Wednesday, April 11, 2018

#18: Hold your breath

Take a nice deep breath
And hold it in 
As you start counting backwards 
From 30 nice and slow. 
29....28.....27
You will find yourself deeply 
In focus
Brimming with confidence 
That this is child's play
But wait till you hit 20
(Go on try it - I know you want to)
That's when the head will swallow the body whole 
With all its regrets and rant, 
Of how you never are enough 
adding to the suffocation 
So much so that you start to wonder if you will be able to breathe again at all
15...14....13
Is where the heart kicks in 
The strong beats drowning the brain's rant 
Every inch of bronchi in your struggling  lungs 
Beginning to appreciate the wonder of life. 
And perhaps you've reached to an 8
Or a 5 or the impressive 1 
When without your willing the diaphragm will do its trick 
And all the shrinking will dissolve as the breath gushes back in. 
And the body starts to flow again 
Deeply grateful for that burst of air  
That's what gratitude feels like
Not so much as the rains that cool the sun-seared lands 
But more like petrichor
The gentle smell rising in the air just after the first showers
An even gentler reminder that 
Even in your smallness, in your insignificance
You have your place in something big. 
And for now - You are enough.  

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