Take a Moment

“Remember what Bilbo used to say: ‘It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

Tolkien knew what he was talking about when he penned those words, even while writing a fantastical novel about the ages past of Middle Earth.

And isn’t life fantastic?

Seriously think about it. Focus on your situation. As you sit there, take a moment and notice you lungs expanding.

 You are breathing—taking breath—receiving oxygen and expelling carbon dioxide—inhaling. 

     You are alive. No matter the negative situation (or positive one) you’re in at the moment, you have life. Isn’t that something we really forget about? Day to day. Home to job to home. We fall into this routine of the mundane, everyday chores in life. Sure there might be a vacation here or there, a quick time to relax and catch breath, but other than that we go through our routine—our this is what we should get done today—this is what I should do with my life.

We almost don’t even make our own life schedules anymore.

     Birth. Grow. Learn (K-12). Extensive learning (1-12 years more). Job. Marriage. Advance in job. Throw kids in to mix it up. Save your money! Retire (if you can). Spend said money you have saved all those years. Die.

     In the end, 80+ years down the road you’ve come up with some crazy cocktail that society mixed for you and poured on the rocks. Maybe you added your own ingredients—maybe not. Life throws us curveballs. We either swing or let pass. My question to you is: are you really choosing your own mixers?

     Are you letting chances go by because of fear, failure, and the unknown? What would happen if you dove in? Skip the step about dipping toes in to check the temperature. You live with abandon. What could your life look like?

     Are you grounded in what you know and believe to hold true? Or are the winds of time and change as dictated by society taking you places? This is your story to tell, don’t let someone else take the pen. Too many people in this world do, and they miss out on what life can offer. Beauty that can be found in so many things if only we were to just take the time to breath and realize what is around us.

     Money comes and goes. Time will continually tick-tock away. Fashion changes. People walk out. Do you realize what is most important in this life? To deeply, sincerely, and with full abandon love those around you, and make it known to them. Society gives you a syllabus, and you hope you can make it through that course. Except tomorrow isn’t promised. As much as you hate uncertainty, the future is shrouded under the eve of tomorrow. All will pass. Our existence is purposeful, but will you really take the time to search for it? I dare you to. Take a leap of faith no matter how small. Walk off the edge. Take the offer. Plunge.

     And when you come up for air again...

 just breathe.

*** I thoroughly believe that you can use a quote from the Lord of the Rings for any situation in life and the words will have meaning. :)