Not all those who wander...

Anyone who has ever been introduced to the world of Tolkien has heard the phrase, 

"Not all those who wander are lost."

Although this phrase has become quite popular over the past few years and is the most popular Tolkien quote to date, it does have a deep meaning. These aren't just words that he wrote on a page. These words symbolize something that almost everyone can relate to.

The definition of wandering to most is walking around aimlessly with no direction whatsoever, aka being lost. However, to some, this is not what wandering means. Wandering to many people nowadays means simply finding your way. Just because one tries out different types of jobs, scenarios, relationships, etc., does not mean that they are "lost," or, have no direction. This is a common misconception in today's world.

Society has fit everyone into a mold that seems to work for some, but for others it is not so beneficial. This mold is: go to school, find a job, know what you are going to do for the rest of your life at the age of 20, and then do it until you retire. And this mold does work for the people lucky enough to know exactly what they want to do from an early age. But others are not so lucky.

We are the outcasts in society. We are the "wanderers."  What this means is not that we have no idea where we are going in life, but that we try many different paths and enjoy the lessons that life throws at us. We take it all in stride and when we find our place in this world, we "arrive precisely when we mean to,"-Gandalf (a twist on his LOTR quote lol).

We do have a timeline of when we would like to settle down and stay in one place, but it is more of a guideline than something actually set in stone. We live with our hearts and not just our heads. We listen to our hearts and not just our heads. And just because we are not sitting in a 9-5 job making billions of dollars every single day, does not mean that we are not wealthy; does not mean that we are not happy; does not mean that we have no direction.

There is nothing wrong with living in society's mold, absolutely nothing at all! If that works for you. But for us, we are the wanderers. We will always be the wanderers. And no, we are not lost. We simply live.

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us..."

Gandalf the Grey