[Diamond18]

My first knee-jerk reaction was "right, right, right all the way", and I haven't changed my mind reading through the posts. Some reasons have been ably stated by others, but I'll try to explain it from my perspective, anyway.

First: (treating Middle-earth hypothetically as a real, alternate world) Middle-earth is a fallen world. For that reason, it is, at it's core, no different from this world. There are many superficial differences, ways ME is better, and ways our world is better, but I believe that in the end it all averages out into everything being the same old, same old. Good and evil, truth and lies, bravery and cowardice, intelligence and ignorance, life and death, etc. are all fundamental elements in both Middle-earth and our world. Because of that, the most important thing in life is not where you are, but who you are and what you do. Everyone is ultimately responisble for their own actions, regardless of circumstances or society. Middle-earth is no Heaven, so the same rules of personal responsibilty apply. I.E., happiness is not a state of being, but a state of mind.

There is, of course, the question of purpose and fate. I do believe that every person was created by God and put on earth at a certain time and place, for a reason. So I think we each have purpose in this world. Whether we actually fulfil our purpose is not, I think, a given. We have our free will, for better or for worse. But I do believe that the purpose is there.

I'm exploring this whole theme in a fantasy novel, in which two 20-year-old co-workers (not friends, which is an important point) enter a different world. In my story, this permanent transition fits their purpose in life, as I set up their "real" world lives as being quite directionless. They had no close friends, were utterly unapprieciated and ofttimes totally ignored by their families, and had not yet actively pursued improving their own lives. I did this because I saw that sort of situation as being the only justification for my removing them from this world into the other. I have them affect the other world in real and tangible ways. I didn't just send them there for fun, or as an escape. Because they don't escape their own selves, and they don't have fun. It's a hard experience for both of them. I never try to idealize that other world. Which world is better is not the point of the story, the point is having a purpose wherever you happen to be. They were failures at their purpose in this world, but I gave them a second chance in the other world. At the end of the story, I give them the choice to stay there or return here, and they stay, not because the other world is perfect, or comfortable, or even all that different, but because it's where they finally served a purpose and made a difference. So I guess what I'm saying with that story and this post, is that when you're given the choice, I think it's best to stay where God has put you. In my very fictional story, I just happen to be the "god" that decided my characters didn't belong in the world where they were born, and so put them in a different place.

Which seques into the point that Middle-earth isn't a real world. Tolkien's stories, and my stories, and all stories, are just stories about this world. Even if they take place in alternate imaginary worlds, all the elements are based off of/taken from this world.

I firmly believe that this is the only real world there is, besides Heaven and Hell. Exploring the concept of alternate universes is all well in good as part of the human imagination, but I'm not one to actually believe that I could go there (besides the imaginative experience of movies/books/TV/dreamng, etc.) I'm never going to Middle-earth, so when given the hypothetical choice to decide where I belong, I'm just going to say that I belong where I belong. I.E., I don't believe that I have a real choice. I think this is important to consider, because if you spend all your time wishing you were somewhere else where you can never be, you're just missing out on what is real where you are.

Of course, as a Christian, I believe that this world is just a stepping stone to Heaven, but that's a whole different philosopical ramble. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]