. Consider two examples from my life.
When I was many decades younger, I longed to be a part of a circle of friends in high school. Each one of the girls in that group always looked perfectly turned out, and always seemed to be happy and confident. Did I think I would look and act like them if only they asked me to spend Saturdays with them, or if they asked me to sit at their table in the cafeteria? I don’t know what I was thinking. I only know that my happiness would not have been well-served.
Don’t misunderstand; they were all perfectly nice young ladies. But what would have been the point? I already had friends and I already made good grades. No matter who I ran with, I was never going to look as sophisticated as they did. I had two part-time jobs; one was during school lunch periods and the other on weekends. If they asked me to join them for lunch or a weekend outing, I wouldn’t have been able to participate. Not only that, I had no interests in common with any of them.
When I started writing My Thoughts Exactly, and then a series of blog posts, a friend introduced me to an author he had met. That gentleman belonged to the Authors Guild of Tennessee, and I thought I could benefit from interaction with other authors. I was right; I have benefited from the programs at monthly meetings and from informal interactions with many of the members.
Before that, I began volunteering with an incredibly talented group, and learned more about my favorite national park and nature, in general, than I ever could have hoped. Efforts to join those groups were based on valid motivations, which is something I can’t say about my high school dreams.
We need to be able to look at groups and organizations–perhaps any social endeavor–with an eye to what we can contribute or what we can learn. What else would justify the trouble? I don’t know the answer to that question.
You?
