I just finished reading the Lord of the rings. I read it about 15 years ago and part of it when the movies came out. I really got into the book fast and enjoyed the reading very much. There are so many more details in the book which are not found in the movies, even in the directors cut. I like the movies a lot and saw them several times, but the actual book is a lot better.
The story is a fantasy story with a lot of thing that speak to me. I felt a longing to be part of that story. I know this sounds ridiculous. But I guess it has to do with wanting to have purpose and be interwoven in a important story, to have meaning and become a hero on the way. It is a story of good and evil and how good prevails. It is also a story of having roots, history, rich of tradition and culture.
There is one thing I wondered about the story. There is no mention of God, or gods, or any religion. There are the evils and the good and a mention of a heaven. I never thought of it before.
One of the nicest pictures in the story is the change of Aragorn who is known as Strider at the beginning of the story and becomes the High King of Gondor. But as the old lore says:
"The hands of the king are the hands of the healer, and so shall the rightful king be known"
Aragorn changes from a hidden heir to the throne to a leader and healer of his people. At the end of the book a new age starts in middle earth. An age of peace. A place where it is save to travel to parts where nobody dared before. The land is healed and many years later the wounds of war will only be a memory and part of lore.
I am part of a story. Perhaps not that important to world peace and overcoming evil. But perhaps more like one of the lesser characters I play my part in the story of this world, my family, friends and my people. I will never be the one recognized as the one who destroyed evil, the healer, or protector. I may never have big titles or being honored in high places. At least not in this world. Still I feel that the parts I play may have more relevance in the big picture then I think.
