On the Road...

“The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.”

              - John Ronald Reuel Tolkien

       I have been pondering lately whether it is true what people say – that you get to know another person best when they are travelling.
       And I sincerely hope that is not the case.

       I have no doubt you’re not even wondering why, as you already know the answer, I’m sure. After all, we have all journeyed to or departed towards, or voyaged into something/somewhere (a goal; a destination; the unknown; the nearest pub; fill in the blank). And you must know what humans tend to be on the road – petty, irritable and generally rather far from the magnificent individuals they would otherwise be. (‘Otherwise’ here entails access to fresh food, clean clothes and personal hygiene facilities – the frail foundations, upon which civilisation rests in our consumer-driven Realm of the Developed.)

       Perhaps you’re thinking I believe myself and exclusion of sorts from that paradigm – and rightly so, even if that is true only to a certain extent. I am petty and irritable, and generally far from the magnificent individual I otherwise have the potential to be. But I am also happy and giddy with excitement. And hopeful – for I know where my road shall take me. And where it might...

       Few things hold greater allure, I believe, than the open road and its promises, whispered by winds unknown.