You are all probably familiar with the tale of Bilbo Baggins and his quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug. He and his 13 Dwarf companions head out on a tale of many adventures to eventually find themselves on the doorstep of the dragon’s cave.
It is at this stage of the journey that we learn an incredible life lesson from the narrator of the tale, J.R.R. Tolkien. You see, Bilbo is required to sneak in through a hidden passage right to the inner most cavern of the mountain. As he creeps along he becomes confronted with the fact that there indeed is a deadly dragon at the bottom of that tunnel. He can see the red glow at the end of the tunnel and in the quiet darkness he can hear the deep breathing of a very large animal.
So right there, standing in the darkness Bilbo has to overcome his fear and take the next step. The hardest part of the journey, the moment of ultimate decision. Bilbo fights the real battle, he overcomes his trepidation and takes the step. Thus we learn that in life the real battle is always overcoming your own fear, your own internal struggle, your own weakness.
We often delay or do not even start the thing that will have the greatest impact in your life. We do not even fight and therefore have no chance of fighting or winning the real battle.
Guy Reams
Fia and I are reading the Hobbit right now and that’s exactly where we are at in the story! How funny!