thinking about how many characters in the Lord of the Rings ultimately succeed by simply plodding on despite a loss of hope. weighed down by despair and yet not fully drowned. trudging towards the light with their last ounce of strength and will. and in the end, it is enough.

this is very encouraging to me as I have very little hope or strength of will

"But even as hope died in Sam, or seemed to die, it was turned to a new strength. Sam's plain hobbit-face grew stern, almost grim, as the will hardened in him, and he felt through all his limbs a thrill..."

"... as if he was turning into some creature of stone and steel that neither despair nor weariness nor endless barren miles could subdue."

another good Tolkien quote