Leaning Into Life

“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.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lords of the Rings

Waking up and stepping out into the day is a new experience, every day. Though it may feel just like yesterday, it truly is a new day full of the unknown. What will you encounter along the way? Will you stumble upon treasure or will calamity find you? They say that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, yet it also creates a burden for a time. These burdens can be light though when held up to the backdrop of the world and lives taking place around us.

Perhaps even the burdens become victories when they are the result of courage. Whether we are trying out our voice, our feet, our mind, or our heart; we are taking risks and trying to give this life all that we can. Though we may feel weary of mind and body, and sadness may take up residence for a time, it is all part of the journey. The journey is what it’s about, after all, the paths tread and the people we encounter along the way. Stepping out your front door may begin the adventure, but the return home is important as well.

It is good to find rest at home, and it is okay. Believe that peace and happiness are within the scope of the journey, being found even in the most unlikely of places. In sadness, when we feel beaten down, we are challenged to rise up and open up. In the development of resilience, we find a voice to give words to our feelings, and we find paths to healing. We can choose to lean into all of it rather than try and avoid it.

Lean in. Our friends and family are oftentimes only a phone call or a text message away, ready and willing to comfort and uplift. There is a caveat though: We need to allow others into our life. Humility is essential, because we are broken people, and we need to become comfortable with being exposed as broken at times. Acknowledge that we are imperfect beings in need of a hug, a kind word, an ear to listen, or even in need of wisdom.

These are the choices: Lean in or hide away? Step out or stay inside? The path only remains unknown until you walk on it. So today, may we find the courage to lean in and step out into the life we are in.