3 Day Quote Challenge | Travel – JRR Tolkien

This is the third and final Day of the 3 Day Quote Challenged Deviskasdesktop nominated me for. Check out Day 1 & Day 2  if you haven’t already.

Day 3 : Quote on Travel – JRR Tolkien

“Not all those who wander are lost.”

-J. R. R. Tolkien

IMG_2365
You can tell it’s been well loved!

I love traveling that’s no secret. Sometimes the end destination is not what is most important. The journey in and of itself is what matters. Just by experiencing traveling you learn and grow along the way. The people you meet, the cultures you discover just open up your mind to the fact that even though we may have vast differences between us, at the core we are all the same.

I love reading and one of my favorite books is by J. R. R. Tolkien : his fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. I actually picked it up randomly just because it was the thickest book in the book store (It’s actually a special edition with all 3 tomes) ! I tend to go through books pretty quickly, so I often feel I’m not getting my money’s worth when I finish them up too fast!

The quote comes from a poem “All That is Gold Does Not Glitter” in Lord of the Rings.  It alludes to an integral part of the plot, and describes Aragorn, son of Arathorn.

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

This quote in the context of the story, as I see it means that you shouldn’t take things on their surface value but should dig deeper. Snap judgments are often off mark, what may seem unimportant and unassuming can turn out to be vitally important (here Aragorn seems to be unimportant, but is actually one of the heroes, just as the Rangers appear to be wanderers with no purpose but are in fact actively fighting evil). By losing yourself in travel you can also find yourself.

Here are some more inspiring travel quotes, I’ve found on the web site AZQuotes, that have resonated in me as they express perfectly my thoughts on feelings on the intrinsic nature of traveling :

thumb
Road trip in Texas, Wichita Falls – 2008

These quotes revolve around the fact that as you travel and grow, you change and often you can experience a sense of displacement when you come back to your home. Things appear differently to you, even though they aren’t the ones who’ve changed. Your eye has and sees things through the lenses of your travel experience.

This is food for thought for all the bi-citizens out there. Some acquaintances have told me they end up feeling as if they are from nowhere. To me it’s a strength and you should change your thought process to be at home in many different places. I won’t sugar coat it, being from different countries isn’t always easy, and I tend to miss one when living in the other and vice versa. But you can’t always have your cake and eat it too ! So focus on the positive, it’s very lucky to feel at home in two different cultures.

“Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.“

Anita Desai

 “A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.“

– Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.“

– Marcel Proust

“There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.”

– Nelson Mandela

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.“

Mark Twain

Read more at: http://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/travel.html

What travel quotes are you inspired by?

I’d love to chat with you on :

Facebook – Instagram – Twitter – Google+ – Bloglovin’

Shop the post :

JRR Tolkien : Lord of the rings & Le Seigneur des anneaux (*)

JRR Tolkien : The Hobbit & Le Hobbit (*)

Peter Jackson : The Lord of rings – the movie & le film (*)

IMG_2364

(*) affiliate links

28 thoughts on “3 Day Quote Challenge | Travel – JRR Tolkien”

  3. The Lord of the Rings is one of my favorite books (I should say, the bookS are some of my favorite books), and that is a wonderful quote. Since I had kids, I haven’t had the chance to travel so much, but in the future, I plan to spend a good chunk of my time just wandering. Kids won’t be here forever, and the world is out there waiting!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks for your comment. Traveling with kids isn’t easy for sure, but that’s a great plan to have. Travel is so enriching and gives your perspective on things I find but it’s also plain fun! Where do you want to go first?

      Liked by 1 person

Leave a comment