“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
My favorite book series of all time is the Lord of the Rings. When I was young, I did not realize the power of these works. As an adult, I can see the Christian element that flows through these books. What is amazing is that this passage is written by a man who watched his friends die in WWI.
I would dearly like it if we lived in a time like the optimism and energy of the late ’80s and ’90s. I wish that my children were not entering the world as it is. But that is not for me to decide. All I can do is decide what I am going to do with the times I live in. Like a fish in a pond, there is no way for me to move to a different pond; I must swim where I am. Every moment I spend wishing things were different is a moment I am not engaging with life. This is not to say wishing things were different is wrong. I mean, if it is OK for Gandalf, it must be OK for me. However, Gandalf does not dwell on it, he lets the feeling go and decides what he will do.
I am not a subscriber to the faith that all things were “meant to happen” but I firmly believe that we are able to choose how we respond to events, and we get to choose what we will do with them. The times today are strange and not what we have wanted. How will we respond?
It is not quoted perfectly in the movie, but it is powerful to see:
This has been part of the Quote of the Day Series.
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