Finrod walks with Finarfin: One of Tolkien's greatest consolations

How great a thing it is to know that after all the storm and stress caused by the Silmarils, "Finrod walks with Finarfin his father beneath the trees in Eldamar." This line from "Of Beren and Lúthien" never fails to stop me in my reading for a moment, to absorb the deep peace of this knowledge. The elves are so caught up in the War of the Jewels, and utterly devastating things happen to so many of them, but Tolkien assures us that Galadriel's brother and father are fine, in the end.

It is always a rather aweing endeavor for me to undertake Valinorean scenes. I bring to them not just my reverence for J.R.R. Tolkien, but for the understanding some theologians have arrived at that we may all go to a Paradise garden for a time before the remaking of Heaven and Earth. To me, the best Primary World analogue I know to Tolkien's Eldamar is not that it is Heaven, but that it is somewhat like this Paradise. It's something I would love to be able to converse with him about. Any attempt to envision this place of serenity requires much thought and care.

I recently had the pleasure of asking Graham Judd whether he and his honored father had discussed the flora of the Blessed Realm whilst they were co-authoring the marvelous volume, Flora of Middle-earth. He was kind enough to relate that they had talked about it, but comparatively little is known of the plant life of Valinor. We know there are forests, of course, but I do wish that Professor Tolkien had left us as many plants to think about in this realm as in Middle-earth. In the absence of an herbarium, I've chosen to spangle the grass with starry loosestrife, as the name of that plant has always sounded to me like letting go of stress, and with angelica, with its association with sweetness and angels. I feel sure that the elves could not have been happy in Eldamar without plenty of plants of all kinds to watch over and love.

This scene, in particular, is full of poignancy for me because it so reminds me of the fact that Professor Tolkien grew up without his own dear father. Might he have hoped the two of them would amble side-by-side one day? And then, I could not help thinking of Christopher Tolkien, and it seemed to me almost as if I could glimpse the pair of them in such a setting, even now, walking beneath wondrous trees and talking companionably together as they did in earthly life. Many folk hold such hopes and I find Tolkien's vision of such a hereafter particularly beautiful and consoling.

Recovery, escape, and consolation; these themes inspired my first book, and they are abundant throughout the Professor's works, even in hard tales like that of The Silmarillion. If this is a day on which you need to have hopes, and to be reassured that the grip of materialism can't last forever for mankind, any more than it did for the elves, then perhaps this video short will be a welcome one to bring you a sense of calm and peace.