lost on the road to eucatastrophe

1. Tolkien's "Eucatastrophe" from The League of Bearded Catholics.

The hero's job is explicitly not to overcome by any means possible. This, in fact, may be his/her chief temptation... to secure a victory on the ground by doing evil, to move in his/her own strength and understanding - even on behalf of "the good guys". Of course, the other major temptation wil be to quit... or even to rest.

Perseverance in doing right may cost the hero dearly, but the worst that can happen is that he/she will be defeated and die defending the Good... and receive a heavenly reward - what Tolkien calls, "the consolation of the Happy Ending" characteristic of the Fairy Story. Choose to ignore the moral law - even (or perhaps especially) in a "good" cause, and the best that can happen will be that one become a citizen of Hell for eternity in exchange for a hollow and very temporary earthly victory.

In Eucatastrophe, It is not the destruction that is good, but good that is suddenly brought out of destruction... a crisis that stirs up self-forgetting love and courageous action in the hero.

2. A whole selection of cool LOST merchandise.

3. 16 Adventurous Open Road Pictures from Photography Blogger.