12 J.R.R. Tolkien Quotes To Inspire Your Journey

Here are 12 inspiring J.R.R. Tolkien quotes that continue to resonate with readers today. It has been about 90 years since Tolkien's best known works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, were published but these quotes are as relevant in our modern world as they were in Middle Earth.

forest path with text JRR Tolkien quotes to inspire your journey

Life is short

I wish life was not so short quote from Tolkien — "I wish life was not so short," he thought. "Languages take such a time, and so do all of the things one wants to know about."

There never does seem to be enough time to learn all of the things I'd like to learn.

Revenge is useless

It is useless to meet revenge with revenge, it will heal nothing. — "It is useless to meet revenge with revenge; it will heal nothing."

It's just an endless cycle. For proof, open any history book or look at the comments of any political post on social media.

enjoy life

If more of us valued food and chher and song above hoarded gold it would be a merrier world. — "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."

We all get preoccupied with our wants sometimes that we forget to just enjoy life.

don't believe the hype

All that is gold does not glitter quote from Tolkien — "All that is gold does not glitter, not all those that wander are lost; The old that is strong does not whither, deep roots are not reached by the frost."

Don't fall into the trap of believing the hype. Write your own rules.

I could have made this into 4 separate quotes because I love every part. Right now the second half speaks to me the most; I need to be strong and deep as age.

You can't hide from the world

The wide world is all about you quote from Tolkien — "The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourself in, but you cannot forever fence it out."

I admit there are times when I would like to hide from the world, but it always has a way of sneaking back in, doesn't it?

just get started

It is the job that's never started as takes longest to finish. — "It's the job that's never started as takes the longest to finish."

Oh if only I could convince my son that homework would be over faster if he stopped complaining about it and just did it.

avoidance is futile

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

That thing I don't want to do, usually turns out to be the one thing I most need to do. And trying to avoid it doesn't make it go away.

find your courage

COurage is found in unlikely places — "Courage is found in unlikely places"

Maybe the courage comes from your children, maybe it comes from a blog post (like this one!). Find what gives you strength.

keep going

Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens — "Faithless is he who says farewell when the road darkens."

It is human nature to want to quit when things get tough. But, those that succeed move through the darkness.

darkness before the dawn

You can only come through the morning through the shadows — "You can only come to the morning through the shadows."

Anything in life I have had worthwhile has always come after a struggle.

hope... and food

Where there's ;ofe there's hope and need of vittles — "Where there's life there is hope, and need of vittles."

What else would a food blogger end with?

Which one are your favorites? Mine has changed 4 times since I started this post. I think a lot depends on what message you need to hear at the moment. Right now, my stomach says I need vittles.