Breathing

I believe in breathing. I know, it sounds strange considering we all have to breathe. Seems to be an easy thing to believe in, right? But all too often it’s overlooked and understandably so. Fear, love, anxiety, sadness, anger, each can make a person stop breathing as the emotion washes over them. I know I’ve done it when scared while walking through a shady part of town. I for sure did it waiting for the right moment to propose to my wife during that flight to Chicago (she said “yes” by the way). I do it every time I step onto a stage to perform or deliver a speech. A close friend passing away caused what seemed like a breathless day of sobbing. A heated argument with my boss instantly shut the breathing down and replaced it with venomous rage. For one reason or another, failing to breathe seems to be quite common.

Though technically an involuntary physical process, we grow up with constant reminders to breathe. Your mom trying to calm you on your first day of school as you cling to her leg crying incessantly, she would say “Just breathe baby, it’ll be okay”. Your dad easing the anxiety of playing in your first Little League game, “Take a deep breathe son, relax, and have fun”. The vice-principal in high school breaking up a fight and ordering you to “Back up, take a deep breath and cool it”. Everyone seemed to think the cure to any problem or situation was to breathe, which, by all accounts, we can’t really avoid doing.

Over the years, though, I have seen the wisdom in breathing. It has stopped me from saying really hurtful things in the heat of the moment (and other times could’ve stopped me if I had thought about doing it). Breathing allowed me to accept my car stereo being ripped out of my car as “something that just happens”, though I grew somewhat breathless paying the repair bill for my car window. My growing fear of flying is mitigated so long as I remember to breathe slowly and find my happy place, which by the way is located on terra firma!

As I now am charged with leading my children through the maze of life, I have a responsibility to guide them through the wrong turns and dead ends they may face. Ones my parents helped me navigate through and around. And all those reminders to just breathe have come in handy, especially as I experience the aptly named “Terrible Two’s”. So for me, my wife, my children, and everyone else I come into contact with throughout my life, I will remember the power of my breath (no pun intended). For my belief in this wonderfully powerful tool is strong, and it’s something I hope my kids, for my sake and theirs, will learn from before they learn how to drive!