Breathe

Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.
Inhale, exhale.
Breathing is something we take for granted.
It’s a given.
It’s something you don’t even have to think about,
But the minute you do start thinking about it,
It becomes as if you have never taken a breath before.
Like it is something brand new

I don’t understand.
Why is it that when you do think about something,
Your body becomes paralyzed.
Unable to process how you are “supposed” to do it.
Something as simple as taking a breath becomes difficult,
Like a maze with no real exit and endless dead ends.

When I was diagnosed with cancer,
Those simple things that I never had to think about before
Came at me as if I was being chased by a wild animal.
The simple task of going to the kitchen to get a snack
Became a task like climbing a mountain.
Taking a shower was like asking me to
Perform a circus act.

As time went on
My mind stopped thinking about these simple things.
My body began to let me take back control.
The real me was back.
I was free.
My brain was no longer filled with the question,
“Well how am I supposed to do that”
And instead, was filled with imagination,
Humor,
Love,
Energy.
It was a true sigh of relief.

Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.
Inhale, exhale.
Breathing was something I took for granted.
It was a given.
It was something I didn’t even have to think about.
But the minute I did start thinking about it
It became as if I had never taken a breath before.
Like it was something brand new.