Wayfarers All, Seeking Adventure in The Wind in the Willows

(Image taken from Amazon.com)

Lately I’ve made it my mission to read books that have long been on my “to-read” list that I’ve put off for one reason or another. While my focus as of late zeroed in on works by J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) and C.S. Lewis (The Space Trilogy), I took a relaxing detour and cracked open a classic tale, Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows.

I’m not quite sure how this one slipped through my reading list, and should’ve read the story years ago. I’m a fan of stories featuring animals, with Brian Jaques’ Redwall series being my all-time favorite book series. I watched the Disney adaptation on an old VHS tape many times growing up, and while I enjoyed it, after reading the story I much prefer the book. The Disney adaptation is fine on its own, but it focuses almost entirely on Toad’s portion of the book. Now, Toad is an entertaining character, and his adventure is full of action and chases, but the real stars of the book are Mole and Ratty. Their story resonates with me on a deeper level than Toad’s wild ride.

At the beginning of the book, Mole lives in his little home all alone. While in the midst of doing some spring-cleaning, the soil dweller decides he’s had enough of staying in his ordinary world and ventures out to see what the outside world has to offer him. Timid Mole eventually runs into an acquaintance, the much more worldly-wise Water Rat, who was just about to go on a boat ride and picnic. Upon learning that Mole has never been on a boat, the astonished Water Rat exclaims:

“What?” cried the Rat, open-mouthed: “Never been in a – you never – well, I – what have you been doing, then?” (Pg. 5)

The stunned Water Rat insists on opening Mole’s eyes to the wonders of life on the riverbank and “messing about in boats.” Over the course of the warm spring afternoon, Mole catches the same infatuation the Water Rat has for the river, and a deep and unbreakable friendship is forged between the two animals. Mole goes off to live with the Water Rat, leaving his solitude behind and embracing the wild world around him.

            Over the course of first portion of The Wind in the Willows, Ratty expands Mole’s social circle and introduces him to the good-hearted, but terribly flawed Toad, the gruff but wise Mr. Badger, and the jovial Otter and his son Portly. Each of these friends, including Ratty, have their own particular problems and flaws, and Mole helps each of them; just as they help him grow out of his shell.

            The Wind in the Willows has endured as a classic since its publication in 1908, and after reading it, I know why. The story is about brotherhood and friendship that goes beyond being in each other’s company. These friends have more than just a casual relationships, but a deep and sacrificial love that puts them in harms way. 

Brotherhood is often forgotten or put on the wayside, or if it is there it’s usually in helping each other with one’s romantic partners. There is no romantic love to be found in The Wind in the Willows, or female characters even. The love Mole, Rat, Badger, Otter, and to an extent Toad show each other is a brotherly love that seeks to help each other in their moments of weakness and need.

Early on, Mole and Rat are lost in the Wild Wood in search of Mr. Badger’s home. When Mr. Badger finds them freezing on his doorstep in a snowstorm, the kindly badger welcomes them inside, dressing their wounds, and offering them the very best of his provisions. Here, a bond is made between Mole and Mr. Badger, as they discover that they share a common love for life underground.

After Mole and Rat explain to Mr. Badger the depths of Toad’s automobile mania, the three form a pact to help their friend regain his senses at personal inconvenience and cost. The three barricade Toad in his home against his will, staying with him day and night until he is free of his own compulsions. Even when Toad escapes and winds up in prison, Mole and Mr. Badger take turns staying in Toad’s home and taking care of his affairs as he serves his sentence. Mole, Rat, and Mr. Badger even put their lives in risk as they go with Toad to free Toad Hall from the weasels, stoats, and ferrets that have taken over the Hall in the climax of the book.

When Otter’s beloved son Portly goes missing, Mole and Rat brave a late night boat ride to find the missing pup. This daring rescue mission leads to an unforgettable (except for all involved) encounter with Pan, rescue the lad from danger, and reunite father and son.

Even Rat is not immune to his own manias and requires rescuing. After a lengthy discussion with a Sea Rat about his wild adventures, the dreamer Rat becomes spellbound at the thought of travel, and sets out to follow the Sea Rat and never return to the riverbank. Upon learning of his friend’s intentions, Mole grabs onto Ratty and refuses to let go until the spell breaks and his friend regains his senses, preventing him from making a terrible mistake.

These are the moments where The Wind in the Willows shines the brightest. There are no worlds to be saved, no alien invaders, no government conspiracies, and no damsels in distress. This is a quiet adventure book, one for reading on a lazy afternoon or while snuggled in bed. This is a story of four closely-knit animal friends with very human and relatable problems who are more than happy to solve their issues sitting in armchairs around a roaring fire over tea and pipes. Some will find this story slow and dull, but I find it comforting and a balm to my busy and stressful life.

            Perhaps I love this story more than most will, because I can identify with Mole on a deeper level. Years ago I found myself in his shoes, living at home and surrounded by the only life I had known. I had a content life, with a roof over my head, in the midst of loved ones, and an easy part-time job. Yet deep inside, I yearned for something more that couldn’t be satisfied by staying put. The wild world called out to me to leave the security of my family and set out on an adventure of my own and travel to strange world of Missouri for college. To this day, I can’t think of a harder decision than the one I made that summer, and spent many fearful nights wondering what was to become of me. After a tearful goodbye to my family and friends, I entered the world of Horton Hall a wayfarer, surrounded by complete and utter strangers and miles away from home.

            It was the best decision I ever made.

            Over the course of a year, I formed deep friendships that changed my life forever. These friends stuck by my side through thick and thin, accepting me for my oddities, yet challenging me to mature as a person. When I met my future wife, my friends pushed and prodded me to leave the safety of my bachelor life and pursue her. These friendships endured over summer breaks, graduation, and vast distances, staying in touch over the phone and social media.

            I would not be the man I am today had I not answered the call to adventure like Mole. By taking that first step out of my parent’s home, I wouldn’t be married to my wife, pursuing a writing career, working with Children of the Wells, or have the many people I proudly call friends in my life. Like Mole, I have seen the riverbank, and I’m all the better for it.

            Rare is the book that the reader wishes to read again upon completion, yet I feel this way about The Wind in the Willows. Its tales of brotherhood and adventure speak to my soul, and shows a version of the world I want to experience firsthand. Yet like Mole, I’ve discovered the wonder that the world around me has to offer. Perhaps you too identify with Mole, yearning to try something new, but afraid of leaving the comforts around you. It doesn’t have to be crazy or drastic, and beware the manias that lead to disaster, but leave the ordinary world and follow the call to adventure, whatever that may be for you. You just might find something exciting waiting right around the corner.

            Just don’t go around crashing motorcars like Toad. That would be bad.

All quotes and images from:

The Wind in the Willows

By Kenneth Grahame

Illustrated by Dick Cuffari

The Weight of the Ordinary World

Beware the Doldrums. image taken from http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~bcohen/phantom_tollbooth/excerpts.html

“I wonder where I am,” said Milo in a very worried tone.

“You’re . . . in . . . the . . . Dol . . . drums,” wailed a voice that sounded far away.

He looked around quickly to see who had spoken. No one was there, and it was as quiet and still as one could imagine.

“Yes . . . the . . . Dol . . .drums,” yawned another voice, but still he saw no one.

“WHAT ARE THE DOLDRUMS?” he cried loudly, and tried very hard to see who would answer this time.

“The Doldrums, my young friend, are where nothing ever happens and nothing ever changes.” (pg .23)

From The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, Illustrated by Jules Feiffer

 

So you want to be creative, eh? You have a story that you’ve always dreamt of writing, or have a neat idea for a comic? You like spending your day scribbling story ideas on pieces of paper, or doodling imaginary worlds on a notepad? Do you have a cool idea for a movie that you want to produce? That’s great. I wish you the very best for your endeavors. You have the ability to go out and make those dreams of yours a reality.

The problem is those words of encouragement I just told you might be the only ones you’ll ever hear. See, the world loves successful creative people, but it’s downright hostile if you’re starting out; and it will do everything possible to derail you from following your dreams.

See, when we think of artists and writers, we imagine these free spirited people who sit around all day in their work space, hunched over a computer or sketching, unencumbered by the world around them. I had that mental picture as a new Graduate student that this would be my life. Now, a little older and a little wiser, I’ve come to realize this is just a fantasy given to us by Hollywood.

The reality creative people discover is everything costs money. From the tools that they work with, to the very space they work in, it all has a price tag. Unless you come from a very well off family, or you find a winning lottery ticket, you’re unfortunately going to need to work. Rent, bills, food, utilities, it all has a price tag on it, and that money has to come from somewhere, and it’s not coming from that neat project you’re working on at the moment.

So you go out and hopefully find a job or two to pay your expenses. Great, now you have the means to create! But hold it right there! Now comes the other problem. You come home (which takes time), you have to make meals, you have to bathe (please do), you have relationships to maintain, and other odds and ends you don’t really think about. Now it’s finally time to create! Except you’ve just fallen asleep on the couch from exhaustion. Then when you wake up, it’s time to start the fun all over again.

It’s not easy, is it?

Then lets look at your job. Your job could care less about your dreams. Your employer will look at your resume and your creative skills and say, “Oh, you’re a writer? Good, that means you can write emails with punctuation and grammar. Here’s a mindless job you can do that doesn’t take advantage of your true skills.” All of your talents and God given gifts will be used for the most mundane of tasks to further their business. They don’t care about that cool story you’re dreaming about; there are reports to make. You can draw amazing pictures? That means you can update their website so it doesn’t look like its from the 90’s anymore. Unless you are very lucky and find a position that gives you some freedom, your talents will be wasted on things that will be forgotten a year, no, a month from now.

The world does not want you to succeed in your creative efforts. Chances are, your job doesn’t want you to succeed, either. If you were successful, then you wouldn’t have to work there, and they don’t want to lose you while you’re still useful to them. They’ll smile and nod when you tell them about your latest projects, but they don’t care. They want you thinking about work.

Then there’s your family and friends. They might support your work, but that usually involves only a few words of encouragement. You might write or draw something and share it on Facebook, but that doesn’t mean they will read it. Most will most likely scroll right past it, leaving it only to a few who will check your work out, and even less will give you any sort of feedback on it.

So now you’re stuck in this never ending cycle of work and home life, and somewhere you have to fit in your creative work. Home is where the true battle is for the creative person. Here you’re surrounded by your comforts after a long and frustrating day at the office. Do you really want to spend a few hours writing a chapter in your first novel that few will read, or would you rather marathon that funny show you like on Netflix? Early on, it’s easy to make the right choice and write. But other days, after a brain-draining day at work, or a painful argument with a loved one, Netflix will win. Then there are the moments where you get into a creative funk. Do you really want to stare at a screen to hammer out that scene that’s going nowhere, or do you want to play that fun new video game you just bought?

Being creative takes much more discipline than non-creative people realize. They’re used to seeing finished products by people who have made it. You’re still figuring this stuff out and finding your voice. That takes time, and you can’t quantify that. Most day-to-day jobs require little training for someone to master it. The creative person has only their mind to summon forth stories or images to put to paper. That takes years to develop, with many abandoned stories and sketches thrown in the trash bin that no one will ever see.

With all of these challenges, no wonder so many aspiring writers and artists give up on their dreams and accept the doldrums of life. The temptation to just surrender your dreams and just embrace the ordinary is all too alluring. All you need to do is put the computer down and just sit on your couch and let life take you along like riding the lazy river in a water park. You just veg out and allow yourself to be carried along with the current. No more fighting, no more nights of frustrated writing on a story only a handful of people will ever read. The world is more than happy to enable you to just give up.

This is where the true fight lies for the creative person. It’s the most deceptive of dragons, one that will just sit on you until you stop moving and fighting. But what can you do to fight it?

Remember the reason why you are creating, and hold onto it! When I was a child, all I ever wanted to do was to become a writer. I’d go to a library and look at the thousands of books around me and think, “One day, I want something I wrote to be here.” I’d dream of holding a book I wrote in my hands, and flip through the pages of my work, or see a picture of myself on the back cover. I didn’t want to be a fireman or astronaut; I wanted to be a writer.

I have to remind myself of this every single day of my life. There are countless days on my commute home where I think of every mindless task I have to accomplish at home before I can get out and write and throw up my hands, ruing the day I chose to follow my dreams. I’ll submit a story to this blog and share it on Facebook and Twitter, only to see maybe two or three likes and watch it disappear from my feed. It’s incredibly frustrating, especially when I’ve spent hours planning and crafting my short story with the utmost care and love. In those moments, I have to remind myself that it doesn’t matter, because in the end with every finished tale I write, I grow in my skills as a writer.

Another strategy I have is writing stories that mean something to me, even if it means nothing to another person. I have a story I’ve been working on since last year that no one will ever read but me, but I feel fulfilled writing it because its what I want to read. Write stories or make drawings that only you will care about. Don’t make it your only project, but when you’re frustrated or discouraged, it’s nice to just unwind and spend a few hours with something that will remind you why you’ve chosen to follow your creative calling.

I chose the above passage from The Phantom Tollbooth specifically for this subject. In the scene, Milo has lost his way after just arriving in this new land. Here, he finds himself stuck in the Doldrums, surrounded by the Lethargarians, who do nothing all day. All thinking is outlawed in the Doldrums, and you accomplish nothing but lazing about. Milo, to tired to think or figure his way out of this mess, almost ends his journey just as it’s begun. It takes the Watchdog Tock to rouse Milo from the doom of lethargy. Our jobs can feel like being stuck in the Doldrums, where our minds are not allowed to think about our creations. In the face of this foe, we must persevere and not allow ourselves to become like the Lethargarians, but to set forth on the creative adventure that is just around the corner.

So if you choose to be a writer or artist, understand you will face these challenges. These are trials testing to see if you are up for the task. It’s not easy, and you will need to give up some of your comforts to make your dreams happen, but don’t lose hope! Remember that many people you admire and respect were in the same position as you, and they eventually found success. Life will do everything in its power to take that away from you, but don’t let go! That breakthrough might be just around the corner.