Savor This Breath

 

"Savor every inch of breath in your body." ~Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

One inhalation is incalculable abundance. This breath, an influx of wonder, brings more revelation that the Bible, the Qur'an, or the Vedas, because it is their source. Every inspired text or prophecy springs from the silence where this breath is born, and to which it returns.

To delight in this breath is the end of war. To delight in this breath is the end of consumerism and craving. When we savor each breath, our needs are few. When our needs are few, we exploit no one. We can walk softly over the earth, tasting every step in the present moment, the green in the grass, the murmur of a tree frog. Walking this walk, we are free to live simply, sustainably, without preaching or politicking about it.

Wherever we stand is holy ground (Exodus 3:5). Let's remove our shoes, and notice that we do not 'take' a breath, it is given. This is the origin of worship. For the span of a single inhalation, which encircles the heart of eternity, repose in true wealth, then offer it back to the Giver. So'ham.

When we make conscious the unconscious miracle of an ordinary breath, we awaken Adam from the dust again, and sip the wine of the Spirit from the grail in each cell of our body.

Photo: New blossoms right outside my window.