And all the host laughed and wept, and in the midst of their merriment and tears the clear voice of the minstrel rose like silver and gold, and all men were hushed. And he sang to them, now in the Elven-tongue, now in the speech of the West, until their hearts, wounded with sweet words, overflowed, and their joy was like swords, and they passed in thought out to regions where pain and delight flow together and tears are the very wine of blessedness.
The Ring is destroyed, the war is won, and this is Tolkien’s description of Joy. It is triumph, it is glorious pain, and it is an experience that shatters the categories for emotions that humans have constructed. Depression and bitterness can reach great depths, but I firmly believe that Joy is deeper still. Sorrow and anger were not here from the beginning, but in Joy the heavens clapped their hands, and the earth spun into being.
~Lisa Shafter
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