Reposted from 8/26/2010
“Despair, or folly?” said Gandalf. “It is not despair, for despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt.”
I read this part of the story when I was at a dark place in my life. I was losing not only my two best friends, but a future that I had anticipated and nurtured for two years. During this time, I doubted myself in a thousand ways, fighting to understand lies that didn’t make sense, trying to keep hopeful that everything would turn out all right. At the time it felt like false hope— which is worse than despair.
This passage helped me recognize that blazing a trail through a dark time seems like despair, when in reality it is foolishness. And sometimes the foolish path is the only one left to take.
I received assurance from a reliable source (read: God) that, in the end, everything would be okay. This was foolishness at the time, but it was not despair. I could not see the end beyond all doubt. I still can’t. Don’t judge until it’s all over.
~Lisa Shafter
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