All That is Gold

Why you have to look closely to find the best things

“Hey. Hey look.”

My friend was pointing at the ground beneath my feet.

We were in the green mountains outside of Santa Barbara, spending the day exploring, clambering up waterfalls and using the tumbling mountain streams as guides.

The words were carved into the rock right below my bare feet, on a slab of flat stone jutting out of the wild stream. It just said:

“ALL THAT IS GOLD”

The edges of the words weren't as sharp as when a hiker or climber thought grey words were worth carving into a plateau of stone.

We were practically stepping on it — climbing over it.

That was the first funny thing about those words. We almost didn't even notice them.

And the second funny thing is that, to understand the significance, you have to know the rest of the story.

The words are about the fabled king that J.R.R. Tolkien invented in The Lord of the Rings— Aragorn, introduced as the dark-browed wanderer Strider, was destined to be a powerful leader: the king with the healer hands.

He was the man who led the charge at the gates of Hell — as a ruse, in the slight small chance that the small hero making his way to death’s mountain would succeed in his quest.

He was the man who disappeared into a mountain full of ghosts and came back with an army of allies.

He was the man who didn't want to be a king, who was afraid of being a leader because he was afraid to fail — but he stepped up anyway because there was no one else.

All that is gold does not glitter
not all those who wander are lost
the old that is strong does not wither
deep roots are not reached by the frost

Perhaps the carver had gotten tired — or discovered—before he could even finish the stanza. I don’t know.

But all I needed were those first words.

ALL THAT IS GOLD

And I remembered the rest.

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