A man that flies from his fear may find that he has only taken a short cut to meet it.

J. R. R. Tolkien

In Tolkien’s writings a lot of characters do the deeds of unsurpassed valour, and success in their quests becomes possible because these characters learn to face their fears rather than flee from them.

Bilbo Baggins follows the Dwarves on their quest and faces various fears of his throughout the journey only to become a different Hobbit, who has found courage in very unlikely places and made a massive contribution to the quest outcome. The whole journey of Frodo to Mount Doom is constantly walking towards his fear, conquering it but not fleeing from it, which leads to his being instrumental in bringing down the dark power of Sauron. When we face our fears with determination and decisiveness, we are prepared, and thus our chance of overcoming these fears are more likely. When we fly from them hoping that they will somehow pass us by, fears tend to catch us unawares, enslave us and make us fall victims to them.

So, the lesson that Bilbo and Frodo teach us is that we should take courage and go out boldly to meet our fears in order to overcome them instead of subduing to them and letting them overcome us.

This post is part of 3 quotes in 3 days challenge. Thank you so much Ava from Reads, Rhythms and Ruminations for nomination. Here are the rules:

1. Pick 3 quotes for 3 days and write what they mean to you.
2. Nominate 3 different bloggers each day (no repetition).
3.Thank the person who nominated you.

Today’s nominations are:

Forest City Bookworm

Forged From Reverie

Write Of Passage

Featured image - Creative Common Licence found at Pixabay.