Inspiration from Middle Earth

This was a busy day for me, and I was preoccupied with responsibilities: would I get enough done? how much was left on my to-do list? how much can wait until tomorrow? In the early afternoon, I realized I needed some grounding, something to help me let go and relax. So rather than take a nap, I cuddled up on my bed and listened to the next installment in my CD recording of Lord of the Rings. When I'm going to sleep at night, I often listen to a recording of a book I already have read and that I like. That way I don't have to stay awake and can just enjoy the narrative until I fall asleep. Today it seemed just what I needed: listen to the next chapter of one of my all-time favorite books. I didn't want to sleep, just to get my mind free of the worries of the day. As I listened, fully awake and cozy, I marveled at Tolkien's writing and the story which seemed to fit so well with the times we are going through here on earth. Tolkien's land was make-believe, Middle Earth, in which the lives of the well-meaning ordinary inhabitants were being threatened by a powerful sinister being, Sauron. And the tale is about the epic journey of 9 brave individuals: 4 hobbits, 2 men, 1 dwarf, 1 elf, and a wizard. They were charged with finding a way to destroy the Ring of Power, which Sauron was zealously seeking in order to fully conquer the whole of Middle Earth.

I fell in love with Lord of the Rings ever since I heard about it on a long road trip many years ago. And it has been my fall-back for comfort ever since. Recently as I've listened to the series again, the parallels to our times now on the real earth are striking. Of course, we don't have one bad guy, one evil monster causing all the harm. But our homes and future are in just as much peril as were the homes of the Middle Earth dwellers. These current times are frightening too, if you are brave enough to see the long-term trajectory. And we are called to be brave, as Frodo and his companions were, called to take on a quest for a better world even if it feels hopeless, as it often did to them.

Right now I've come to the middle of the last of the three books, The Return of the King. Frodo and Sam (his servant and invaluable support) are in the final stretches of their perilous journey to the cracks of doom, where their task is to throw the Ring into the fire to be destroyed. Day after day, the two of them struggle along their path, thirsty, hungry, exhausted, constantly in danger of being attacked by enemies. It would have been so much easier for them to just lie down and give up. But they didn't. In each of them was a stubborn spirit that kept them going, even to the end when they were slowly crawling up the last treacherous rugged mountain. That's where I stopped listening today. And tonight before bed, I'll hear what happens next. Of course, I already know. Yet hearing about the courage and perseverance of these two hobbits in Tolkien's beautiful words is just as inspiring to me as it was the first time I read the book. And when I got up from my rest, I was refreshed and renewed. In comparison to these brave hobbits' challenges, my current life seemed a piece of cake! And I went through the rest of my day's responsibilities with ease.

Perhaps you have favorite stories too which give you courage and energy. We all need them. I'm grateful for mine, and for all the people in the world who are out there on their own individual quests. More power to all of us!

P.S. For those of you whose only exposure to Lord of the Rings is the movie series, don't judge the book by that. I had to walk out, it was so different than the book, and the spirit and heart of the thing was lost. All war and romance and conflict.