I Plodded On

"I desired to do this for my own satisfaction,

and I had little hope that other people

would be interested in this work..."

~ J.R.R. Tolkien

I'm not even to the story's first line and I already love the story behind the story.

This morning, I began reading the foreward to The Fellowship of the Ring.

Just a few pages long, but I already had a couple of lines strike me.

One was Tolkien speaking about his desire to write this story for his own satisfaction.

A story that took several years to complete.

A couple of paragraphs later, he told of how life got in the way of completing this work in a timely matter.

And then he says, "I plodded on."

As I mentioned in my last post, I love this artist and craftsman mindset.

I am admittedly very late to the J.R.R. party, but I'm okay with this late-in-life "discovery."

I'm just grateful to find him now and learn a little more about him and his work.

I'm happy to invite it into my life where I, too, am writing for my own satisfaction.

Where I, too, have little hope that anyone is interested in these words I write.

It gives me encouragement to plod on in the daily work and play of writing.

I am fully aware, that Tolkien and I are at opposite ends of this spectrum of writers.

And again, I am okay with this.

I am simply grateful to be on this spectrum doing the daily work of showing up.

I am grateful to be taking the time to put my physical body where my heart wishes to be.

It brings me satisfaction to hear the stories behind the stories.

The inspiring stories of showing up day after day and year after year.

Thank you again, Mr. Tolkien, for a moment to appreciate and smile and plod forward.

Satisfied.