Breathe

I love quotes. I end nearly all of my emails with a quote that I think somehow connects to the content of the email. Quotes can be both inspiring and fun. They start conversations. They provoke thought.

One of my all-time favorites is Terri Guillemets’ “The wisest one-word sentence? Breathe.” 

This quote is even more thought-provoking now, in the face of the deaths of George Floyd and Eric Garner and the others who had their breath stolen from them by people who didn’t value their lives.

Then there’s COVID-19, which has ended many lives by attacking the lungs of grandmas and grandpas and parents and siblings, making breathing impossible.

And there are environmental quality issues stealthily impacting the air we breathe.

As a student and advocate of meditation I believe that, at this time of great stress and upheaval, one of the smartest things we can do is breathe. Breathe slowly and deeply and then do it again and again and again and while you’re breathing remember what a privilege it is to draw another breath.

“If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.” ― Amit Ray, Om Chanting and Meditation

— Tammy Wilhoite