― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
“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.”
I won’t dilute these magnificent words by J.R.R. Tolkien. Much.
In them, I read and am reminded not to take everything at face value, not to see loss as permanent and fixed. To find personal strength on this earth by grounding yourself from within, not without, and not to give in or be defined by “failure.”
Failure in life is not being knocked down.
Everyone gets knocked down.
You only fail if you don’t try to get up again.
Expressive Compulsive 