MY BEAUTIFUL BREATHING
(If breathing be the food of life…)

No, I have never heard of breathing receiving a location.
It is one of those quiet, ordinary things we do without thought—
ubiquitous as the very air,
yet it determines our being alive.

Many pray each morning, giving gratitude
that they wake up still breathing.
But to discover the clandestine art of breathing—
that is to come upon wisdom.
That is to make your body feel like a paradise,
a queendom,
a sanctuary with no walls.

Breathing is the first signal,
the first deterring factor
that we are alive
the moment we emerge into this world, into existence.
And yet—
do we do it right?
Even though we have done it until now?

Oh, yes. We breathe in. We breathe out.
We have our breath ‘taken away’
by indescribable beauty.
But what if breath were not taken, but given?
What if breathing were not a reflex
but a returning?

Listen.
To breathe correctly is not merely to inhale and exhale.
It is to remember yourself.
It is to draw life slowly, deliberately,
like a bow across strings.

Do not wait for the storm to learn the sacred act.
Do not wait for the crushing weight,
the panic, the near-drowning,
to discover that your own lungs are a chapel.

Breathe before you break.
Breathe into the silence.
Let the breath be not a sigh of exhaustion
but a prayer without words.

For when you learn to breathe correctly—
not shallow, not hurried, not forgotten—
you will find more than a technique.
You will find life-saving art.

You may not need saving at this moment.
So even better.
Even more glorious.
Because you will be breathing alive,
not gasping for survival.

I love this new knowledge
of breathing right.
It leaves me feeling great and light—
as if my ribs are wings,
as if my chest is a cradle,
as if each breath is a small, invisible coronation.

I had to shout.
I had to give thanks.
For my beautiful breathing.

Thanks to my body,
this faithful vessel.
Thanks to two Ms—
Marianthi and Marlene—
my guiding angels,
who showed me that breath is not automatic.
Breath is also art.

If it must be said, say it.
I said it.
I shout it still:

Breathe, and you are here.
Breathe deeply, and you are holy.
Breathe slowly, and you are home.