Shallow Breaths
By Uliyaah
As I once again learned how to breathe, and felt the breath as it traveled through me, I feared that I would discover that I did not truly know my body or myself.
Taking a deep breath in, I felt the tensions in my body rise. The thoughts that my stress has been built upon, that I have done my best to bury deep inside, begin to float to the surface once again.
As my lungs fill with air, so does my mind with endless thoughts.
Thoughts that I would much rather not consider a part of me. But now I recognize are me. These pressures that have formed my body, the pressures that I must address before moving forward.
The air feeds my body and becomes one with me.
Breathing out, I let all of this go. The air that had filled my lungs takes on a new form as I release it. It feeds the trees and the grass. I see myself not only as me but as part of the environment. I see my stresses as not only my own, but ones formed by it.
In this rhythmic exchange of breath, I find a previously unseen connection between my inner world and the external environment. It's a realization that my existence is not isolated, but intricately intertwined with the world around me. As I inhale, I absorb not only oxygen but the collective energy of my surroundings and the peace that comes with it.
The rising tensions and buried stresses, once confined within, are brought to the surface with each inhalation.
It's a confronting moment, as I come face to face with aspects of myself that I would prefer to ignore. Yet, this acknowledgment is a crucial step towards understanding and addressing the pressures that shape my being.
Then, in the act of exhaling, I witness a transformation.
The air that once fed me, mingles with the natural world. It becomes a gift to the trees and its leaves, a part of the exchange that sustains life. This act of letting go is not just a personal liberation but shows the interconnectedness of our existence.
In the simple act of breathing, the breath becomes a bridge between the internal and the external, exposing the unity between self and world.