It’s been a heavy week, and since we’re heading into the weekend, I want to keep today’s reflection short and sweet.
I want to leave you with one reminder this weekend: breathe.
I don’t mean that in any sort of woo-woo, meditation-y way. I mean it in the simplest way possible. Remember to breathe.
I had many late nights this week wrestling with my interior world, which often leads me to a state of loneliness at 3 a.m. contemplating my relationship to the realities around me. I was trying to think of some advice I could give to get through these moments - I don’t know about you, but when I get like this, it feels like there’s nothing I want to do. It feels like there’s nothing I can do.
I can’t read.
I can’t keep writing.
I can’t watch a movie.
I can’t eat anymore.
I can’t talk to anyone (everyone’s sleeping).
It’s just me and what feels like nothingness. What I realized moments ago is that I do have one thing. It’s the one thing I’ve had my entire life, and it’s also the thing I’ve taken for granted the most.
I have my breath, and that’s by no means forever.
There are probably a Googolplex worth of occurrences that had to take place throughout time and space that it made it possible for me to breathe. The fact that I get the opportunity to do so defies all odds and probabilities. If you look at it the right way, it’s a certifiable miracle.
What I’m trying to say is that when all is lost, when all else fails, when everything around you is crumbling - just remember to breathe. You don’t have to meditate. You don’t have to count your breaths or do any sort of special ceremony. Simply close your eyes and breathe. Even when it feels like you have nothing, remember that you always have this.
Sometimes, there aren’t any answers.
Sometimes, there aren’t any solutions.
Sometimes, distractions stop working.
Sometimes, all we can do is sit with what we’ve got.
What we’ve got is the chance to breathe.
.