Everything in life has a beginning and an end. Some endings are unknown and it’s this uncertainty that scares us and some endings are known and can be anticipated.
Even good times have to end and for certain so do bad times, that’s the nature of life.
Even if we try to hold onto something that gives us pleasure, at some point, even that creates suffering and pain.
The most simple example is our breath. We breath in and we breath out, in and out, usually effortlessly.
But what if we tried to keep on inhaling, at some point we would have to stop, our lungs wouldn’t be able to take in any more air, it becomes painful. So, we breath out, in and out, in and out, a never ending cycle.
Oxygen nourishes every cell in our body, that “in” breath is life in itself and then a turn occurs…the “in” breath becomes an out breath; oxygen is converted into carbon dioxide, full of toxins. Our breath is no longer life sustaining, it becomes dangerous.
That turning point is the point of change…and we begin again.
Just as we cant keep on breathing in the life source that sustains us, so too we are compelled to release the toxins within us and we exhale. The in breath and the out breath, oxygen to carbon dioxide and the space of change in between.
Every moment we breathe is a new beginning.
Notice that!
Breathing is like beginning again
By Nicolle Kopping-Pavars, Barrister, Solicitor, and Mindfulness Teacher.
