Legolas and Gimli

Every Lord Of The Rings fan knows about the undying friendship between these two. Their differences span a wide range. Legolas is an elf, lithe and graceful, handsome and wise, supple and strong. He has lived in the forest all his life, and as they say, no one knows the woods better than a woodland elf.
Gimli is a dwarf, sturdy and steady, strong and determined. He is one of Durin's folk. His life has been spent in the caves and the underground. And as they say, none of the small folk have larger hearts than the dwarfs.
Legolas and Gimli... elf and dwarf... break the lifelong enmity between the elvenfolk and the dwarfs. Despite differences of opinion - Legolas can't stand the underground and Gimli can't stand the forests, they are the best of friends and support each other throughout the book.
They are friendly competitors during the battle (yes, they do compete to see who can kill more orcs in a battle), and every other time, they are steadfast mates. They bring a sense of togetherness to the company, the Fellowship of the Ring, and with their friendly yet polite bantering, add wry bits of humour to their terrifying journey.
It was strange, in a way, how their hostile arguments turned into light bickering as they made their way through the realms of Middle-Earth and past the norms frozen through centuries in their culture. And yet, once it happened, it seemed that it had always been inevitable, just as good triumphs over evil and ignorance is crushed by knowledge.
This just goes to prove how supposed 'enemies' can go out of their way to break the barriers of tradition for friendship. And that friendship in this world, or any other, is unexpected. It comes upon you suddenly and leaves you no time to do anything but plunge deep into it.

Anduin the Great

The description of River Anduin with mere words would never satisfy me. But it is all I have, so I shall proceed with it.
Anduin, the longest river of Middle-Earth, its beauty beyond the wildest imagination, its streams bubbling through green meadows, its waters flowing through swampy marshes, and finally coming to rest in the ocean beyond the city of Minas Tirith, is as important to the story of Lord Of The Rings as anything else.
'Anduin' is the Sindarin name for the Great River of Wilderland, as the river was once known. It flowed from its source in the Grey and Misty Mountains to the Mouths of Anduin, commonly known as Ethir Anduin.
Where the Misty Mountains joined hands with the Great Mountains, there flowed two streams that would soon become Anduin the Great. Langwell and Greylin emerged from the mountains, and flowed down in great speed, until their confluence awoke Anduin.
Thence, the Great River flowed parallel to the Misty Mountains in a broad vale and onward to Lothlorien.
Lorien is described as the land of dreams. All that passes outside is of no consequence in the city of Lothlorien, where flows Celebrant, tributary to Anduin the Great.
Past the forest city of elves, the river bids farewell to the company of the mountains and makes its way towards Emyn Muil and Argonath. The river is now wide and its pace is rising steadily. Both the banks are green and beautiful. The images of Lothlorien still linger in one's mind. But approaching on one side is Sauron's ruined kingdom, Mordor, the evil and dark land, where none but the Orcs dare set foot upon.
The Sarn Gebir, a series of ferocious rapids, leads the river into the lake of Nen Hithoel. The river then takes a plunge at the Falls of Rauros, flows path the mouth of the Entwash river.
Ahead lie the White Mountains and the Mountains of Shadow, where good meets evil, and the only thing keeping Minas Tirith - the capital of Gondor, where the men are good and brave - and Minas Morgul, the tower of the evil - apart, is the river Anduin. Past the fighting towers it flows, through the port of Pelargir, and finally it joins the sea at they Bay of Belfalas.
The course of The Great River can indeed teach us a lot. Emerging from our birth, we are fast and flow rapidly through the first part of our life. We see only beautiful meadows and flowers dancing in the breeze. Then we are past the youth of our life. We want to linger in our early days, but we know that we must go on, no matter what. Onward, there comes a point where the two banks on either side of us are warring - good versus evil. Turn the eyes to one side, and you see brave, relentless people fighting for their principles. The other side presents havoc and devastation. And still onward you flow, until the battle is past, and you are only looking forward to come to rest. The memories of the past and the thoughts of the present weigh you down and you move ahead slowly, but steadily.
And then, the sea comes, the end of all rivers, like and unlike you. And there, as all the waters swirl and rise together, everything is at one, and the past does not really matter.