mommagreenfish

All that is gold does not glitter; not all those that wander are lost. 

It is no surprise to me that I’m quoting J.R.R. Tolkien again.

I only wish I could have met the man, since we seem to have so many similar views on the world.

This particular quote (really the first two lines of a poem) appears in The Fellowship of the Ring twice. The first time, in a letter to Frodo from Gandalf as an indication that he should trust Strider (really Aragorn), and later, at the Council of Elrond, as they are deciding what to do with the One Ring.

The first line recalls the well-known proverb ‘All that glitters is not gold’, but inverts it to give it more meaning, a poetic trick I’m particularly fond of.

A version of that proverb in used in The Merchant of Venice, and is talking about how someone can seem like they are a good person, but in actuality, they are not.

Tolkien’s take on it seems more optimistic, somehow. The image of a diamond trapped inside a lump of coal is much nicer than the image of an apple rotting from the inside.

The fact that he follows this idea with the idea that there is value in wandering, value in taking your time, value in observing the world around you, is also comforting, and at the same time exhilaratingly genius.

An outdoor enthusiast shop in my little town has this second line as its slogan, painted across the bottom of their storefront window. I think Tolkien would approve.

I hope that more people are starting to value slowing down, wandering and seeing the world around them for what it really is, rather than what it seems to be.

Like Tolkien, I believe that these are the keys to survival, but more importantly, the keys to improving the world around us. The next two lines of his poem aren’t as well known, but the sentiment is one we’d all do well to take to heart:

The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost.