Bilbo Baggins is a Hobbit – a peaceful inhabitant of The Shire.  Which is a quiet neighbourhood in a far corner of the version of Middle Earth created by JRR Tolkein. (The Shire is actually based on the area around Sarehole Mill in Hall Green where Tolkein grew up).  Nothing much of any importance happens in The Shire until a wizard called Gandalf arrives and engages Bilbo in a conversation he finds he can’t get out of and which leads to adventures…

“Good Morning!” said Bilbo, and he meant it. The sun was shining, and the grass was very green. But Gandalf looked at him from under long bushy eyebrows that stuck out further than the brim of his shady hat.

“What do you mean?” he said. “Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?”

“All of them at once,” said Bilbo. “And a very fine morning for a pipe of tobacco out of doors, into the bargain.  If you have a pipe about you, sit down and have a fill of mine! There’s no hurry, we have all the day before us!”

Then Bilbo sat down on a seat by his door, crossed his legs, and blew out a beautiful grey ring of smoke that sailed up into the air without breaking and floated away over The Hill.

“Very pretty!” said Gandalf. “But I have no time to blow smoke-rings this morning. I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it’s very difficult to find anyone.”

“I should think so in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can’t think what anybody sees in them”, said our Mr. Baggins, and stuck one thumb behind his braces, and blew out another even bigger smoke-ring.

Then he took out his morning letters, and began to read, pretending to take no more notice of the old man.  He had decided that he was not quite his sort, and wanted him to go away. But the old man did not move.  He stood leaning on his stick and gazing at the hobbit without saying anything, till Bilbo got quite uncomfortable and even a little cross.

“Good morning!” he said at last. “We don’t want any adventures here, thank you! You might try over The Hill or across The Water.” By this he meant that the conversation was at an end.

“What a lot of things you do use ‘Good morning’ for!” said Gandalf. “Now you mean that you want to get rid of me, and that it won’t be good till I move off.”

 

The same words can mean many different things and many great endeavours start with a conversation – even one at apparent crossed purposes.  The polite Mr Baggins finds this conversation leads him and his kin into a whole series of adventures described in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Engaging in dialogue – two way communication – enables people to use words to influence and lead others in subtle ways.  How do you think this conversation would have gone if it had taken the form of a one-sided consultation survey on the attitudes of residents of The Shire to magical adventures?  Would Gandalf have been more, or less, likely to tempt Mr Baggins away from the safety and comforts of his home as a result?  

 

What would you like to do next…

Go back to look at the definition of community dialogue

Go on to read more suggestions about why conversation matters

Return to the overview summary of this section on community dialogue

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