Even the darkest chapters of your life are just passing shadows; here is why your story doesn’t end in the dark.
“It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end… because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing… this shadow. Even darkness must pass.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien
The Shadow is Only a Passing Thing
Samwise Gamgee wasn’t a warrior or a king; he was a gardener who understood a fundamental truth: darkness is temporary. When we are in the thick of a “danger and darkness” phase of life, it’s easy to feel like the world is permanently broken. We look at the scars we’ve gathered and wonder how happiness could ever feel authentic again.
But Tolkien’s wisdom reminds us that the struggle isn’t a sign that the story is over—it’s proof that the story matters. The most impactful narratives require the protagonist to face the unthinkable. Your current “shadow” might feel heavy and all-consuming, but it lacks the permanence of light. It is a transit point, not a destination. Courage isn’t the absence of fear or the erasure of the past; it’s the quiet, persistent belief that a “new day will come.” Hold on. The sun will shine all the clearer for the clouds that preceded it.
Something to Think About:
What “shadow” are you currently treating as a permanent fixture in your life, and how would your perspective shift if you viewed it as merely a passing chapter?