It's about the breath...

“It’s easy to take for granted the breath that we breathe…

we forget that it is not a right, but a gift…”

 - Author unknown

"It is never really the beginning of a thing that has the real meaning, but rather the end..."

You know the cliché; it’s not about the destination, but the journey.  While it may be true – no journey…no destination –  ‘end points’ give meaning to the journey…they do give meaning, don’t they?

“End points?”  Are there really any?  Isn’t the end of one thing, really the beginning of another?  Like breathing…the inspiration – breathe in…the expiration – breathe out… 

Life doesn’t just inspire and expire, but it respires…breath in and breath out in rhythmic cycles of a lifetime - each one of them critical in the moment.  The moment…that is the key isn’t it.  That’s what my yoga teachers have said. “Focus on the breath.  It is all in the breath.”

Breathing is so natural; we don’t often appreciate the importance of the  individual breath.

For all of the importance we place on the things we do, the things we create, the places we go…all of it…all of it hinges on the next breath.  We conquer, build, negotiate, give birth, study, learn, create new worlds, and yet it all comes down to a single heartbeat…a single breath.

Focus on the breath…

The thing is, we have no guarantee for the next breath, and taking it for granted is not a good strategy.  While it is not always the easiest thing to do, it is important to pay attention, or at the very least, respect the breath…it is the breath that provides the vehicle for further meaning in life.

Breathing is a metaphor for the people I know, the people I love, the relationships that bring meaning and rhythm to my life…the people that are easy to take for granted…like breathing…the people I simply expect to be there.  This is not a good strategy, because one never knows when relationships will no longer have, or bring life.

I’m traveling this week – another city, another experience, another opportunity – yet in the quiet of my hotel this morning, I am focusing on my breath…the importance of the relationships, the care, the assurance, the faith my loved ones bring…the importance of keeping the quality of air in my lungs…the importance of not taking for granted their presence, nor ‘their’ breath. 

Focus here is important because ‘they’ are what bring me life.

- ted