The Inspiration of The Hobbit

 

Who would have known? 

The consumer sentiment index - or how we all feel about the country, etc. dropped to the lowest since 2011. A sudden drop in one month from July to the preliminary August reading. It is extremely rare, and maybe a sign of the times with Covid.

So where does the Hobbit fit into this?

Maybe it is difficult to have any inspiration for anything in these times. Although it has been challenging, I have managed to maintain a strong level of inspiration this year (2021). 

Some factors contributing to this are:

- not watching or reading the news (especially the negative news stories).
(exceptions, but usually for about five minutes or less. especially anything political. I'm burnt out from US politics. I live in Mexico so it's easier to "distance myself").

- practicing daily meditation and Qi Gong

 - listening to classical novels - stories, that have been rated as the best ever written

 

Everyone is familiar with Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. The three movies that came out were blockbusters, and I have watched them several times. The original novels were published in 1954-55, and took him ten years to write.

The Hobbit was the original story that inspired the sequels. It was published in 1937 and became popular enough for the publishers to request a sequel.

"Tolkien never expected his stories to become popular, but by sheer accident a book called The Hobbit, which he had written some years before for his own children, came in 1936 to the attention of Susan Dagnall, an employee of the London publishing firm George Allen & Unwin, who persuaded Tolkien to submit it for publication. When it was published a year later, the book attracted adult readers as well as children, and it became popular enough for the publishers to ask Tolkien to produce a sequel."  Wikipedia

 

 

I remember reading the Lord of the Rings in the sixties, as did many other baby boomers, and it was an amazing book then as it is now. A true classic.

This year as I have started to listen to many different classical novels I decided to listen to the book The Hobbit, the "prequel" to The Lord of the Rings, and one that I never read. The Fellowship of the Ring is also in my library and I will enjoy this later this winter.

What an inspiration and enjoyable experience for escape, or deeper literature appreciation! Songs and descriptions of dwarves, elves, goblins, derived from ancient Scandanavian and Anglo Saxon poems, and the adventure of Bilbo Baggins when he was younger and off to an adventure with twelve dwarves and Gandalf. How he discovered the ring in the caves of the goblins. Something unusual and exciting happening frequently. Never a "dull moment".

Of course a novel has all the details and descriptions that are not fully included in a movie. The Hobbit audiobook is eleven hours. The Fellowship of the Ring is 19 hours. The narrator for The Hobbit is Andy Serkis, who provided the voice for Gollum in the movie. So in the audiobook of course he modulates his voice for Gandalf and the others but when Gollum speaks it is exactly the same voice! That was a surprise when I first heard it....I needed to Google Andy Serkis to check on it.

The bottom line is that in spite of whats going on in the world, you can be inspired by many different things. By staying inspired you experience happier vibes for yourself and others. Of course there are the reality checks, yet fear and anxiety do not need to be dominant or experienced as often, or maybe not at all. We choose whatever content we are watching or reading or listening to, and that becomes a part of our life. Carpe Diem - seize the day with whatever makes you feel good and inspired (if that is important to you).

And if you want to experience a fun adventure with Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf in The Hobbit audiobook, you can get it as a free download with a free trial membership with Audible - here's a link : Audible Free Trial