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Great points about Gollum, B88. It's like the old saying about how almost only counts with horseshoes and hand grenades. In fact, the more I think on it, Gollum's wide wanderings in search of the Ring (selfish gain) didn't teach him much except for geography and a certain brand of wily survivalism. His internal journey doesn't begin until he undertakes (albeit under extreme duress) an external journey for something other than himself. And even though he never made it the whole way, the only thing that even gave him the chance was that journey. If he had remained fixed -- both mentally and physically -- in his hole under the Misty Mountains, he would have never had even the chance of redemption. In the end, it is his lack of real commitment to the service of others that leads to his downfall.
So maybe that's an important component of the wandering -- not wandering aimlessly, nor yet merely with the object of selfish gain, but wandering that leads to the service of others. Gandalf epitomizes this. Bilbo began his journey (also not completely of his own will) ostensibly for gain, but ended up willingly sacrificing his share of the treasure to avert bloodshed.
An interesting topic indeed, Esty.
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