Do you realize that we take about 20,000 breaths every 24 hours? That’s 7,300,000 breaths a year. At 81, I’ve taken about 591,300,000 breaths since I took my first life-giving breath at birth on July 5, 1942. That was in the middle of World War II when many people were taking their last breath.
Each one of those breaths has given me life, and I wasn’t aware of most of them. They just happened automatically without any effort on my part. What a miracle!
There are only about 50-60 breaths between me and death. When you do the math, it seems like we are living on the edge.
Can you sit still for 1-2 minutes and honor those breaths? Find a comfortable place to sit and put aside your worries, fears, and problems. Trust me . . . they’ll still be there in 1-2 minutes.
Focus on your breath. On each in-breath, think “I’m breathing in.” On each out-breath, think “I’m breathing out.”
When those worries, fears, and problems intrude on your time with your breath, just tell them that you’ll be with them in a couple of minutes just like you would tell a person who was interrupting you. Go back to the next breath.
If you do that for 1-2 minutes, you will have experienced meditation. It’s that simple.
You may even feel more relaxed, and you might be able to have a more productive conversation with those worries, fears, and problems.
Each and every day! And btw my bday is 7/6 just a few years later.