Not All Who Wander

I have on my office wall a postcard-sized picture of some travelling caravans and, as a caption, a quotation from J R R Tolkien – ‘Not all those who wander are lost’.  I really like the idea of wandering, and I don’t get enough opportunities to do it.  We live in a culture and a society where we always seem to be in a rush.  We constantly seem to be in a hurry, and to need to get there - wherever 'there' is - quickly.  Interestingly, one or two people and groups are beginning to rediscover the value of what is sometimes called a ministry of loitering – and I see that as another word for wandering.  When we lived in Panama for three years, I actually stopped wearing a watch.  One reason was that, because of the climate, it reacted with my wrist.  But the other reason was a very different attitude to time.  Things happened when they happened.  Now it may be that we were too relaxed towards time in Panama.  But it is certainly true that we are too bound to time in the UK.  Let’s make space for the times of wandering.