Just Keep Breathing

Breathing. We all do it. It is so important and vital to our lives. It is simple. It is sometimes a conscious effort and sometimes unconscious effortlessness. We have so many different types of breath. Take a breath. Draw it deep from your belly. Try one from your chest and stretch your ribs out wide.  Sift a breath through your throat and listen to the sound it makes. Some people only breathe through the mouth and most everyone can use their nose.  Breathing creates movement that can be as regular as ocean waves.  It can be an intense effort to draw a single breath or even blow out a candle. Have you thought about your breath lately? How do you breathe?

 People naturally respond to the breathing around them. A mother in labor has her own kind of breathing.  A newborn’s first breath and cry are often a moment of sheer relief and the joyful introduction a family experiences. A quick draw of breath through clenched teeth is cause for concern or an indication of pain.  A sigh at the end of a stressful day is a different breath than the sigh at the end of a satisfying one.  The snoring of an exhausted sleeper can make you want to laugh or cry sometimes. We can fear or wait with excitement for the moments that take our breath away. We can hold our breath in anticipation, with exhilaration or in a game.  Those who explore under the ocean or in space know never to hold their breath. Many have ached with the sound of each precious breath on a life support machine. Eventually there is that last and final breath. When you feel anxious a deep breath can release the tension.  It takes breath to laugh, to speak, to sing, to whistle. We can fog up a window, blow relief on a stinging scrape, make a windmill spin, let loose a cool down breath after activity, blow a bubble or play an instrument.

Keep Breathing, Breathe, Breathe On Me, Breathe Again, Learning To Breathe, You Take My Breath Away, Harder to Breathe, My Last Breath, and Breathless are just a small smattering of song titles, not to mention the countless mentions of breath in poetry, books, art, media, yoga, healthcare, many world religions blah blah blah...should I go on and waste my breath?  Scientifically it is just the process that moves air in and out of the lungs. Mentally it can be an exercise. Physically it can stop you short of your goal or help you win the race. Spiritually it can signify a simple prayer or bring about peace and new life. 

When your life pauses in the perfect moment, take a breath and enjoy the sweetness of where you are. When life at times flattens you out or has leveled your spirit, take a breath, hold it in, and let it out.  Sometimes it is all you can do just to know you are breathing.  Our ability to breathe can seem so small and unimportant, but it is a powerful, powerful thing.  With each breath today, enjoy knowing you are alive; your breath is a treasure and can help you set sail on any adventure you can dream up.

…don’t forget to breathe.