Breathe In, Breathe Out: I Know Where I Am

My breath is a friend, an advisor, and a confidant. It has been with me since I was born and knows me very well.

          When I find myself in a state of hurry or worry, or more often than not, both, I tend to gravitate toward distraction. This is not to demonize relaxation or a well-placed moment of escapism. Sometimes, walking away from a problem for a time can lead to a solution or, at the very least, some level of acceptance. However, this is not the same as distraction. Distraction as a method of addressing the very big feelings of overwhelm in our day is a sneaky kind of avoidance. Procrastination is, at its essence, a stress management system. For the mind, this is an end, not a means. I fall into these distractions, usually because I don’t know where to begin in addressing the issue at hand. A school assignment that doesn’t quite make sense to me, cleaning a kitchen that is an apocalyptic landscape of dishes, or even a list of to-dos without a clear starting place all can inspire me to distraction.

         The allure of distraction is that all I have to do is show up, and I am there. However, the allure of mindfulness is that all I have to do is show up, and I am there. When I am distracted, my awareness is sometimes in the past, other times in the future, and on occasion, it may be seemingly no place at all. But when I return to my breath, I know where I am. When I return to my breath, I come home. I come back to the present moment, and that is the only moment where I have any power in my daily life. So, I breathe deep and settle into that breath, allowing myself the decadent luxury of resting my awareness in the moment of in and the moment of out. This is where I begin as a first step in tackling whatever task is at hand.

          Breath has no religion, no politics, no philosophy, and no agenda. It is life right now. It is a river flowing without instruction or permission. It owns itself and does not seek approval from others. It does not concern itself with right action. It is the action. It simply exists and has no mind to be concerned with this existence. It rests in itself. My breath is a friend, an advisor, and a confidant. It has been with me since I was born and knows me very well. I encourage you to get to know your own breath and become intimately acquainted with this wise and gentle fellow traveler. If you achieve nothing else but to find your breath, you will be more prosperous than any Titan of Industry and closer to the truth than any priest, monk, or sage.