Take a Breath

Take a breath. Such sound advice. I usually offer it to myself—my body and/or my brain—when I get spun up from overdoing and overthinking. Progress is being made. “Just breathe” comes to me more naturally now.

Take a breath. I had the opportunity to offer this gentle advice to a young woman last evening. I arrived at a local establishment to indulge my ice cream urge. I had to wait in line briefly. (BTW-Waiting in line is an excellent place to pause and take a breath.) I observed this energetic and efficient girl help those in front of me and then head back to the kitchen. When she came back out, she waved me over.

As she put my order in the system, she made a comment about how stressed she was feeling. That was when I offered the gentle advice of “Take a breath.” To this, she replied “I don’t have time.” I made my purchase and we wished each other a good evening.

I walked out smiling. Maybe she actually took a breath while she said she didn’t have time. She was friendly and brought positive energy to our interaction. If I would have known her at all, I would have pointed this out.

I hear young people and adults alike default to “I’m stressed out” or “There’s too much going on.” Sometimes they do look frazzled, but at other times their words don’t match the energy they are giving off and the observed behavior others see. They appear to be handling the busyness and taking one thing at a time.

“I’m stressed out” is an overused phrase, and inaccurate plenty of times as well. “Take a breath” is always applicable. Let’s work on making “take a breath” our individual and collective default. It could be a game-changer.