2021: Creating a Lexicon of Future

B is for Breathe

The first thing we do as we enter this world is inhale. The last thing we do is exhale. In between we have experiences that ‘take our breath away’ and, fingers crossed, give it back.

I became very aware of the power of breathing with my husband Keith Hogan who had a form of Muscular Dystrophy called Spinal Muscular Atrophy which affected his ability to breathe. The last 2 years of his life he was on a respirator and from the moment the personal care attendant left for the night till the next morning, I was deeply attuned to the rhythm of his breathing. After he passed away in 2010, it took me months to stop listening for that sound.

In 2018, I attended a presentation by an Italian monk from an intentional community near Turin Italy called Damanhur. He spoke for a couple of hours and the message that stuck with me was his statement that we have the ability to change the world with every breath:

“We breathe in the world as it is, and exhale it as it could be.”

When the breath is unsteady, all is unsteady; when the breath is still; all is still. Control the breath carefully. Inhalation gives strength and a controlled body; retention gives steadiness of mind and longevity; exhalation purifies body and spirit. — Goraksasathakam गोरक्षशतक, “Goraksha’s Hundred”

As a culture, we’ve been holding our collective breath since the pandemic was declared in March 2020.

It’s now time to exhale.