What will you choose?

[Child of the 7th Age]

Thought I'd bump this up, since it's been a year, and see if there are any newcomers who'd like to add their opinions.

~Child

[mark12_30]

...can an old-comer play too?

Open-fire cooking, broad open spaces, long wild roads, no office cubicles, fresh water and air, plenty of time in the garden and with the fruit trees.... left, baby, LEFT LEFT LEFT. Rohan, then Rivendell, then Bree. Maybe I'd settle in Bree, with frequent trips here and there.

Except--

I couldn't possibly go without my wonderful amazing husband, the love of my life always and forever; and he's insulin-dependant. They don't have that there. He couldn't come.

Drat.

Drat drat drat drat drat.

CONFOUND IT ALL.

...Right..... **sob**

Ah, what we do for love.
(Looks around Mordorish office cubicle, sighs, and plods through orcs and enslaved humans toward Mount Doom.)

[Nurumaiel]

Last year I might have said left without thinking, because while I loved life here and now I wanted adventure. Last year I wasn't contented with the way I lived. It was all right, but I either wanted to go wandering the roads or just up and die and go to Heaven. I didn't want to stay where I was.

To live in the Shire would fulfill every dream of life I've ever had... green hillsides and little roads that wander to a friend's house(/hole), and perhaps a little farm of my own with some chickens and cows. Abandon all technology and find my entertainment in the whistling of the birds. I would go at a moment's notice, except I could not come back. And I know I'd regret it for all of my life.

The sufferings of this world? Faith, the sufferings of this world are what made me love life. Not just because of the aftermath of the sufferings, when peace could be known once again and you would realize with a shock just how many people had cared enough to help you, but in the sufferings themselves. And I don't really know why; I merely have vague guesses. And doesn't Middle-Earth have sufferings too?

I would have to leave almost everyone I loved. I could take a few with me, as it's been said, but fairly everyone I've really met and known has been a dear friend to me, and I would hate to leave any of them behind.

Again, the sufferings of this world. I would suffer all the sufferings if I could have one of the joys, because they are by far more sweet than the sufferings are painful. I taught myself to find joy in the simplest little things and I found joy everywhere. I found joy in a smile from a little boy, something I otherwise would have carelessly tossed aside. And so I have enough beautiful little joys in this world that I can do without the joys of Middle-Earth.

Lack of adventures for me? Never! That's what I thought last year. Everything is an adventure here, I just have to look and see it. Do I really want an adventure that involves running about with a sword nearly getting my head hacked off by orcs? No, of course I don't! Perish the thought. In a few minutes I'll be walking out into the open of the house and children will be bustling everywhere demanding I do this and that with them, and I'll have the adventures of romping with them, perhaps cooking for them, or working on the dress that needs to be sewed, or that knitting, or maybe just a quiet ramble outdoors. Those adventures aren't only more enjoyable and simpler than narrowly avoiding getting your head hacked off, but they're more exciting because the happiness lets the excitement show. If an orc was running after me with a blood-stained battleaxe I'd be in dread terror and wishing I was home, not thinking how adventurous and fun and exciting it was.

Most important point of all, I'm a Roman Catholic... to leave this world would be to leave the most beautiful things of that Faith. I could still be a Catholic in Middle-Earth but I couldn't practice my Faith. The inhabitants of Middle-Earth would eventually hate me because I was such a gloomy sort of person, not having received the Eucharist in ages. I suppose I could drag along a priest, but what happens when he dies? And what if God wanted me to be a nun? Where would I find a convent?

Oh yes, the little joys of this life. Little joys that can't be found in Middle-Earth. Seeing the sun rise over these trees and these hills and thinking of what adventures I'll have at this house; watching the lads win a baseball game and being happy because they are; anticipating when we'll see childhood friends again whom we haven't seen for years, friends who couldn't possibly be in Middle-Earth; finally achieving friendship with the squirrels that have been avoiding you, the squirrels called Tipp, Fenian, Kerry, Derry, and that wicked lovable squirrel who I shall not name, squirrels that aren't in Middle-Earth; returning from a day at San Francisco to see houses melt away into woodlands and wilderness and feel the delightful, happy little thrill that you're home. To go to Middle-Earth would mean never to feel the happiness that I'm home again. I'd regret it forever and ever if I didn't go right.

Besides, what would become of my two baby brothers if I were to leave? They don't have the medical equipment at Middle-Earth that my brothers needed to actually survive. What if the little lad had another liver rejection. What if another baby was born with the same problems and couldn't get a transplant? The lad just barely survived as it is; in Middle-Earth he wouldn't have had the slimmest chance, bar a miracle more extreme than the one that already took place with all the equipment and highly-trained doctors here.

I love my life, with all its sufferings. A darling little baby was born this morning and if I had lived in Middle-Earth my family couldn't have been contacted to be told the beautiful news. I'm too happy here to live in Middle-Earth. I'm not through with this world yet. There are too many places to go, too many people to meet, too many things to see. Too much love and happiness to completely leave behind.

I'd go right.

[PaleStar]

Hello! I'm new, as you might be able to see...to reply;
It's a hard choice to make, whether to go left or right. Personally, I think I'd fit in a whole lot better on the left...but what of the language barrier? Even if that wasn't an issue, assuming whoever's dumping this choice on me will let me speak Westron, there's still the matter of my big fat attitude; I'd get in trouble constantly.
But, I suppose, on M-E, you can get away from that, away from your life, it seems. I would happily spend all my days alone in the wilderness than deal with modern life, even if it was during the failing times of the Third Age.
to add a bit of myself; I'm writing a novel with this similar theme; it's a high price to pay, but, seeing the world as it is, it seems more worth it.

*turns left*

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Welcome to the Downs, PaleStar! Your decision to come here was a good one to start with! Hope you enjoy yourself!

[Firefoot]

It's a much harder question than meets the eye... and though I'd be tempted to say left I think that I would eventually choose the right. I love Middle-earth and it's inhabitants (especially hobbits...) and "living in the Shire" has always sounded like fun, but I certainly wouldn't fit in with them. There is too much in this world to need to go to ME. And, *gasp* no computer?!?! And there are some books that I don't think I could live without (not just Tolkien ). So I would go right, and leave ME as a story.

[elronds_daughter]

Hmm.... I have to say that I would probably go left. even if I couldn't take anyone with me, I'd go left to Middle Earth. And I'd probably live somewhere near Hobbits. If the Hobbits of the Shire have a problem with 'big people' living there, then I'd go to Bree. And even if I couldn't be a Hobbit (which I swear to people that I already am ) then I would at least dress like a Hobbit and adopt their habits. But alas, I would have to remain a girl. But maybe it wouldn't be too bad. I think I could live with out my computer and adapt to having no technology.

cheers!

Elrond's (other) daughter

[Hama Of The Riddermark]

I'd go left...although it would be a hard choice...the thought of never seeing my electric guitar again , that said I'd take my acoustic guitar, and some music, and a load of spare strings...

I'd also take my parents, my girlfriend, and my Tolkein Collection (may seem pointless, but I just couldn't say goodbye forever to that)

I'm also really fed up with the world as it stands. I'd love to get away from an America run by G.W, and from the Israel conflict, and the war in Iraq, and so many other things that make me sad.

Ideally I'd like to live in Rohan as portayed by P.J, I love the rustic viking style air to it, and the great rolling landscapes have a special place in my heart. If I had to pick a specific place in Rohan, i'd choose Edoras. The golden hall, king Theoden (or whoever was reigning) and so many other things...of course I'd have to know Rohirric and Westron...if that was a condition of the portal...

[Niluial]

I would most certainly go through the left door. It would take time for me to make the decision, though I know I would go through the left. I am not so ‘close’ to any family members and don’t get home sick too easily. So why would I go through the right and miss the opportunity? By the sound of it I would meet many of you there.

Best Wishes,
Niluial

[Son of Númenor]

I would take the path to the right, unless someone could give me assurance that I wouldn't be dumped off at the Black Gate if I took the left.

Seriously, though, the temptation would be great to go to the left. I doubt there are many here with more than 150 posts who have not at some point longed to vanish into Middle-earth. The possibility of being a cavalier of Rohan, a knight of Gondor, or a Ranger of the North, however small the chances that I would have such a life in M-e, would tempt me beyond any temptation I have ever experienced.

In the end, though, I would make the choice to stay here in good ol' Regular-earth. Besides the simple facts that I love my family and my friends (and the Barrow-downs - they don't even have the Internet in M-e!), I hope in my life to see and be a part of some real, positive changes in our world. The possibility of those changes in the world I know now, outweighs any love I could ever have for an imaginary world - even if that world became a reality in some parallel universe.

[Alda]

Years from now, after taking the road less traveled, I would like to look back and know in my heart that it has made all the difference.

My wife running barefoot in a sunlit glade of the Old Forest. A glimpse of old Bombadil and Goldberry with her water lilies. The sadness of the firstborn passing into the West. Just a glimpse of these things would make Iluvatar's gift much easier to bear before the end.

This is one instance where "the left hand path" would seem to be the right path so to speak

Although I think someone might have beat us to it, where did Malbeth the Seer get his information? Someone who has read the books perhaps?

No regrets, Middle-Earth or Bust

[Lalaith]

If going left meant there-and-back-again, then yes. It is good to travel and seek adventure, but I think it is also best to return home at journey's end. And as the deal on offer here entails no going back, so my answer would be right. I love my life and those in it, and I would not foresake it or them, even for Middle Earth.

[PaleStar]

Wow...Alda, that post was...simply beautiful. I think you've captured all of our feelings quite nicely.
I still stand by my choice; there is no chance that the earth will ever return to the state of M-E in the First and Second ages.

[Mariska Greenleaf]

I wouldn't go left, not a chance.
I'm satisfied with my imagination of being in Middle-Earth, and I do (day)dream about what life in ME would be like, but I would never be able to say goodbye forever to my life in this world.
Just a silly thought: I could live with the idea that life after death would be a Middle-Earth life, that would be nice. But as I said, it's a silly thought...

[HerenIstarion]

With Diamond 18's and MLD-grounds-keeper-willie's posts in mind (that is, I do not have to rewrite loads of points pro and contra ) I would quote Son Of Numenor too:

Seriously, though, the temptation would be great to go to the left

Emphasis mine

With which, I, alas that my curiosity and longing still burn me from the inside, turn to the right

[Thorongil]

I would definately go left. Because, the past few years I have started to find this world boring, compared to the number of invented fantasy worlds I've experienced. There is much fun in our world too, but it doesn't really fit me(Especially when most of the people my age where I live has the most fun when drinking). And when I have the most fun visiting imaginery worlds like M-E, of course I'd go.

[Imladris]

I would go right. Middle-earth is just a world peopled with weak mortals. It would go the same path that our world has gone. It will turn bad and weak and dirty like our own world because that is the nature of man. So I would rather keep the ME that is somewhat "good" and "noble" a fresh and living memory that to see it go down the drain with my own eyes as I have seen with this world. Middle Earth is just another world after all. What is it that Tolkien has said? The little folk avoid us now. I wonder why that is? What happened from then to now I wonder?

Also, I would miss my computer. I would miss the modern conveniences (light, electricity, etc). I would miss going to the movies. I would miss seeing Spideyman 2 *points at avatar* There is something for me to in this world (as has been said several times I think) and I don't want to run away from it.

[Mad Baggins]

If I could take people or things with me, I would go left. However...just by myself? I would go right. It is indeed a sad world we live in, but I love too many things here to leave it.

[Araréiel]

No questions, I'd go left and take only my boyfriend and his adorable little daughter. I hate this world we are in and always dream of escaping it. Actually, we both are to the point that we are trying to decide if we should move to Monaco in a couple of years, or maybe to Tuscany. The world is a terrible place, and especially America.

We are so backward here, taxed to death, without money for schools, yet we are paying for research into an elevator into space, and I swear I am not making that up!!
From NASA: http://flightprojects.msfc.nasa.gov/fd02_elev.html
http://www.space.com/businesstechnol..._020327-1.html
Other countries tax less, yet have univeral health care and better school. At the July 4th celebration the commentator said we erected the Statue of Liberty to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence! (Actually, it was a gift from France in 1876, 100 years after the signing). This is how stupid this country is.

The overall world isn't much better.

I'd give anything to go live in Middle Earth and get away from the hell we call Planet Earth!!

[Mirkgirl]

I see one problem with taking people with you... they actually have to have a choice too. I mean, I wouldn't be overjoyed if I wake up somewhere new and find out that some good friend of mine decided to take me as luggagge

I don't really know what I'd do. It'd depend on how I feel that day I guess... I know it'd be a one time chance, but does that mean I have to take it? The whole idea of choice includes the possibility of saying no. I'd be really tempted, no doubt. But I think I'd stay in the world were I belong. (:

[Evisse the Blue]

I'll go left, into the 'flawed' fantasy world of a human (oh, but a human genius!) And those I take with me will sure enough want to go: my sister, my mom, my dog and my boyfriend (if he does not want to go, well, there are enough hot Elven rangers, like Lush said ). The thing is, it does not matter all that much where you live, life is in the end more or less what you make of it. And this is exactly why I'd choose to leave a few luxuries behind: like hot water, tv, computer, my cd's, my books (including LOTR!), my skating videos, my X Files episodes... (oh, dear, I already have second thoughts about all this). But no - I know that I could never ever resist the temptation of experiencing what that world is like. The curiosity and excitement would kill me if I didn't go, even anticipating the hardships I'd possibly meet!

But - Child, a question: wouldn't it be difficult for us not to 'divulge' our real identities and where we come from? It'd be a right 'culture clash'. Or are we to be brainwashed once we get there?
Gee, I'm actually taking all this seriously. Go figure.

[Araréiel]

That's just it-it's a fantasy world, and I'd want to be a part of it. I can leave behind me almost everything. I'm connected to only two people in this world, both of them feeling the way I do. None of us are rooted to Earth. My family disowned me for not being able to prevent a death I wasn't even there for, my boyfriend's family disowned him because his brother landed in jail while living with his mom-my boyfriend's ex-stepmom. And his daughter is so young. TVs and computers and modern things matter nothing to us. A great escape is to go to the woods to get away from everything. Go camping, hunt our own food. The only thing we would need is matches since I never got down the hang of starting fire without matches. It's hard, but relaxing, and I once did it for 5 weeks. Pitched a simple tent so I could see the stars, dug a latrine many yards away, made a cooking area, prayed no wild animal would eat me while I slept (that's how deep woods I go-there are bears and mountain lions). It was hard work, but relaxing. And really, I missed nothing about home. To go jump naked (or nearly) into a cold stream after a hot day is such a thrill, and to sing while walking among the trees. To appreciate the beauty in such simple things as the veins of a leaf without people calling me weird and mental is such a rarity I only experience in nature. It's liberation that can only be felt when I disconnect myself even more than usual from what's around me.

I could so easily walk away from my life here that it's almost frightening. I could be a butterfly and just set off, leaving behind me all the meaningless things I own. All that matters to me is the one I love, and the little one I love. If my family doesn't want me, I don't care to be around them either. Would I miss the stapler on my desk? No. Would I miss the ocean? They have waters in ME.

Seriously I have thought about putting together a retreat for a week for people who want to go live for seven days in Middle Earth on Earth. In character, costume, everything. An escape. I've got most of it planned out and written, just not the location. We may invest in some property, a parcel that's 360 acres and untouched, that would be perfect to set up like ME for a place to retreat once a year or more with other people who want to get away. It sounds crazy, but so is regular life, and it's so mice to dream about getting away from everything, or even to plan the day I can make it happen. I wouldn't think twice about going left.

[Rilwen Gamgee]

No matter how much half of me longs to turn left, I'm going to get up and walk through the right door. Why? Yes, through that left door there are wide open fields, mysterious forests, ancient towers, ents, and the option to go running barefoot as I please, but who would I share it with? As I read Child's opening post, I began scanning through the list in my mind of who to bring along. "Mom? Dad? My sister? Which friend?" If someone dear to me walked into Middle-earth with me, the thought of leaving the rest of them behind would haunt me forever. So, I will happily climb out of bed, and enter the world where Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves, and others only exist on that little section of shelf in my room where I keep my Tolkien books.

[Aredhel]

I could certainly get along well in ME. I'd have to seriously think about family and friends, though. I belong to a Medieval Society...and some would never forgive me if I didn't take them with me! Armorers and fighters, cooks and computer programmers, I wouldn't know where to begin! And what about my Husband?! I doubt he'd like living without his computers. If faced with it, I might jump and leave everyone behind. It's cruel, but - they wouldn't be able to adjust.
Those I love most are on medications they couldn't take with them. Sad, but true.
Oh, well. Wandering alone in a strange land, I'd be happier if they all stayed here, safe and sound. Even my cat would have to stay- he's on meds too!
BAH.

[Pippin Pondlily]

I would go left because I would be all in the moment and ready to do something completely thrilling and outrageous. And I'm sure that though there will most definitely be things I'll miss -- I would grow to love Middle Earth. How could you bloody not?

With me I'd bring my father, my brother, and my friends Maureen and Robby because why the hell not? I'd also bring my great grandmother's bible and probably my life-long teddy bear. Sure. That's all though I suppose I wouldn't want to overpack and after a while you wouldn't need anything else.

I would want to see The Shire most of all and hopefully track down Bombadil somewheres eh?

The third age ... that's quite a lot of things to see, I don't suppose those who chose the left door would want to say anything about any outcomes? Ha

- P. Pondlily

[The Elusive Spirit]

Hmmm... That’s a tough one. About a year ago I would have said left in an instant.
However with the passing of time it is more difficult to choose. I’ve seen more of our world to very nearly fall in love with it (and it only took 17 years)!
I have to say that now, left would still be my answer, although not without a lot of thought. The opportunity would be hard to pass up. I’m up for a world where I can start over new. I guess the weight of my future decisions is weighing to heavily on me now. I just want something a little simpler. Middle Earth could be my chance. The diversion from normal life would be great! An adventure is right up my alley. Trying to survive in another country certainly qualifies as one. It would not be anything like fighting the great evil, but I’d be ok with it.
I would defiantly bring Beanamer because she would hate me if I left her. She is my oldest friend and I can count on her. I would probably also bring her sister, if she was up for it, because I think she would like it. The three of us would take Middle Earth by storm! Ha Ha! It would be infinitely hard to leave most of my family and friends though. Not sure they’d forgive me, but I’d go for me, not them.
Leftward HO! To Rohan (and freedom) for me!

[Laitoste]

Wow...a difficult decision paired with convincing arguments for each side! You're not helping me, people!

How, exactly, would I survive in Middle-Earth? I can't speak any of the languages, I can barely cook with a recipe, I can't sew, I can't build anything, and I can barely ride a horse! Although I fear I may not be giving myself all the credit I'm due in some of these areas.

On the other hand, if I'm willing to put the time and effort into something, I can learn it rather easily. I'm decent with animals (although I just learned that there is a greater partnership that I can reach with both my dogs and horses), and I have a few basic skills in sewing (and knitting) and cooking.

I think I could survive in Middle-Earth, though it would be hard. Now onto the more difficult part...

I don't really have any close friends where I live, and I've never really liked the culture of Northern Wisconsin. I still don't know what I want to do (or am meant to do), and I feel I'm sitting in a stagnent pool in my small town. I, too, dislike the materialism and general lack of values shown in today's America. Still, I love my country.

My parents recently took me to Washington, D.C. (and Gettysburg, and Philadelphia), and I finally realized how much I love it here. I don't always like what the government does, but that doesn't mean everything about it here is awful. Sorry about that. I've noticed people complaining about America just because the government isn't what they want it to be.

I don't know where my life is headed. I'd probably go left, seeing the portal as a signpost telling me which direction to go. But then I'd leave behind everything I loved: my books, my family (I'm sure none of them would want to come), a chance for higher education, a chance to travel this world, plus more that I can't think of at 10:45 at night when my dog needs to go out. And anyway, I go off to college next year. Who knows what my opinion will be then? In five years, what will it be? In ten? When I'm on my deathbed? Still, I'd choose left.

But can I bring my dachshunds?

[Diamond18]

Ah... this old fascinating thread. I saw the title on the main forum index and thought, "Is that what I think it is....?" Some threads are so thought provoking they stick in your mind long after you've read them.

I'm still a Right person, actually even moreso than I was the last time I posted. But funnily enough, in that post I used a story I was writing as an analogy and since then I've realized that my ending didn't work -- my characters, like me, just plain ended up being Right people despite everything I wrote into their lives to make it as easy as possible to leave this world behind. One of those instances where you realize you're just forcing an outcome that doesn't really fit. That realization and change of plan really meshes with my stance all the more, though, so I won't complain. I think the trouble is because fantasy worlds, no matter how much time you spend imagining them, when compared to our world, always end up being small and narrow and limited. M-E may be one of the deepest, but at the end it's still the imaginings of one man's mind, and so if I stood there I would probably be hit even harder with its limitations.

And then of course, since I am a writer, even living in M-E I'd have all these stories in my head that have been inspired by this world. I wouldn't be able to show them to anyone from M-E. That would be a drag. I couldn't force myself to forget about everything I know and write only M-E appropriate stories, that just wouldn't be me. I can just see the look on a hobbit's face when reading something I wrote. Hee. Hee. Hee. (evilman smiley where are you?)

At any rate, I still think it's a mistake to measure the worth of the two worlds by comparing good and bad elements. I'm not basing my desicion on the fact that "I can't live without all my friends and family/modern conveniences/favorite stories/rock music" etc. (though the thought of no more rock does make me shiver ;p) because frankly I hope that if was called to live without those things in this world I could indeed survive without them. All those "comforts" can't be the things that keep you alive. Losing them could very well happen. After all, there are lots of places in this world, like Third World countries, where there are no modern conveinences or free culture. I thank God that I do live in America and have the luxury of thinking this world is pretty swell. I don't want to disrespect the trials and tribulations of other nations and say that life in America is bad because the rent is high, so you won't hear me screaming "get me outta here" anytime soon.

Back to comparison to M-E: Sauron beats the pants off of any unpopular world leader/government that's ever been in this world, so I have to laugh when that is cited as a reason to leave here. We have the benefit of knowing that in LotR everything turns out pretty swell in the end, with Sauron being defeated. But the inhabitants of the story don't have that foresight. Indeed, one of the huge themes of the book is that even when you don't know if there will ever be a Shire to go home to you must still persevere. One of the things that makes Tolkien's work so powerful is the hope in face of bleakness -- to turn from our own world in the way that the Hobbits et al did not turn from theirs seems very ironic considering! Of course, then there are the Elves, who did take their equivalent to the "Left" and sail away to Valinor, but they were immortal and so that was really their "heaven" and I won't begrudge them such a thing.

And now... goodness, I just remembered that I made tea for myself nearly two hours ago and it's been steeping ever since.

[Lyta_Underhill]

Hmmmm....for me, I think it would be a matter more of a 'kick in the pants' rather than a choice. I think that, if I were thrown into Middle Earth, I would love some of it and hate some of it. But what in this world are those of you who wish to experience something new trying to get away from? Wouldn't it be awful if you took that with you into Middle Earth and couldn't get back? I think that it would be possible to truly enjoy Middle Earth OR this world if one became a 'different person'. Middle Earth would be a 'kick in the pants,' a call for you to become something different, to experience the new and challenging, to liven up your life. That is available here in this world as well, but I, like Frodo, am getting rather used to being Master of my own Bag End and I think it gets harder and harder to change my life and outlook unless someone or something hits me over the head with it. I think I prefer to wander the backroads and woods and meet up with the Elves and Fairies, rather than being handed the Ring of Power and being told to survive by the seat of my pants. Simply put, even though I am not in Middle Earth, I can see the aspects of it here well enough to enjoy its comforts in my imagination, and I need not be thrust into the Fire to live in Middle Earth. (Although if I were kicked into Middle Earth, I could probably get used to it!)

I sure hope that made sense. It's real late here! Goodnight all!
Cheers,
Lyta

P.S. Anyone think about what it would be like to be all comfortable and complacent, looking forward to a quiet life and suddenly being thrown into a world of danger? Did I ever mention I sometimes identify too closely with Frodo?

[Diamond18]

Originally Posted by Evisse the Blue

reaches out for the red pill
I'll go left, into the 'flawed' fantasy world of a human (oh, but a human genius!)

Isn't the Red Pill more like choosing the Right Door? In the Matrix, the Blue Pill leads back to a more comforting, likable world, and the Red Pill leads to the dire reality. Granted, the Matrix-world is patterned after our world as it is, the world we'd be staying in by taking the Right Door, while the "real world" in that movie is a science fiction creation, but the principle is still there. The Matrix is like the temptation of the "sun dappled Elven glade" but the characters chose to face the technologically scarred, war-torn eco-disaster of the "real world" because the harder path was the more rewarding one.

However, seeing as how I didn't see the third Matrix movie because the second one was so uninspiring, I can't really say if the final outcome was portrayed as rewarding or not.

[Nurumaiel]

...but I, like Frodo, am getting rather used to being Master of my own Bag End...

Lyta, you have summed up my entire feelings in these shorts words. It's something that I found very hard to describe; I commend you for your excellent work in saying it half a sentence!

To wake up in the morning in my own little room and hear the birds singing and little feet just beginning to run about... Sure, I could have a little room in the Shire (or wherever I would live in Middle-Earth) but it wouldn't by my little room, because I already have a little room. Birds would sing, but they wouldn't be the birds I've tempted for hours a day with seeds so they would come perch on my hand. Little feet might run about and I might hear children's laughter but they wouldn't be the dear children I've become accustomed to hearing.

And to wander out into the garden and bid good morning to the flowers, feeling delighted when I see new little buds blooming. It would be highly unlikely that I wouldn't have a garden in the Shire, but it wouldn't be my garden because my garden wouldn't be home.

I could have books in the Shire, I suppose, but they wouldn't be my books that have been passed down through the family till they came to me. And I could sit by a fireside and read, but it wouldn't be the fireside of my childhood, the one I have sat by for years, the one I sat by when I first heard tales of Frodo and Sam.

I could live without these things, sure, but it would be hard to be somewhere else, in an entirely different world, and still have these things that were not mine. Rather like raising a little boy who was your own and then switching sons with some other woman. You'd still have a little boy but he wouldn't be yours, would he? Of course the pain of switching books, gardens, etc. would be much less than the pain of switching sons! I merely use it as an example... not one quite equal to the situation, I fear.

I would have small regrets about not going to Middle-Earth... it would be lovely to Walk to Rivendell for real.

[Willow]

Right. Not a doubt.
What if we got to Middle-earth, and it wasn't what we wanted? We'd be stuck and disappointed.

[Nilpaurion Felagund]

Long ago, the temptation for me to take the left door would have great. It would have been comparable to Ar-Pharazôn's quest to wrest the Undying Lands from the Valar and claim immortality, shunning the dread of Death. But such temptation comes of ignorance - ignorance of what is, and ignorance of what is desired. This blindness could be summed up in a sentence: That world, indeed any world, is better than this one. So I'll go there.

But is it really? Is life at Middle-earth all it's cracked up to be? A great adventure, or an endless peace, perhaps? Really, what would make Middle-earth superior to Planet Earth?

The setting would have been different, but the same cast participate in the play. Characters with the same weaknesses, the same darkness that lies within the people in this world. Sure, we see shining examples of those who had overcome the shadow, but in the end, we'll see too much of Bill Ferny and Gríma.

It is the truth, in this world as in that of Tolkien's imagination, that vigilance tires. The terror of the Enemy might have been fresh in the people's mind by the end of LotR, but how long before the people grow indifferent again? What if there are no new Travellers to stop the despoliation of the new Sharkey's engines? What if there is no new Gandalf to rally all the Free People to the go up against the return of the Shadow? During the first three Ages of the Sun, it was almost too late to stop the Shadow - indeed, in the Age of the Trees, they were too late. There is precedence for complacency in Middle-earth. What would happen to the next ages? Would the hobbits one day awake to smog, AIDS, or famine?

It would be better for me to live in this world. At least now, with everyone seeing the ascendancy of man’s destructive abilities, people are slowly turning the tide. That would be nice.

Besides, it's escapism. I'd hate the day I have to escape from such a world.

You're just too morbid. Admit it.

[Evisse the Blue]

Diamond, I get your point. I was thinking along the lines of not which is the most rewarding, but which is the most difficult path. Going left would take a lot of adapting and fighting against hardships, despite having one's curiosity infinitely rewarded; while going right (staying behind) would mean settling comfy in the same life as before, with a hint of regret, or maybe with pride in having rejected temptation. That was so smart of you not seeing the third part of Matrix. I wish I had taken the blue pill that one time.

A clarification of my motivation is in order. I see myself almost in the minority here. I don't want to go there in hopes of finding an ideal world. I'm perfectly aware that ME is as full of villains as our world is. I just want a taste of that experience. It won't be better, but granted, it will be different.

[Diamond18]

I don't want to go there in hopes of finding an ideal world. I'm perfectly aware that ME is as full of villains as our world is. I just want a taste of that experience. It won't be better, but granted, it will be different.

Very true. I myself would love to be able to visit Middle-Earth for a time (maybe not Mordor), but Sharon put that "you shall not go back" stipulation in there to make it a more weighty decision. For me that one catch changes it into a matter of foresaking this world forever, and I don't plan on doing that in this life.

Now I wonder -- (and forgive me for posing a new question in your thread, Sharon...)

If you were a person who would, on your own, chose the Right, would you go Left after all if someone you loved was going there and begged you to come with? I mean, if someone you really, really don't think you can live without is bent on going to Middle Earth, how would you react?

I've seen people saying they'd go to Middle Earth and bring so-and-so with them, or would stay because so-and-so wouldn't want to go. But what if you were so-and-so?

Not sure I'd go.... But them I am single so the question is purely hypothetical for me.

[PaleStar]

Time has passed, and I've actually thought over this whole thing again; right or left?
I'm still leaning towards left; heck, I'd muck out stalls in Rohan if it just meant being on Middle Earth; but...the thing is, even the short period of time that we'd be there, M-E would be starting on it's way to being like our world is; industrialized to the brink of insanity. I always assumed that, after Aragorn left to die, that there was peace for a while, and then the Men, like we so often do, went back and saw all that machinery that the enimes(orcs, in this case) used and adapted it for their own. We do that today; the A-bomb was made because the US was told that Germany was making one.
It'd be especially heart-breaking to watch the hobbits dissapate and fade from existance...
But, like Alda, this gift from Illuvatar might be made easier by seeing M-E...I think I'll join him(I've actually quoted him there...*soft laughter* sorry)
Yes, it would be hard to keep knowledge of technology and all that a secret but...I suppose after a while you'd forget about it. If you don't remember it, you can't miss it, can you?
But, Araréiel, when you plan that trip, let me know. I intend on coming, if I can.

P.S. I still would like to direct everyone's attention to Alda's post; he's simply wonderful with his response; I was considering right until I reread his post...*gives Alda a hug*

P.P.S. The theory of Middle Earth being Heaven is wonderful; there's a piece of me screaming that it's truth; I truly hope so...but it wouldn't be the M-E we all know; there would be no conflict, like, let's say, someone like Melkor had never existed, or had been bested and locked away. Perhaps it would seem more like Valinor than Middle Earth

[The Elusive Spirit]

PaleStar, I agree with you whole-heartedly. I expect industrialization to follow Aragorn's reign. Time flows, and as the elves know, there's noting you can do to stop it. Going back to that time is, in my mind anyway, going back to what Middle Earth was supposed to be like. Evil villains and all.

My decision to go left is based on one major idea. I'm all about seeing and experiencing everything I can before I take Illuvatar’s gift.

[PaleStar]

Originally Posted by The Elusive Spirit

PaleStar, I agree with you whole-heartedly. I expect industrialization to follow Aragorn's reign. Time flows, and as the elves know, there's noting you can do to stop it. Going back to that time is, in my mind anyway, going back to what Middle Earth was supposed to be like. Evil villains and all.

My decision to go left is based on one major idea. I'm all about seeing and experiencing everything I can before I take Illuvatar’s gift.

My, I seem to have found myself a compatriot! Thank you for agreeing with me, Elusive; but it was originally Alda's words that made me rethink it.
But I quote it because it's true; who cares what happens? We're human, we'll probably die before any real huge change comes to Middle Earth, and I, like Elusive and Alda, plan on making the best of what we're given until the time comes to accept Illuvatar's gift whole-heartedly.

[Alda]

Thank you Pale Star, I am flattered you enjoyed my post.

It seems there are quite a few of us who, if given the chance wouldn't hesitate to enter Tolkien's world. Our only problem it seems is getting there.......

In another fantasy world inhabited by wizards and little people, the great wizard found a wonderfuly ingenious way into the realm. A Balloon!

I was thinking if we all pile onto my swelled head, perhaps we could float to Middle-Earth! We might at least make it over the rainbow.

[PaleStar]

Aw, your head's not that big..*gives Alda a hug*
Yes, let us all pile onto a balloon and float into space...and beyond. I'll sign up right now; that is, if no one minds me singing Tolkien songs and 'The Rainbow Connection'...

And Alda, I'm flattered that your flattered.That's possibly the greatest compliment; to have people be inspired by your words.