"Just Breathe"

It's something my Constitutional Law Professor says when someone can't think of the answer or begins to get flustered: "Take a Deep Breath and Pause."  It's the title of an article my Mom left for me to read: "Breathing to Cure Anxiety."  It's that line from Ever After when the Princess gets to the ball and is ready to make her entrance--she tells herself:  "Just Breathe."  Even my big brother texted me before a job interview a couple weeks ago reminding me: "Take a Couple Deep Breaths Em, and just be yourself" (His advice worked--but that's a different story for a different blog).

It's funny how breathing is something we don't think about--its just something we do.  'In and Out...In and Out.'   It only comes to mind when you actually hear your breath.  A sigh of relief, a sharp intake of breath prior to hearing bad news, crying or laughing so uncontrollably that you need to catch your breath.  And then you remember to breathe.

I forget to breathe sometimes...maybe because life is moving so fast, or because I'm the one moving too fast.  Then there are the times when I can do is breathe, the times when life is hard, maybe the times when things don't go my way, and all I should do during these times is exhale...but I'm too scared to do so...too scared that letting that one breath out will make everything worse.  Or the times when I've let my breath out--and I need to 'take that deep breath' so I can allow myself to succeed, or at least begin to...  And the plateau's in life when Ingrid Michaelson's Song "Keep Breathing" rings true--"All I can do is keep breathing..."  And that's what I do--I keep breathing.

So today think about breathing...remember to keep breathing, allow yourself to exhale and let go, or finally take that deep breath and let yourself succeed.

Happy Monday