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Have you ever found yourself thinking, "Breathe"?
Not because you just finished a run or were trying to calm yourself before speaking in front of a room, but simply because, somewhere along the way, you realized you had stopped taking full breaths.
It fascinates me how often we're taught to breathe intentionally. If you've ever practiced yoga, your instructor reminds you constantly that your breath is just as important as the movement itself.
If you've learned to swim, breathing becomes part of the lesson.
Meditation teaches us breathing patterns that help settle our minds and bodies. We spend time learning how to breathe in situations that require focus, yet somehow forget to do it during ordinary Tuesday afternoons.
The strange part is that we usually don't notice we've been holding our breath.
Maybe "holding" isn't the right word. We're obviously breathing enough to stay alive, but our breaths become shallow as our minds become crowded. We start mentally organizing tomorrow's schedule while finishing today's work. We replay conversations we'd like to do over.
We wonder if we forgot to send that email, make that appointment, buy that birthday card, return that phone call or sign that permission slip.
Life has a way of filling every available corner of our minds without asking permission.
Lately I've caught myself reminding myself to breathe, and nothing extraordinary has been happening.
There hasn't been a crisis or a major life event. It's simply been the accumulation of normal life -- the kind that doesn't make headlines but quietly asks for your attention all day long.
As a business owner, mom, wife, volunteer, writer, and friend, I know I'm not unique. Most of us wear more hats than we can count. Even the things we love require energy. They require decisions. They require us.
Somewhere in the middle of carrying all of that, I find myself taking one enormous breath, almost by accident.
You know the one. It starts with a deep inhale and ends with an exhale that feels as though you've emptied more than your lungs. It's as if your body has been waiting for you to notice it all along.
It reminds me of driving home and realizing you have absolutely no memory of the last five miles because your brain has been somewhere else the entire time. Or looking down and discovering you've been gripping the steering wheel so tightly your fingers actually hurt. Nothing dangerous happened. You were simply carrying more than you realized.
I wonder how often we do that with life.
We carry tomorrow before tomorrow arrives. We carry everyone else's needs while quietly setting our own aside. We carry expectations, responsibilities, unfinished projects, and endless mental checklists until our bodies finally wave a little white flag and whisper, "Excuse me… could we just take one good breath?"
Maybe that's what those moments really are. Not signs that something is wrong, but gentle reminders that we're human. That we weren't designed to sprint through every hour of every day without coming up for air.
I've started listening when that reminder shows up.
Sometimes I'll stop what I'm doing, stand outside for a minute and take one slow breath. It doesn't magically shorten my to-do list or solve the problems waiting for me inside, but it does something almost as valuable. It brings me back to where my feet actually are instead of where my thoughts have wandered.
So if you catch yourself today whispering, "Breathe," don't assume something is wrong. Maybe your mind has simply gotten a little too far ahead of your body. Maybe life has become wonderfully, beautifully full.
Take the breath anyway.
Your emails will still be there. The laundry will still need folded. Dinner will still need made.
But for one moment, you'll remember that you are here. And sometimes that's exactly what we need.
Mother, author, entrepreneur and founder of Dandelion-Inc, Lisa Resnick wants to hear your story. Share memories with her by emailing lisa@dandelion-inc.com.