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So Beautiful. So What.

So Beautiful. So What.

full moon Imagine a full moon. Bright orange, heavy in the sky. It’s one of those moons where you feel you can reach out and touch it. “Wow, look at the moon!” you might exclaim to the person next to you. And they glance, and kind of grunt “Yeah. So what?”

Now imagine standing on the beach with the ocean stretching far in front of you. You hear and see the tide coming in….the tide going out. Magnificent. There is something about the ocean tides that help people release all stress. Now imagine the life in that ocean. If you’ve ever been snorkeling or scuba diving, you know there is so much more just beneath the surface that we never see until we make an effort to look.

Now see your breath. In and out. In and out. In tune with the tide.

Many people never even notice a full moon. Some people who live near the ocean take it for granted. We often fail to connect the dots between the life force that keeps the moon in the sky, that causes the tides to go in and out, that allows us to breathe. And we forget to connect those dots with the vision staring back from the mirror each day. It’s in us, too, you know.

“Yeah it’s beautiful”, we might say. Or we may really appreciate it and be in awe. “It’s AMAZING! Wow!” And the next minute we say, “Oh crap, I forgot that deadline, and I still have to do ________ (we can fill in the blank)”.

And so it goes. And so we go.

When the Breath Leaves

When the Breath Leaves

We all know how important breathing is. Everyone tells us to “take a deep breath” when we’re feeling stressed, and, if we listen, we feel better. Deep breaths help us get into deeper yoga postures. Deep breaths give us a moment to think rather than react. Classes are designed to help us breathe better – to focus on our breathing. I even include breathing techniques in courses I teach.

breath_leavesBut, last week, I, sadly, was with my childhood friend as her mom took her last breath. I didn’t know how important breathing is.

So, rather than write a post now, I’d like to take a moment and breathe. Invite space in. Invite no-thing in. And just be with that space. Just breathe.

This post is dedicated to Mrs. Reyna Cheslick.