So I was listening to the recordedbooks version of The Hobbit last week. A particular line in it jumped out at me: "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world," Thorin Oakenshield said to Bilbo. There is alot of truth in this. Imagine a world that valued peace, food and cheer above all else as the Hobbits did. Things would be very different from the world that we know where money, fame, oil, and prestige are put before all else. What would happen if we took a step back from our lives and took a look at our priorities? What would we find? Would we find division? Would we find peace and happiness? Would we find a complex net that we have wooven around ourselves to hide reality or would we find simplicity in life? In the world of Thorin and Bilbo it is food, song and good cheer that are found in lands of peace. Greed, wanting to be rich and have powerful, causes the problems in this world. All of those who came to the battle of the five armies wanted to the dragon's hoard. This caused war. Bilbo was willing to sacrfice all of his claim to his share of the hoarded treasure to avoid a battle for himself and his friends. It says a great thing when a person, or hobbit, is willing to go out of their way to bring peace about and do what is right as well. We would be much happier and merrier as well. So food, cheer and song are a good thing when they remind us of peace.
