It’s okay to be a hobbit!
When wizard Gandalf presents Bilbo Baggins as the last member of the dwarf company in Tolkein’s story, he faces resistance because the dwarves don’t think Bilbo’s up to the task. Neither does Bilbo! After all, he can’t fight. He can’t fend for himself in the wild.
Gandalf settles the debate by pointing out one quality: “Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet. In fact, they can pass unseen by most, if they choose.”
And as it turns out, the traits that made him such an unexpected choice become the ones that allow him to aid, sometimes even save, his company. Most of all it’s the fact that, most of the time, no one cares about a hobbit passing by.
The point for you and me is that’s it’s okay to be a hobbit. To most people we always will be. We will go unnoticed, and that’s exactly how it should be. It’s how we manage to live in a world too vast to comprehend.
Going unnoticed is freedom, not misery. We don’t have to be an elf, constantly commanding the full attention of every room we enter. We’ll be much happier being a hobbit, minding our own business, going about our day, as we please, doing the best we can.
And if we ever feel discouraged, remember that even Gandalf thought their lightness was far from the end of their potential: “You can learn all that there is to know about their ways in a month, and yet, after a hundred years, they can still surprise you. Hobbits are amazing creatures.”
And so are we!
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Little do we guess what that passing smile may mean to the folks we see at the store or elsewhere. Once in awhile someone tells me I made a difference. That may be only 10% of the time. But it could be a lot more…