Breath

Breathe in. Hold.

Breathe out. Hold.

 “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.”

— Psalm 150:6

Eco-anxiety. War. Political instability. Rising authoritarianism. Collapsing institutions.

I live with a near constant low-grade feeling of impending danger, despair, panic and doom.

There were threats of tornadoes and large hail on a 70-degree day in February in Northern Indiana, where I live. I remember when being under a blanket of snow was how February passed quietly by.

Layered on top of the environmental, national and global concerns are the unique burdens and heaviness I carry deep in my personal life, and for my loved ones.

There is no easy answer to give for today or for what lies ahead. There is no path that is not going to include suffering, and there never was.

Selah. Sigh.

I am a work-in-progress on how to live well in these times.

Psalm 150 offers me an unexpected comfort. This is a psalm that invites me to praise anyway, and in every way. Yes. Praise.

When I wrap my head around choosing praise in the face of suffering, doom and despair, I see that, perhaps, it is the only actual choice left in the worst of the situations we are in now, and in those yet to come.

One way I can choose praise is to notice my breath. Breathing is automatic. We don’t have to think about it, but when we choose to put intention to it, we can change the quality of our breath.

My breath can be my praise.

I can change how I live and how I carry the burdens of our time one breath at a time.

Breathe in. Hold. Breathe out. Hold. Breathe in. Hold. Breathe out. Hold. Breath in…