Life Lessons from the Hobbit: Embracing Unexpected Journeys

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Inspirations to Embark on Our Unexpected Journey in Life from 'The Hobbit' Story...

I have learned in my life that each of us possesses unique strengths that equip us with the capabilities to create an impact. However, we often fail to acknowledge these strengths and act upon them with courage and integrity.

This hesitation stems from our insecurities, self-doubt, and fear, which hold us back from taking brave and life-changing actions.

I will illustrate this by detailing scenes from the movie "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" (2012).

Watch Trailer of The Hobbit: An Unexpected adventure

Meet dear Hobbit Bilbo - Enjoying his life as it is at Bag End - Shire!

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This Hobbit movie is an adaptation of the Hobbit novel written by literary genius JJR Tolkien and directed by Peter Jackson. This is by no means representative of the character of this absolutely delightful and fun story in the novel as narrated by JJR Tolkien, yet still, I like how Bilbo Baggins is portrayed in this movie!

Here, we have Hobbit Bilbo Baggins. His kind is a small creature, used to living a peaceful, leisurely and content life in Shire. Mr Baggins has his well-furnished, comfortable home in Shire called the Bag End. If you did go to his house, you would definitely be offered plenty of yummy food - cakes, teas, ale, rum and more.

Hobbits are creatures that enjoy life to the fullest, eating tasty food, attending birthday parties, dancing and singing freely as they love to have a jolly good time!

Bilbo is a kind, polite, and generous hobbit in the novel "The Hobbit." He enjoys spending leisurely time in his garden, reading books, and taking long walks in the Shire.

Bilbo's adventure enriches him as a Master Storyteller and songwriter!

In LOTR, we would find Bilbo much evolved as since his adventure in the Hobbit, he went on several journeys away from Shire. As a result he made several bosom friends he never would have if he did not embark on this journey in the Hobbit that had him leave his nest in Shire and visit new places, meet interesting creatures from Elves, men, dwarves, and other esteemed noble characters.

Bilbo documented his journals of course, but he did it in an enriching way with songs, poems, and narration of lores which he narrated to the next generation of Hobbits, who we would meet in LOTR.

He was a fun uncle to those lucky Hobbit youngsters who grew up listening to Bilbo's delightful stories and songs.

In LOTR, we would find other hobbits embarking on a much more grave and dark adventure, singing fun songs composed by Bilbo - from travel song - 'Road goes on and on', bath song, beer song -"There is an inn, a merry old inn..." and more.

Well, let's come back to Bilbo in the Hobbit movie now!

Bilbo's unexpected adventure that Gandalf believed would awaken the hero inside Bilbo!

In the Hobbit, we had a content, well-settled Bilbo, who was reluctant to go on any adventure at first.

Gandalf, the Wizard sensed in Bilbo something Bilbo could not see in himself, that there is more to Mr Baggins, than what appears on the surface.

The wise wizard Gandalf, who can be fun-loving at times being friendly with little creatures like Hobbits, is an accomplished great wizard himself.

Gandalf, as his friends lovingly call him, has been in the company of many esteemed personalities and has embarked on countless perilous quests.

In spite, his remarkable standing as an great wizard, he remains humble and down-to-earth. This quality allows him to enjoy a free-spirited connection with all creatures from - Hobbits, Dwarves, Elves, Wizards, Men, Kings and Queens.

He trusted that when the time came, Bilbo would rise to the occasion and display his true mettle through courageous acts, far beyond mere survival.

It was Gandalf who recruited Bilbo into the team comprising of 13 Dwarves embarking on a dangerous adventure, hearing about which you would understand why little creature Bilbo at first was unwilling to join on this expedition!

SourceBilbo's Good morning meeting with Gandalf(:

Here's a scene from Hobbit where Gandalf decides to recruit Bilbo into the group embarking on an adventurous journey to the Lonely Mountain.

(Fun Titbit -: Hobbits of Shire know Gandalf for his amazing firecrackers which made for thrilling fireworks that looked so lifelike! Otherwise, they hardly knew much about him, he's a mysterious wandering wizard!)

Uninvited guests for Bilbo, all certain of being served yummy food!

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Now, let's get to know about these Dwarves and their quest!

After his good morning meeting with Bilbo, the mischievous wizard marked Bilbo's door with a rune sign, signaling to the dwarves that this was the meeting place for their council to plan the expedition.

So, one fine day, Bilbo unexpectedly finds strangers with Dwarves arriving one by one calling at Bag End. They all came in uninvited expecting refreshments and servings of hearty breakfast.

Check this scene out -:

As can be seen, all of these jolly spirited Dwafts - Dwalin, Balin, Fili and Kile make themselves home at Bag End, ignoring Bilbo's irritation. Refreshment is indeed according to their taste with Dwalin filling up his jug with beer from the beer cart!

This scene from the Hobbit movie will show how you can enjoy yourself if you stayed at Bilbo’s house eating loads of sumptuous food and drinking loads of ale!

Source Fun titbit - The fattest Dwaft in the gang is Bombur...

Boisterous Dwarves Take Over Bag End, Much to Bilbo's Dismay

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Poor Bilbo, bursts inside with irritation as he vents himself off to Gandalf on why he does not like these rowdy gathering of dwarves in his house - all noisy, pillaging his pantry, dirtying his house, handling his household items roughly, as they confidently do circus acts tossing and catching the crockeries causing anxiety to Bilbo!

Of course, the entire gang remained oblivious to Bilbo's irritation busy having a great time among themselves, and feeling that Bilbo is needlessly making too much of a fuss!

Did you enjoy the song in the video, where these Dwarves play around teasing Bilbo a bit for worrying about them blunting his forks and breaking his crockery, it goes -

"Blunt the knives and bend the forks!
Smash the bottles, burn the corks!
Chip the glasses, crack the plates!
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!"

Enjoy this song again here -:

In the end, of course, the Dwarves, clean up the mess they created, happily, singing songs as a team in their crazy way as can be seen in the video, but Bilbo of course not yet accustomed to being in the company of these boisterous drafts, did not know that they would!

It's obvious Bilbo valued quiet times and liked his home to be in kept order - neat and tidy.

The Grand Quest of Thorin with his Dwarves companions to the Lonely Mountain!

Now, let's delve into this adventure the Dwarves were to go to with Bilbo (who as explained was unwilling to at first).

Till now, you have not met the leader of these Dwarves, na he was not in the gang of these boisterous Dwarves who were merry-making freely being in jolly spirits in the scenes I have shown before. It's time to explore the serious side of these Dwarves now - brace up!

Here is Thorin Oakenshield, who is considered the king by these Dwarves as Thorin is the heir of king Thráin II, the last king under the mountain who reigned over the Dwarf kingdom of Erebor inside the Lonely Mountain.

It is Thorin who is leading the group on this expedition to establish his kingdom in Erebor and reclaim the ancestral treasure of the Dwarves that's now serving as a sleeping bed for Dragon Smaug.

Thorin Oakenshield, heir to the king of Dwarf Kingdom.Source

Understand all about the Grand Quest of the Dwarves from this adventure song!

Legacy of Durin's folk - the magical treasure inside Erebor!

This song 'Far over the misty mountains cold", explains the entire backstory behind this quest of these Dwarves - about Erebor under the Lonely Mountain during the reign of king Thráin II, the legacy of the ancestral treasure of these Dwarves, the destruction of the Dwarf kingdom of Erebor by Dragon Smaug and the Quest of the Dwarves in the Hobbit Story...

The adventure expedition to the Lonely Mountain - Map. Source

Long ago, in the Lonely Mountain existed the Dwarf kingdom of Erebor under the rule of king Thráin II who is Thorin's father.

This was a rich period for the Dwarves of Durin's clan who kept busy with their hammers crafting masterpieces of valuable Ornaments as explained in the song -

‘The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,
While hammers fell like ringing bells
In places deep, where dark things sleep,
In hollow halls beneath the fells.’

The metals for these jewels were procured by drilling deep down into the mountain, where yes hear this echo in a whispering tone –

‘In places deep, where dark things sleep,
In hollow halls beneath the fells’

These jewels were a brilliant shining beauty, as can be imagined reading these verses...

“They shaped and wrought, and light they caught
To hide in gems on hilt of sword.
On silver necklaces they strung The flowering stars,
on crowns they hung The dragon-fire,
in twisted wire They meshed the light of moon and sun.”

Now these brilliantly crafted magical jewels by Dwarf ancestors, lie forgotten in Erebor inside the Lonely Mountain! We will come to the why soon but here is the echo of the mission of Thorin's company of Dwarves getting set to embark on a perilous journey to the Lonely Mountain -

“Far over the misty mountains cold,
To dungeons deep and caverns old,
We must away, ere break of day,
To seek the pale enchanted gold….”

Entry of the monster villain that destroyed the Kingdom of Erebor!

The villain who laid fire and destroyed the Dwarf kingdom of Erebor enters the picture now as he is one a major obstacle for these Dwarves in reclaiming their treasure and re-establishing their kingdom.

This villain is - Dragon Smaug!

*The song explains how this evil Dragon invaded Erebor, and attacked the surroundings breathing down Dragon fire which destroyed Erebor and the nearby town of Dale. *

King Thráin II along with his father Thor and son Thorin had to abandon their kingdom and flee off elsewhere to save their lives. The common people fled to the nearby lake town of Esgoroth and settled down.

“The pines were roaring on the height,
The winds were moaning in the night.
The fire was red, it flaming spread;
The trees like torches blazed with light.
The bells were ringing in the dale
And men looked up with faces pale;
Then dragon’s ire more fierce than fire
Laid low their towers and houses frail."

Can you hear and feel the vibes of Smaug's fierce dragon flames?

Summarizing the quest of Thorin Oakenshield, the rightful heir and unofficial king of the Dwarves: His journey embodies the central quest of the Dwarves in The Hobbit story -

“Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away, ere break of day,
To claim our long-forgotten gold.”

However, this treasure is jealously guarded by the monster villain whose destructive legacy was just narrated to you guys above.

Bilbo's adventurous trait awakens in the End - he's off with the Dwarves!

Now we can understand why Bilbo felt uneasy at first about joining the group on this mission. He was assigned the role of a 'Burglar.' His task was to sneak into the room where the mesmerizing golden treasure we read about lie, once he along with the Dwarves reached the former kingdom of Erebor inside the Lonely Mountain.

This room now serves as a dragon's hoard, as Smaug rests atop this mesmerizing golden bed of treasure as can be seen here -:

Here

It's quite a frightening prospect!

Bilbo's been used to a nice settled, easy, peaceful life at Bag End.

Hobbits as a clan, don’t like taking the trouble of taking the hard road and go on adventures, leave alone dangerous kind of adventures!

In Bilbo words - 'they are nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable things that make you late for dinner."

These Dwarves on the other hand, are the toughened sort being used to violence and a rough wandering life, fighting, dealing with dangers and such things completely novel to Bilbo.

Hobbits of Shire are lucky that way because Shire is a peaceful place where Hobbits can live happily enjoying their time with great food, free to have fun and frolic without needing to worry about any danger!

Here is how Bilbo reacted when he heard Gandalf passionately convince the gathering of dwarves that he had recruited Bilbo as the 14th member to join the expedition.

The recruitment contract he had to sign included details about lacerations and incineration, which made the hobbit faint. Bilbo is a pleasant creature who dislikes any form of violence—how adorable! Meanwhile, the dwarves discussed death and funeral processes so matter-of-factly!

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The Contract Bilbo has to sign to be a member of the party to the Lonely Mountain Expedition - It has details of remuneration and terms and conditions that had him faint as we saw in the video clip shown above ...

However, deep inside him, Bilbo craved to seek adventure as well, since he descended from Took clan with his mother being a Took, her name being Belladonna Took.

The Took clan were different from other Hobbits who refrain from going on adventures. Tooks were the only clan of Hobbits who go exploring and having adventures.

Finally, Bilbo himself chooses to join the Dwarves and go on an adventure, even though he had the choice of being at Bag End living his peaceful, wonderful, cozy life as usual!

Watch Bilbo here, running to join the company of Dwarves to embark on his adventure.

In the beginning, Bilbo seemed relieved to find his house quiet and free of those mischievous Dwarves. However, he felt touched that they had left his home clean and tidy. They were good-natured and decent Dwarves, for sure.

When he saw the contract left by Balin, which he had read before that outlined the terms and conditions for participating in the journey, he rushes off to ready himself to join them. This was despite his understanding that there was no guarantee he would return home alive from the adventure!

One thing is for certain—this adventure would change Bilbo for the better, as Gandalf said, "It would be very good for you..."

Source. Bilbo rushes to join the Dwarves, to have his adventure journey to the Lonely Mountain!

Sharing my life insights from this story so far...

Personally, I would love to live Bilbo's life as he did in the Shire before his adventure; it seemed perfect. However, we need to keep learning and growing, and for that, we should seize opportunities for adventure when they arise!

We will never explore our full potential or evolve into better, more interesting individuals without trying new things—exploring, traveling, taking on new challenges, and so forth.

Our fear of the unknown, uncertainty, and self-doubt can paralyze us, but we must overcome this resistance to grow into better people with more confidence, courage, self-awareness, and zest for life.

The process of personal self-growth is never-ending.

Never put a stop on living life as well, keep the soul alive doing activities that nourish your soul! Continuously seek your purpose.

Finding good companions in life matters as well. Bilbo had the Dwarves and Gandalf to journey with. When we walk the uncertain path alongside supportive companions, we gain the encouragement and backing needed to explore freely.

So, being open to forming new associations leaving aside our differences, enriches our life experiences. We can always respect each other and enjoy each other’s company, if not anything else! However, choose your friends and companions wisely.

Let's also, introspect and believe in ourselves! Gandalf trusted Bilbo, which greatly boosted Bilbo’s confidence and encouraged him to embark on his adventure. He persuaded Bilbo to explore the World beyond what he reads in the books and what he experiences in Shire!

We should encourage others to break free from their shells and pursue their passions! There is no guarantee of success, but there will be life lessons, personal growth, and wisdom that enrich us as more vibrant, complete individuals.

Lastly, let's be open to having fun—singing and enjoying ourselves in everything we do—because living happily is the most important thing, whether we go on adventures or not.

Eat well, spend quality time with others, appreciate the beauty of nature, read books, and travel once in a while.

Always be courteous, humble and grateful for whatever things we have as well!

I have further life insights to share from Hobbit - An unexpected Journey, which I would in another article,

Goodbye for now!