For many years, I've stopped once in a while to enjoy breathing. Sometimes I do this every day, sometimes I forget until something reminds me. I think youraverage person on the street would be baffled by this– what's to enjoy? It's breathing. Everyone does it.
The first time I thought of this, I had a bad cold,with stuffy nose, dry mouth, and aching throat, until it was unpleasant and painful no matter how I tried to breathe. I tried telling myself it could be worse –I've had asthma attacks where every breath was painful and my lungs were so tight I felt like I would suffocate. This didn't ease my misery really, but I decided that when I could breathe normally again, I'd take a minute to enjoy it. I needed to get through this cold until I could try this new idea. It sounded kind of weird, and I'm always ready to try some new, weird thing.
Since then, I've tried to remember to do this fairly often. Sometimes I just marvel at the easy, natural ebb and flow of air, in and out again.
Sometimes I take a big, deep breath, loving the way I can take in all the air I want, keep it for as long as I like, then when I'm tired of it, let it go and get some more.
And all this air is free! It's good stuff, too, not like when I was a kid. Especially downtown, I try to notice how the air these days is crystal clear and sweet. I remember when every car, truck, and bus had it's own little gray-brown cloud behind it. I used to hold my breath a bit when a bus went by, because they smelled so bad. All the pollution control and air quality laws passed in the past thirty years have had a tremendous impact. Nowadays, you could almost suck the stuff straight out of the tail pipes.
When I have a chance to lay down in the fresh grass, I sometimes think about our symbiotic relationship with plants. Exhaling nice, moist, carbon dioxide ladenair all over the grass, then inhaling the sweet,oxygen rich air the grass gives off in return. I hope the grass enjoys this as much as I do.
So enjoy breathing. Pay attention to the smooth flow,the natural way your body knows just how much it needs, and the easy availability of air. Take a moment to breathe freely.
Enjoy it.
-Jaqi
