Food, Cheer and Song…a Good Focus!

These words make me think of cheerful Hobbits enjoying a pint in their local pub. Food, cheer and song are theIr focus and nothing else seems to matter. The Shire provides what they need and they are content beyond their own expectations. Sure life can he challenging at times, yet their focus remains being grateful and joyous though life may be simple and at times hard.

How much better off we all would be if we could let things go and enjoy the blessings and frivolities each day brings to our door. Be it a blooming rose, leaves popping out on the trees or time spent being quite and laughing at ourselves. What we think about most, what we focus on and spend our time pursuing reveals what we truly value. If we spend all our time in the pursuit of more – more money, more power, more control or even more notoriety- then what message are we sending the people who are in our lives? Are they as important to us as we say, or do our actions reveal a more prime focus for which we excuse our bad relationships and time constraints?

It is a full time job keeping up with everyone and everything. Social media and email have the power to suck the life out of our days. Television, radio, podcasts, this new thing, that revamped thing, the latest trend, the whole keeping up with the Jones’ thing, and battling the expectations in our own mind of where we should be by now. Whew! That is enough to make anyone want to drink a pint, or something stronger. But is it enough to make us rethink where and how we spend our time and money?

If the global pandemic taught us nothing other than providing a clear view of HOW we live our lives, it may have been the only up side. Two years taught us to value what we want not just work. We regained our perspective on home, family, our health, our focus and gave us time to evaluate and change how we live. Which means we should be prepared to be able to value food, cheer and song more than just hoarded gold. Right? Let us hope so.

Let us think better of ourselves and our lives enough to prioritize fun and festivities while keeping everything else is perspective. None of us will get out of this life alive, so let us make time for the laughter and silliness we all need. And let us cherish the people and our time enough to spend our time with the right people in our lives. We all work hard, so the gold will come. Perspective, fun, and intentional cheer make life more than an pandemic can destroy.