[Estelyn Telcontar]

Excellent posts so far - thanks to all participants! I'm enjoying this discussion as much as I'd hoped to! Two thoughts that occur to me as we go on:

First of all, I wouldn't separate the spiritual aspect from the physical act of wandering. There may be occasions where one occurs without the other, but very frequently, they are closely connected. Body and mind work together more than we consciously realize, and movement/change of the one will produce awareness of the possibility of change in the other. I have experienced that effect in exercise groups that do physical therapy with psychological effects. I also recall reading at least two books that tell of the changes in a person's life taking place in connection with walking or running.

The other thought that I had concerns Aragorn. When he settled down in Minas Tirith to become King, he chose "Telcontar" as the name of his house - meaning "Strider", of course. Isn't it striking that he, who had so many names from which he could have chosen, decided to emphasize that aspect of his personality? It would seem to me that he wanted to make clear that he would keep that wandering outlook on life, the broad point of view, even after he resided primarily in one fixed place. And of course he did continue to travel, to the northern part of the Kingdom, to the Shire, and certainly to other places as well.

(Cross-posted with Lal - interesting thoughts on stasis. I would agree that it is not 'evil' as such, but it means stagnation, lack of growth, and that must almost inevitably lead to negative results.)