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A poem/saying that's stuck with me.

DimmesdaleDimmesdale Illinois Explorer
edited October 2020 in Arts & Writings

"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."

Yeah... you guessed it, from Lord of the Rings, Bilbo's song....

It seems to me a pithy summation of being in the world, in the moment, and engaging with it wholeheartedly, and just... continuing on, handling whatever life throws at you (and not only you but all your fellow-travellers..).... To me it is very concise, but powerful and.. evocative of something strong and brisk, almost mystical.... I hope this jives with any of you folks....

This saying also follows on the heel of detachment, and is such a cheerful respite from the power of the Ring (which can signify most any addiction).... This scene to me seems very powerful....

JeffreyShoshin1KotishkaWalker

Comments

  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran
    edited October 2020

    In the autumn I always get the impulse to re-read the Lord of the Rings, there is just a certain atmosphere which it captures which in my mind belongs with yellowing leaves and days turning colder.

    But it makes me wonder now that the movies have been out a good while how many people are going to still know the books?

    WalkerDimmesdale
  • DimmesdaleDimmesdale Illinois Explorer

    @Kerome said:
    In the autumn I always get the impulse to re-read the Lord of the Rings, there is just a certain atmosphere which it captures which in my mind belongs with yellowing leaves and days turning colder.

    But it makes me wonder now that the movies have been out a good while how many people are going to still know the books?

    Yeah... There are times when I wish I had never watched the movies, as I did when I was young, so now when I read the books images of Elijah Wood and Viggo Mortensen are indelibly lodged in my head. I think the movies are nice, but for me they are a stumbling block when it comes to the books. I prefer to see the books not via the movies. I want my imagination to run free and unencumbered, and cinema has the downside of causing you to see only the one, fixed vision.

    lobsterJeroenShoshin1
  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran

    I have the illustrated edition with the paintings of Alan Lee, so that always provides a nice counterpoint to the images from the movies. I have to say though that i was pleasantly surprised by the movies, how well they matched the epic vision in my mind’s eye. It’s been a while since I last read the book, maybe I will return to it.

  • LionduckLionduck Veteran

    The Ring trilogy, The Hobbit, Silmarillion ..should be required reading Not for analysis - just reading. Then watch the movies. The movies took liberties but stayed true to the story.
    When movies are made from books, it is usually better to read the books first. Then view the movies with an open mind and enjoy both modes.
    But that is just my opinion.

    Peace to all

    Shoshin1Jeroen
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    A saying that I have known for a long time, but recently resurfaced in a conversation I was having, is:

    "You teach people how to treat you."

  • ChoephalChoephal UK Veteran

    A saying about mutuality which rings particularly true at the moment..
    “The right hand washes the left hand”.

  • marcitkomarcitko Veteran

    I love all things Tolkien and am enjoying the thread.

    I read it for the first time when I was about 12, and it deeply influenced me. A friend of mine and I sometimes joke how we are a bit crazy because we tend to interpret big life events through the books. "Are we leaving Rivendell?", "Was this the battle of Helm's Deep"? etc.

    Tolkien was firm on his view that LOTR was not an allegory. And bless him for that, since it would detract so much from the books. Each reader has his own associations, and own opinion of what the books are about. For me, it's about the search, the shedding of the ego, and the ultimate transcendence of self. The ring is the self. And everything that happens is, in a broad stroke, the adventures we have on the path to Enlightenment. I don't analyse it in detail in that way, it's just the feeling I get from the books and movies.

    Some people dislike the movies. I am a big fan! I think they are accurate, beatifuly portrayed and acted. I do not even understand how Jackson, who made horror movies previously, managed to pull off such a feat. The Hobbit movies though, another story... :)

    Be well, my Mellons (friends in Elvish) :)

    Jeroen
  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran

    I too am a big Tolkien fan. I was introduced to the books when I was about 13 by my stepfather, and re-reading them has been a real pleasure over the years.

    But I beg to differ on the Hobbit movies, I thought they were well crafted. The story is more a boys own roller-coaster adventure than the epic sweep of LotR, and it has a lot more humour in it. I thought it was very enjoyable, with the one blemish being the over-long battle scenes in the third movie.

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