Inhalation is an exquisit mystery–it is an interchange between what is without and what is within.  We expand as we draw in the exhale of the trees that unimposingly surround us.

Breathing is an unconciously driven process, but also one over which we can exercise our will, if we wish to–a metaphor for the very life we daily live. The pure mixture of gases that perfuse our entire being down to the tiniest receptive cell is an absolute Miracle that we experience every moment:

• a Miracle that we choose to participate in and appreciate
• a Miracle we can ignore
• a Miracle can cut ourselves off from the moment we hold our breath

So too with how we choose to live in this durable, miraculous little body that interfaces with billions of beings every moment. Breath is our connection to all that is.  We breath with nature.  We breath her and she breaths us.   Our inhale is her exhale.

We can easily ignore all of that as we plan our work week, try to figure out who will get the kids to dance practice tonight, and what to pick up for dinner on the way home.  This is not to diminish the wonder of being present to the life we are living, but to expand our context of what it is to be alive.

Remembering that Human Doing can never take the place of the MIRACLE of Human Being.

We take 20,000 breaths each day.  If we choose to, we can make a single one of those a conscious breath and appreciate the life giving nature of the Mystery that we inhale. Recognizing that our very life is dependent on the Miracle of expanding our lungs from one moment to the next and taking in everything that is outside of us.