672,768,000 Breaths
I come back, again and again, to the breath, just as the seasons turn and we come back, again and again, to the longest night. The earth turns just as we turn inhale to exhale to inhale to exhale in an on-going process…one will outlast us by millennia, the other will end in finite time
Focus on the breath is a tried and tested meditation practice. As you sit, attentive to the movement of breath, it is inevitable that your mind will wander. When it does, bring it back to focus on the breath. When we get distracted in our daily lives we can return to awareness of the day/night relationship. Is this a long day, filled with sunlight? Is this a long night, filled with starshine?
On this day, though, breath awareness breath seems to have a different quality. As I inhaled and exhaled I was filled with gratitude. Suddenly the miracle that we call breathing became real to me. I was overcome with awe.
On average, a person at rest takes about 16 breaths per minute—this minute, and this minute, and this minute. We breathe about 960 breaths an hour, this hour; 23,040 breaths a day, this day; and 8,409,600 a year, each revolution of planet Earth. An 80-year old will take about 672,768,000 breaths in that lifetime, this lifetime.
Breathing is a complex process involving muscles, bones, nerves, blood, gases. It continues ceaselessly, with or without our conscious awareness. The Earth turns in ways we note—the leaves falling from the trees, the buds of flowers, the rich smell of mown grass—and ways we often miss in the bustle of our lives. It too is a complex process.
We are aware of breath in meditation and also at other times. After climbing a flight of stairs the breath becomes deeper, more full-bodied. Any exercise will place a greater demand on the breath. Breath also changes from it’s resting state when we are afraid, or embarrassed, or joyful, or passionate.
The breath is fine-tuned to our emotional state and to the state of our mind in addition to the needs of the body. When the mind is filled with a sense of equanimity and calm, the breath is even and regular. In an agitated state the breath is short and irregular.
We can always return our awareness to the breath. No special equipment is needed. No fancy clothing or accessories are required. No membership fee in a distinguished club has to be paid. And we can always become aware of the turns of our Mother Ship, the only one we have.
As I reflect on my ageing, the turn of many years, I notice the veins on the backs of my hands, the changes in skin and muscle, bones and joints, I also notice the breath, unchanged, a stream reaching all the way back to my first inhalation, to the first rotation of Earth I experienced.
I am grateful for this breath....
and this breath...
and this breath.
Hopefully, I will continue to be grateful until my last exhalation—and the last rotation of the planet I will know.
P.S. Though this blog post is not the usual wish for a joyful celebration of whatever holiday you might observe, I extend to you my desire for a year filled with joy and peace as we honour the turning of the year. The winter solstice occurs on Friday 22 December at 3:27 am. May we breathe peace.