tolkien Part 2: glittering & wandering & finding what matters

Ok.

 

What I said to open Tolkien part 1 still stands (I just didn’t want to repeat it).

Here are 2 more stanzas from Lord of the Rings I like:

 

 

“all that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.”

ancient verses of Elvish prophecy

 

 

This is one of my favorite quotes of all time. And it is probably my most used.

 

While many use the first couplet I like the entire stanza.

 

Part A. “not all those who wander are lost.”

 

Maybe because it seems a reflection of me …. maybe its because I think it is a reflection of a lot f people … I use this time and time again when teaching some high school classes and talk with students about their future and making plans and knowing what the hell they are going to do with their lives.

 

I have written about this thought ad nausea but the truth is that not everyone knows their “destination.”

 

Particularly in youth.

It takes time to figure out not only what you are good at but what makes you happy (which may not be the same thing) as well as what feeds your life vitality (the shit that makes waking up every morning fun).

 

People wander. Ok.  Not all do … but those who do tend to be some pretty interesting people (not necessarily the most successful … but interesting).

 

I often use this clip from the old tv show Felicity to make this point:

–          (this is called “ben’s big mom speech … and yes … I am actually using a clip from Felicity to make a point here … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_OYgh1_MZA and the actual scene is 1:39 to 3:48 … it says it perfectly)

Ben: “I’d like to think that people take a good look at me before they make up their minds… He’s this guy, he doesn’t know what he wants to be yet, and he doesn’t have a major yet, he’s got his dad as this dark character … has a drinking problem.

 

I’m not really selling myself here, am I? … Look I understand why you guys needed to see Felicity with someone like Noel… I mean, he’s obviously gonna make it. And probably long before, I mean, I figure out what I ‘m gonna be in my life. But I always remember this one thing my teacher said, which was, all these people she knew they had no idea what they were gonna do with their lives when they were twenty. So, chances are, I’m gonna turn out to be a pretty interesting guy.

 

 

It’s a great clip.

 

And says what many of us at that age felt … even though we were still wandering. What do I mean? Well. The wanderer usually feels like there is something wrong with themselves (and adults are typically fairly quick to suggest just that). I imagine the danger is in defending yourself you stop seeking a destination and revel in the seeming rebellion of wandering.

 

Regardless.

 

Wandering doesn’t mean you are lost.

You may simply be discovering.

 

And all that discovery is needed to make whatever gold you have in you shine.

 

Time just needs to buff away the dullness a little.

 

Next.

 

 

Part B … “deep roots are not reached by frost.”

wings flies and roots

 

 

Well.

 

As I have grown older I have grown a larger appreciation for this part.

The first couplet is brilliantly crafted but inevitably I believe the genius of Tolkien was putting the two couplets together.

 

For the deep roots are found in your soul. This is that life vitality stuff I talk about a lot.

 

Deep roots is the shit you care about.

 

Your passion.

 

Your soul.

 

The kind of stuff that no matter how much someone may challenge or try to make sound silly … well .. they are your deep roots.

 

 

Here is the tricky part.

 

I think deep roots takes time.

And I don’t mean cultural roots or family roots … I mean personal roots.

 

Unfortunately (as I tell young people) you don’t get deep <healthy> roots until you are older. A young person may have an old soul …. but only life experience creates deep roots.

 

But.

 

Its worth the wait.

Because even in the coldest and darkest of time … deep roots can never be touched by frost.  Which means they will grow again.

 

Ok.

Moving on.

 

The last Tolkien saying in part 2 … it seemed appropriate to end with this one.

 

I am a self-anointed nomad.

 

I am most happy when home is simply where I hang my hat for the moment. And sometimes that is a difficult thing to explain to people because it seems like the majority like the comfort of home … and the stability that comes with it.  I find homes confining. I find settling constricting. I find comfort in roaming. I find the unknown freeing.

 

So.

 

With that said … roaming and leaving places always reminds me of this Tolkien stanza:

 

 

“The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

Still round the corner there may wait,

A new road or a secret gate.”

—-

Elvish verse

 

 

To me (and I know I am in the minority on this) Life is all about “still around the corner there may wait a new road or a secret gate.”

 

I thrive in the fact that we don’t really know how each day will unfold.

The fact that every day something will happen.

And every day somethings we expect and somethings we don’t will happen.

And, to me, that’s what makes Life interesting.

What you cannot see around the corner.

That new road.

Or that secret gate.

The unknown.

 

To me each step in life is driven on by curiosity and the joy of discovery. And then not settling with that discovery but rather pocketing it as a new experience and immediately stepping back out on the road seeking the next gate, door or errand …. ‘pursuing it with eager feet’ as it may be.

 

Look.

 

 

I don’t lie to myself and believe everyone feels this way. In fact … I am fairly sure not everyone does.

 

But I do talk about it as often as I can.

Because everyone should at least try it once in a while.

 

Ok.

That’s it.

 

These are just some of my favorite quotable moments but all his books are chockfull of thoughtful literary moments.flip pages old book type read

 

Read Tolkien.

 

Read any literature.

 

Whatever.

 

What I know for sure is if you read, and you think about what you read, you can gain perspective on things in a way you maybe have never thought of them ever before.

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Written by Bruce