Day #15: Keep breathing.

I have been listening to a song by Ingrid Michaelson, Keep Breathing, on an almost daily basis lately. It's kind of become my "anthem" for the year. Here are the lyrics:

The storm is coming but I don't mind
People are dying, I close my blinds

All that i know is I'm breathing now

I want to change the world...instead I sleep
I want to believe in more than you and me

But all that I know is I'm breathing
All i can do is keep breathing
All we can do is keep breathing now
now
now
now

All that I know is I'm breathing
All I can do is keep breathing
All we can do is keep breathing

All we can do is keep breathing
All we can do is keep breathing
All we can do is keep breathing
All we can do is keep breathing
All we can do is keep breathing
All we can do is keep breathing
All we can do is keep breathing

All we can do is keep breathing,
now

Why does this song resonate with me so much? I guess for one, it reminds that despite all of the curve balls life throws at us, we are still breathing, we need to keep breathing, and everything has a miraculous way of working itself out. There are particular phrases in this song that really speak to me. One is the concept that we all want to change the world, but instead we keep sleeping. Howe many of us have thought at a ripe young age that we would change the world. I still like to think that I'm making a difference in this world, and perhaps, invoking some change, but the one thing I have realized is that I cannot save everyone, nor is it my job to do so. People are people, and they have free will. As long as we impact one life, then our mission is accomplished.

She also touches on the idea that we have to believe in something other than just "you and me." My goodness, how many of us have become consumed by a relationship or lover, our whole existence revolving around the whim of one individual, only to find that the illusion we have built is abruptly shattered. I guess my point is we have to believe in ourselves, and not always depend on another to be our world. Your world is your world, individually. A partner, a friend, is simply a gift that needs to be cherished, fed, and watered so that it will continue to grow. However, like any strong foundation, our core belief in self and individuality, is what keeps the rest of the structure safely supported.

If you also notice, she repeats over and over the same line "all we can do is keep breathing." I'm convinced that we need that constant reassurance and reinforcement, that despite all of the chaos that life brings, we must keep breathing and moving forward. Not breathing is, well, not an option. I tell myself quite frequently, when things are tough, and I am starting to feel discouraged, to just keep breathing.

Buddha was once asked if there was one particular quality one should cultivate that would best bring one to full awakening. Buddha's reply: Being mindful of breathing. I'd like to leave you with a passage adapted from The Samyutta Nikaya. Always be mindful that we need to keep breathing, we need to keep moving forward, even through difficulty. We are strong and able, and we must never forget that.

"There is the case where a monk, having gone to the wilderness, to the shade of a tree, or to an empty building, sits down folding his legs crosswise, holding his body erect, and setting mindfulness to the fore. Always mindful, he breathes in; mindful he breathes out. Breathing in long, he discerns that he is breathing in long; or breathing out long, he discerns that he is breathing out long. Or breathing in short, he discerns that he is breathing in short; or breathing out short, he discerns that he is breathing out short. He trains himself to breathe in sensitive to the entire body, and to breathe out sensitive to the entire body. He trains himself to breathe in calming the bodily processes, and to breathe out calming the bodily processes. He trains himself to breathe in sensitive to rapture, and to breathe out sensitive to rapture. He trains himself to breathe in sensitive to pleasure, and to breathe out sensitive to pleasure. He trains himself to breathe in sensitive to mental processes, and to breathe out sensitive to mental processes. He trains himself to breathe in calming mental processes, and to breathe out calming mental processes. He trains himself to breathe in sensitive to the mind, and to breathe out sensitive to the mind. He trains himself to breathe in satisfying the mind, and to breathe out satisfying the mind. He trains himself to breathe in steadying the mind, and to breathe out steadying the mind. He trains himself to breathe in releasing the mind, and to breathe out releasing the mind. He trains himself to breathe in focusing on inconstancy, and to breathe out focusing on inconstancy. He trains himself to breathe in focusing on dispassion, and to breathe out focusing on dispassion. He trains himself to breathe in focusing on cessation, and to breathe out focusing on cessation. He trains himself to breathe in focusing on relinquishment, and to breathe out focusing on relinquishment."