"I have found that it is the small everyday deed of ordinary folks that keeps the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love."- Tolkien
"That is not the only part they have to play. They were brought to Fangorn and their coming was like the falling of small stones that starts an avalanche in the mountains. Even as we talk here, I hear the first rumblings."- Gandalf the White on Merry and Pippin
It is indeed the small everyday deeds of love that keeps the darkness at bay.
Not that long ago our world was holding on against the darkness, hoping that the forces of the Nazis and the World Wars could be defeated.
Tolkien was there. In the worst battles of World War I.
He saw how much it meant.
How much it meant to see the little people showing courage in a hopeless situation.
How much it meant to have that small act of kindness in the face of it all. A letter from home. A message of love from a loved one or a friend. A friendly greeting from a stranger.
How much harder did our fighting men try, how much more did they endure, because of those small acts of kindness?
Then came the revival.
It was not enough to win the war. We needed to revive hope, to learn to dream again.
Our world saw a miracle.
As we held on against the Soviet Union in the Cold War, we discovered a new dream: travel to outer space.
To fly among the stars.
Thus was hope reborn.
How much did it mean to have those small acts of kindness?
How much more hope was there for us all in 1956 against the Soviet Union because of those small acts of kindness? For us all, not just our fighting men?
How much more hope was there because of all those little people who showed courage?
How much more hope was there when that new dream came?
And how much farther did that beautiful new dream come because of a letter from home, a hug from a friend, a smile and a greeting from a stranger?
Was that the difference between us reaching the Moon?
Was that the difference between us really feeling the wonder of the beautiful new dream in 1958 with Explorer 1, in 1962 with John Glenn, in 1968 when we really needed it, in 1969 when we triumphed?
And how much does it mean today?
Our world is not fully revived.
We are still recovering.
It is a whole lot better than it was in 1942, but we still have a long ways to go.
Our world can get a whole lot better.
Like it was in the time of Ming China and Mughal India and Ottoman Istanbul. When the whole world was beautiful and full of wonders.
Every small act of kindness brings us closer to that reality. Every small act of kindness furthers the revival.
The revival spread to Poland, Eastern Europe, Russia, China, South Korea, east Arabia, and India from Japan and western Europe even as it faded in America.
Every small act of kindness in America brings America closer to recapturing what still lives on in Japan and South Korea.
Every small act of kindness brings Japan and South Korea and China and India closer to the level of Ming China, Tokugawa Japan, Gupta India, Mughal India. Closer to the beauty and wonder of old.
Closer to dreams more like Rivendell than the world we know today.
Japan and South Korea are so close to that beautiful reality that we can feel it. They are almost a utopia.
Every small act of kindness brings them closer to realizing that Utopia.
Every small act of kindness brings the European Union, which is already closer to utopia than Europe has ever known, to being like Ming China themselves, a level Europe never achieved in the past.
And every small act of kindness brings America closer to recapturing what Japan and South Korea have today, which America once had in the 1970's and 1980's.
Every small act of kindness contributes to the revival.
Let's see how far we can go!
It's a beautiful future we are creating!
God loves you!
Sincerely,
David S. Annderson