The Breath of Life

     What I like to do most is to find the truth about who we are. I look to find what we all have in common. A lot of people see divisions. They look at the world with their prejudice and bigotry. They preach about nationalism like it was their religion. I want to put aside all that and look at all of us as one people under God, who are equally loved by God.
     Today, I want to focus upon what God gave Adam at the beginning to bring Adam to life. Genesis 2:7 "then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature." The breath of life that God gave to us is common to all of us. We can not live without it, without we will die.
     When do we really notice our breath? When we get ill and our nasal passages become blocked. When we do hard work or some sport where we run out of breath. Some people have panic attacks and their breathing becomes rapid. It seems to me, the only time we notice our breath is when something goes wrong with us. These occurrences of lack of breath show us that the way we breathe and how we breathe is important to us.
     A professional athletic whether a runner, a weightlifter or a swimmer tries to control his breathing when doing his or her sport. A panic attack victim will try to control their shallow breathing with some deep breaths. When I am in an anxious situation, I try to calm myself by concentrating on my breathing rather than letting my anxiety take control. Controlled breathing can calm the mind. Our breath is a gift from God isn't a good idea to know how to use it in every situation.
     I was reading about a therapy used on post-traumatic victims, especially veterans. These people have suffered the unimaginable. Their past thoughts bring back horrible images into their minds and because of that, they cannot see a hopeful future for themselves. The therapy that has been successful for them is called mindfulness. It focuses on the present moment only. It begins by calming the mind through proper breathing and thinking not on your past or your future by only on yourself and your environment in the present moment. Why, because you cannot change your past and you must change the way you think in the present to have a successful future. This all begins by learning how to breathe. Our breath not only keeps us alive but if we use it properly, we can live more happily.
     Just something so simple as learning how to control your breath can make a big difference in your life. God's gift "the breath of life" may be a gift that we all should be taking a closer look at. Calming the mind in a chaotic world does have its benefits. Learning how to breathe during strenuous work or exercise can make your life easier. The breath of life is in all of us, maybe we should all take a moment to breathe and thank God for his wonderful gift.

Job 34:14,15 "If he should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and his breath, ¹⁵all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust."