“Little
by
little,
one
travels
far”
by
Tomas
Aleknavičius
“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”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
“The road goes ever on and on” said Bilbo to Gandalf. “Now
far ahead the road has gone” sang Frodo to
himself while wandering about the Shire.
These words delicately describe the fragile
wanting of every hobbit to
explore, experience and discover. Yet, that
wish remains contained. Mostly, by the greenhouse like
conditions of the Shire. Only a handful dared to step
further than any hobbit before and… a little bit further.
How could such a world, were the small and courageous
triumph over the big and greedy, not inspire entire
generations? The evil powers of Tolkien’s world desire power
above all other things. They seek to destroy and enslave all
other things to get it. And the faith of the world is put
into the hands of a couple of hobbits, no taller than a
human child. Why? Because they were afraid. Because they
were not strong enough. Because they had no
powers, no great weapons. Because they
dared to take that one little step further.
Their journey was long. Their road went
far. So far, down from the door where it
began…
The
Fellowship of the Ring
breaks apart at Amon
Hen,
where
they
stopped
to
rest,
before completing one
and beginning the
second, even more
perilous part of their
journey.. The terrible
power of the Ring
corrupts one of its members, and the rest are attacked by
orcs. From here on Frodo and Sam continue on alone. Two
hobbits on a suicide mission in to the heart of Mordor. Two
hobbits against a million of orcs. Poor orcs…
But before that they
have to pass the ever
tricky mountains of
Emyn Muil. Long story
short – they make it!
Straight into the Dead
Marshes. Not a lovely
place. Not because
it’s dead, mostly
because it’s marsh-land. Tiresome, dangerous and treacherous
to cross. But it serves its purpose and safely leads the
brave hobbits to the Black Gates. Here, however, they change
their minds and decide to enter Mordor
through a “back door”, so to speak. Here I
will stop, so not to spoil any more
important details, for possible future
readers.
As you can guess, it’s not
a Sunday afternoon kind of
a hike, these two hobbits set out for. They
knew that from the day they decided to take
it. But did they fully understand it? I
doubt it. That is why their determination
amazes readers all over the world so much. As most heroes of
epic stories they experience one dangerous situation after
the other. They lose everything along the way. At one point
they even lose hope. Only to regain it with their very last
breath of strength.
I only chose this little part, this one line of the entire
plot, to share with you one of the most important lessons
Tolkien is trying to teach us. “I
found it is the small everyday deeds
of ordinary folk that keep the
darkness at bay, small acts of
kindness and love. – Gandalf “.
Ordinary courage. Simple people. Greatness in a sunset over
the sea, not in the glimmering of a thousand swords. To the
people of Middle-Earth this lesson associates with the
bravery of hobbits. With that first step Bilbo Baggins took,
that was followed by Froddo, out into the world, following
the call of an adventure burning deep inside their hearts.
Listen to your heart. Where is it calling you
to?