Last Breath

Living gratefully today, I am embracing the brisk morning air and also the emotions I woke up with, both the welcome and the less welcome.

One breath at a time. I succeeded at experiencing them a few times yesterday, but I would have to admit that nearly 23,000 of my breaths went unnoticed on a conscious level. Such is the nature of humans and our bodies.

Such is the nature of me, a thinker more than a feeler. I am working hard to find more of a balance between the two.

And then I considered my last breath. As in the last breath before I die. Will I know it is coming? Will I welcome it peacefully? Or will it be sudden, unexpected, painful, too soon?

Tough questions, but good ones to ask ourselves to bring perspective to our moments and days.  Many people are made uncomfortable by such questions, including me to a degree. The faith I have fostered and the spiritual growth I continue to experience help me go to the deep questions with more of an open mind and heart. And less fear and trepidation.

There's another kind of last breath though. The last breath and the brief space in time between that one and the next one. That suspended instant. In it is the stuff of life. 

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