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Breathe. Breathe. Breathe some more. Throughout the day, whenever you remember, simply take a couple of slow, deep, even breaths. Allow yourself to feel and appreciate that most essential gift which quietly and generously supports your life and joins you with all living, breathing beings on the planet.
Can you experience your breath as a gift in this moment?
Should you be inspired, please leave a reflection below…
Enjoy the full seven-day The Little Things practice.
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My chest is tight and my emotions are heavy today. Breathing in love and compassion and breathing out stress and discontent and negative emotions. This will be my mindfulness practice today.
A simple task at which we can all succeed. Prayers for those who are struggling with catching their breath; With gratitude and hope for all.
I’m thoughtful today of people who have difficulty breathing and when I go out on my run shortly, I’ll be conscious of my own breathing yet, how lucky I am to have clear lungs, to pray for those who don’t, that they may have courage and receive support when they struggle with their breathing
Just to relax, eyes closed, thinking on my breathing helps me to connect with gratitude for the simple (yet vital and most important) things
Finding beauty with my eyes closed is wonderous challenge.
Having recently moved to the countryside from the city, I’m very aware and grateful for the fresh air that I’m breathing in and it’s cleansing of both the body and the spirit.
Being grateful for slow deep breaths is like being grateful for life.
The start of all things positive and joyous, ultimately, I find! 🙂
I am reminded of breathing deep down from my diaphragm when I sing with a small folk choir in my
faith community. That experience is on hold ..,thus I need to sing on my own & that’s ok. Deep calm breathing is a start.
I’m reflecting on the respiration of trees while walking today. And my own breathing…feeling connected.
Have you read The Overstory?
Thank you for this reminder. I have been meditating lately with more gratitude for my breath.So many people are struggling with breathing during this time that I want to fully be aware of the gift I have been given.
We, all living, breathing beings on earth, share this gift ot breath. It is precious. Attention to it gives more meaning to life! Thank you for the thoughts.
It is always good to come back to the breath, the this moment, and to know that I am connected to all living things.
A reminder of perhaps our most precious gift. To live gratefully is to breath gratefully.
The concept and practice of breathing in many ways is taken for granted unless, one has some type of respiratory health condition, or if one experiences panic attacks, or in one has Covid 19, or for many other reasons – then being able to take a breath successfully is a gift.
When I think more deeply about breathing now, I will regard it more highly as a gift and value my gratitude with each breath I take.
I value the notion that the gift of breathing is a precious practice that all sentient beings share, hopefully in common harmony. Each of us, with each breath, are living life together simultaneously as we breath in, and as we breath out.
Infants, children, adults, cats, dogs, birds, bees, butterflies, squirrels, horses, cows, goats, flowers and plants, and all other sentient beings are interconnected as we breath in and as we breath out.
breath. like the waves meeting the sand. in and out, in and out. ahhhhhhh.
Thank you for the gentle reminder to be aware of and grateful for breath.
Thanks for starting this series. The breathing exercise definitely has a settling effect. I tried to interact and leave a comment but had not logged in for a while so I immediately ran into login issues that would have been hassles in the past but were not this time. Peace to you.
So grateful to be here. I was busy, scattered, stressed and un-centered this morning. And then…my Tibetan singing bowl and this breath-awareness practice. I am starting anew.
Many things seem less important now during Covid-19 but not breath. It remains an important sacred gift given freely. I am so grateful for it.
Breath is the bridge that brings us home to our bodies, which dwell in the eternal present/presence.
Thank you for today’s sweet teaching.
I have so many tasks today. Without my breath, I could not accomplish even one. It is all possible as long as I can…breathe.
Grateful for the Breath of Life!
Thank you for returning me to my body. I am awash in calm.
One of the most vivid memories in my life was laying my son down to sleep one night, who was 3 years old then, and focusing on his breathing as he rested. Little did I know a few hours later I would be joining my mom and brother at a hospital hearing my dad breathing with the aid of a respirator. The contrast between those two types of breathing was jarring and will forever remind me of the gift of breath. I thank our Creator for this wonderful gift today.
Breath indeed starts us in life and bids us farewell. Having had the privilege of being at both my parents deathbeds and observing the waning rhythms of life is a moving experience.
Thank you for this profound reminder. We enter on the breath and we exit on the breath – all part of the beautiful flow of Life.
To breathe is to flow. Being aware of it when possible, lets it take you away to moments of deliberate gratefulness. Thanks, gratefulness.org staff, for the reminder!
I am so happy to be again participating in one of Gratefulness.org’s retreats and reflections. For me, remembering to breathe can often be the hardest, yet simplest, thing to remember to do in stressful situations. While focusing on God is important, it is nearly impossible to calm oneself in moments of anxiety in order to reach God without that first, simple breathe.
Well-said and so true for me,too. Thank you.
Thanks Peg! I’ve found that it’s often the simplest things, the very rudiments of positivity and gratefulness, that connect me immediately to that space in which God calls. I feel the same when I see a beautiful flower, or a picture of my grandmother, who passed several years ago. These are connections to ourselves, to calm, and, ultimately, to Christ. ❤️