“The Road Goes Ever On: Embracing the Everyday Walk of Life”

I think it is safe to say that JRR Tolkien's the Lord of the Rings can be considered one of the most popular book series of all time. With over 150 million copies sold worldwide, having been translated into more than 40 languages, spawned an entire genre, and a popular film series, they are arguably some of the most influential books of this era. Even so, one criticism that is often levied at it is the fact that it is essentially, a very long walk.

It is true Professor Tolkien can take entire pages to describe a tree, but his descriptiveness aside, a lot of modern readers have a tendency to consider the series somewhat boring. The fact fantasy of any kind from D&D to World of Warcraft would likely not exist without him is a testament to the enduring legacy of professor Tolkien's work, but, is that enough to overcome the criticism?

As an indie author, I find that the modern social media generation reading audiences (me included) have the attention span of lazy house flies. If a book doesn't catch their attention instantly, is fast paced and short, they tend not to read it. We indie authors make a living understanding this and churn out quick serialized fast paced content that is designed to appeal to the tastes of current readers.

Professor Tolkien's work is as far from this format as can be found. though no longer a revolutionary concept as it was in the early twentieth century, it is still an adult literary novel. A book that is deep and philosophical, takes its time to tell a story, and uses a more Lexical density with its words. It doesn't rush to the point or rely on constant trumped up action sequences to keep the reader engaged. The world Tolkien created is vast in its scope and feels almost real as if it is actual mythology instead of fantasy. This can only be produced by someone who takes more time with his creations then the current fast paced culture would allow. So is the complaints about his work valid or a result of the changes in modern society?

Well, as with any type of art, that is a matter of taste. Someone like me tends to prefer a more traditional approach to story telling, but I do acknowledge that a lot of people, my kids included, tend to swing to the other side of the spectrum. That being said, Professor Tolkien didn't chose to make his tale about a long walk by accident. As anyone who has lived more then a few years as an adult will attest, life is not a fast paced action adventure but a long complex journey. It is a slow burn story, not a novella.

In the almost narcissistic hyper focused world of Instagram, Facebook, Youtube and all of the plethora of other social media platforms, we have the ability to share our daily lives with others. Whereas, this is not necessarily a bad thing as it can be a great place to share memories and to record our lives for the future, but it has led to a few unfortunate side effects. One major problem that has arisen is the growing fear that our lives are somehow lacking. That they are not exciting enough but average and boring. Especially in comparison to everyone else on social media.

We used to call this anxiety "keeping up with the Jones". Before it was possible for every Tom, Dick and Harry to put their life out their, it was your house, your car, your clothing, the behavior of your children, etc. that was what the world saw. If your neighbors, coworker, family and friends had more of those things that you, you felt like you were not as successful. So you had to , "keep up with the Joneses" in order to feel like you were getting ahead in life.

We have a hyper extreme version of this now thanks to social media. Anyone can add a filter or use AI to create videos to make their lives seem more exciting and interesting. Sure, we all know this and yet, we all still feel like our lives are somehow missing something. I recently lost 95 pounds and put on a ton of muscle. I look and feel better then I did when I was in my 30s, and yet, I still feel insecure every time I look at a picture of myself. I joke about how I want to look like my 19 year old nephew who did the same. He is ripped, extremely handsome and a good person to boot. My trainer keeps reminding me that I am 50 and he is 20, but it doesn't matter. I should look like that because other 50 year old's on social media do.

Through Hobbits we can see how just unimportant this all is. They don't care about keeping up with their neighbors, all they care about are the simple things in life. They are masters at recognizing and appreciating the beauty of day to day life. A good mug of bear with an agreeable friend, a long walk with a loved one, an amazing meal with family and friends, and the simple joy of tending a garden and watching it grow. In the eyes of a lot of the other peoples in Middle Earth they are seen as simple and unsophisticated, and yet, they understand something the others do not.

It is one of the main reasons why Hobbits were able to carry the one ring when all the others were not. They are not so easily corrupted by its promises of power, wealth and influence. To them, such things are of less worth. This makes them absolutely better at the long walk then people who are consumed by temporal things like fame, fortune and power. In them we find Tolkien's views of life and happiness. It is in our average everyday life that we find true worth, joy and contentment.

One other thing Professor Tolkien understood was that life is a very, very long walk. Most of the days you are simply putting one foot in front of the other with nothing very exciting happening. He understood this concept that the modern world has mostly forgotten. Real progress and growth takes time and consistency. No one changes the world overnight despite what social media might tries to tell us. The fitness influencer, the celebrity, the business owner, the successful author and yes even your neighbors didn't get where they are overnight. It took time, effort and consistency. I took the long walk.

Tolkien understood this when he created the Lord of the Rings and this is why he wrote the story the way he did. Sure their are grand battles and intense scenes, but a lot of the story is about keeping hope and faith during the slow times. It isn't in the intense action sequences of life that our character grows, it is in the mundane everyday journey. It isn't the drama we face were our character is developed, it is in the slow times.

As any warrior or soldier will attest, you do not learn how to fight in the battle, you learn how to fight through consistent training. It is in the battle where the results of that training is measured. Those who train survive, and those who don't die. Everyday life is the same. How you handle the trials of life, aka your character, is forged in the everyday walk not in the trials themselves.

Also, you want to know where most people fail? It isn't in the hard times, it is in the average times. When it looks like nothing at all is happening, when all your hard work is producing very little. Sure you see some progress but it is minimal. When you have been working out consistently and counting calories for months and all you lost is 2 pounds. You still look the same as you did yesterday and you are now wondering if it is even all worth it. You sacrificed Doritos and pizza for this? (Laugh if you will, but we all know Doritos and Pizza are the modern day Ambrosia.) It is here in the day to day grind we lose hope. It is in these moments most people fail. Where you can see Mount Doom in the distance but it doesn't look any closer than it did a week ago.

Frodo is like us, prone to this. We see the struggle as he begins to bow under the weight of his responsibilities. After a while, every step becomes tedium. Depression and despair threaten to overwhelm him, and if it weren't for Sam he might have simply lied down and given up. It is in these times that the true success of the story is determined, and it is in this place where the greatest trials in your life will be found. Will you keep going when every step feels pointless? Will you still believe when the object your chasing is still a million miles away?

Sam is the character where Tolkien best describes this concept. A guy who isn't the most accomplished or impressive. He is just Frodo's gardener and handy man. He is a friend and a brother, but overall, not the guy you would pick to go on a grand quest that will determine the fate of the world. And yet, he is exactly who Gandalf under the influence of

Eru Ilúvatar, the God of Tolkien's world, choses. Why? Because he has one thing all the other great heroes do not, the ability to keep hope and believe through the long walk. He proves this when he says to Mr. Frodo ,

“Yes, that’s so,’ said Sam. ‘And we shouldn’t be here at all, if we’d known more about it before we started. But I suppose it’s often that way. The brave things in the old tales and songs, Mr. Frodo: adventures, as I used to call them. I used to think that they were things the wonderful folk of the stories went out and looked for, because they wanted them, because they were exciting and life was a bit dull, a kind of a sport, as you might say. But that’s not the way of it with the tales that really mattered, or the ones that stay in the mind. Folk seem to have been just landed in them, usually – their paths were laid that way, as you put it. But I expect they had lots of chances, like us, of turning back, only they didn’t. And if they had, we shouldn’t know, because they’d have been forgotten. We hear about those as just went on – and not all to a good end, mind you; at least not to what folk inside a story and not outside it call a good end. You know, coming home, and finding things all right, though not quite the same – like old Mr Bilbo. But those aren’t always the best tales to hear, though they may be the best tales to get landed in! I wonder what sort of a tale we’ve fallen into?’

So, if you are like me and are struggling with keeping hope and faith during the long walk, chin up. Embrace what seems like the mundane for in it is where the real joy in life is found. Afterall, it is here where we experience the best parts of life. It is here where we are truly forged, and when all is said and done and we stand before our God, we will look back and finally understand that it is here where our destines were made. Afterall, I am sure, just like me, when you think about all of the greatest moments in your life, the ones that truly changed you or brought you joy, you will find they can all be found in those quiet average days and not during the exciting and terrible battles.

“I have found that it is the small everyday deed of ordinary folks that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.”

Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings Films

JW Kiefer is a novelist, writer and minister from Western NY. If you would like to know more about him or read more of his works, he can be found at JWKIEFER.COM and on Medium.