Breath

"What is life? even a vapor..."
like a breath.

"God breathed into his nostrils,
and man became a living soul..."

Breaths...
a limited number, known only to God,
between the first at birth, and the last,
at death.

"Take each one."

an interesting expression.

"Take a breath."
"Breathe."

why "Take"?
It is deliberate.
Not the unconscious, involuntary breathing we do continually.
It interrupts the flow of letting ourselves breathe.

What a complex interweaving, intermingling
~
involuntary, continuous breathing sustains life,
generally smoothly,
supplying fresh oxygen and breathing out waste~
then,
we get alarmed, feel pain, or fear, or joy
and the smooth cadence of breathing becomes jagged,
stilted,
interrupted.

We may even need an outside reminder:
"Breathe" "Take a breath" to re-focus on the slow- life-giving intake of air
the letting go of stale air.

I have been reminded several times to breathe,
to mindfully breathe,
and it leads me to becoming a more fully living soul.