I know this quote has been listed before, but I'm repeating it here, because just now it came to me like it never has before. I'm kind of down on my luck right now, as far as money is concerned. Someone suggested to me recently that maybe it isn't worth going around and circles just to find a steady income. Maybe it hasn't been the best thing for me, putting my life off until I get a financial security blanket.
As I mentioned before, I am rereading The Hobbit. I have reached the part where, prior to the Battle of Five Armies, everyone wants a share of the dragon's hoard and Thorin is being a total jerk about it. It's been on my mind a lot recently, because this conflict is going to be the premise for the upcoming film. Uncomfortable as I am to admit it , when I look at Thorin I see myself trying to get ahead with material things. I think the above quote says a lot about where the world's problems come from.
But then I think of his dying words to Bilbo, and I am reminded of the important things in life, the things that I can still have even though I don't have the financial means to have them in abundance. Love, imagination, stories, books, music, good food, home, family: those are the things that really matter to me. Why should I be worried about what I don't have when there is so much right here at my fingertips, some of it literally via my laptop.
I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving, those of you who celebrate it. But to everyone I hope you let the words and their meaning sink deeply.
See you in the Shire!