★Tolkien's Gift

I’m going to share something with you that some people (no one here on bmindful, mind you) would find silly, but I think some of you might get a kick out of it and maybe even appreciate it. It has to do with a prescious gift that J.R.R. Tolkien gave me. No, nothing material, I’m talking about a beautiful place that I imagine visiting from time to time. Tolkien created such a rich, living world. If you’ve never read his works, I hope you will find the time in this lifetime, but the real reason for this post is not to get you to read a book, but rather to share a silly little something I do. Often, when it’s late at night and I can’t sleep I do what probably many of you do – I get up and fix myself a snack. The thing that I do that makes this silly little thing so special and enjoyable to me is that I often imagine that I am a hobbit traveling out in the wilderness, and being a hobbit I’m not used to going without. I imagine what it would be like out there, enjoying a respite from a hard days journey in the shade of a tree. I imagine how good that piece of bread or apple would taste under those circumstances. I imagine how refreshing a simple glass of water can be. It makes me appreciate simple things. It makes me think of trees and mountains and the sun and the rain. It makes me think of hard work and it makes me think of rest. I know it may sound silly to some, but it’s something I enjoy. Give it a try sometime, you might be suprised how much there is to learn from a hobbit!

Hi MCM! I love your idea so much and hope to try it myself. I so enjoyed losing myself in Tolkeins fabulous imagery. I hated finishing the trilogy, but somehow I could not get involved in Simarillion(SP?) Thanks for sharing.:) Jan

I picked up the Silmarillion many years ago and thought the same thing so I put it back down only to pick it up again after a few years. The second time I did read it, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Keep in mind I’m one of “those” people, I’ve read LOTR many times as well as The Hobbit. Reading the Silmarillion adds great depth and history to LOTR. If you’re ever inclined to give it another chance I think you will enjoy it. It’s written with such beautiful language and much of it has a very mythical and mystical aire about it. If you ever read it, and then re-read LOTR you’ll feel like you’re in on some secrets that other’s don’t know, it’s really cool. You’ll discover little secrets like the fact that Elrond is Aragorn’s uncle very many times removed. You’ll discover that Gandalf and the Balrog are in fact the same type of being. You’ll find out that there were actually five Istari, (wizards). You’ll gain insights into Shelob (the giant spider). You’ll get’s some hints about Eluvitar and the sectret fire and the music of the Ainure. I’m one of those people who wrote notes in the margins.

I also started with the Hobbit. I let the series take me away, while it sounds like you really devoured it. I may take your suggestion and “start” with Silmarillion some day, but I have accumulated several book, magazines etc., and recently wondered if I will every catch up! I need an affirmation like “I stay awake and retain all the information after only one reading.“LOL, Jan

As far as “catching up” goes, I’ve recently made friends with an important truth, “I will never catch up, because it is impossible.” There are more than one thousand new books published every single day. Think about it, today there will be more books published than you could comfortably read in the rest of your life. That’s just BOOKS!!! Consider all the interesting articles in magazines and blogs and newspapers and on the television. Acknowledging that you will never be able to “catch up” can be very empowering – it frees you up to be much more selective about what you are reading. I don’t mention this ‘cause I want you to read The Silmarillion, but because it’s just an important concept in general. Anyone reading this post would do well to consider the truth of this. If you spend some time thinking about what you really want to keep up with or learn about think about how quickly you can advance in any area. I’ve heard before that if you spend just one hour a day studying any given subject that in just two years you will be one of the world’s leading authorities in that given subject. Pretty amazing, huh! I need to think about that idea and apply it more in my own life!