Breathe. Just breathe.

This sleep mask was given to me by my friend Jill in 2008, when I was going through cancer surgeries and treatment. Breathe. Just breathe. When fear grabs hold and runs away with normalcy. When fatigue is crushing. Just breathe.

It was sound advice then and it still is. Every day. Whether just a mundane day, or a monumental one, pausing to notice my breath makes moments meaningful and makes me more calm. Inhaling and exhaling brings me here and now and renders the gift of this time that never has been before and never will be again.

This precious and fragile life, full of blessings and awe, that I so often take for granted.

In the midst of cancer appointments, treatments, and surgeries, one evening Jill and I arrived at a meeting at the same time and pulled up next to one another in the parking lot. This song, Anna Nalick’s –Breathe (2:00 AM.) was playing on Jill’s car radio. She turned it up. We smiled. A stressful time was made a little less stressful, a lot more hopeful. A lasting memory was made in a moment of just breathing. Life is like that. Thank you Jill!

We have each given one another and ourselves this reminder many times over the years, including a conversation we had a few days ago. Fears and stressors show themselves in many ways. It is still some of the most sound advice, and profoundly simple. If you think it can’t be that easy, maybe you haven’t fully immersed yourself in it. Sit down, or at least stop where you are. Put both hands over your heart. Close your eyes if able. Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat. Feel your own warmth and give thanks for clean air and working lungs.

Inhale. Exhale. Notice. Pause. Give attention. Breathe. Just breathe.