As you sit here reading these words, you are breathing … stop for a moment and notice this breath.
You could control the breath, and make it behave as you like … or you can simply let yourself breathe.
There is peace in just letting your body breathe, without having to do anything about it.
Now imagine letting the your hands breathe. Just let them be, without having to control them. Just let them breathe.
Now look around you, and notice what else is in the room with you. See each object, and let it breathe.
If there are any people in the room with you, in your building, or in nearby buildings our houses … see them in your mind and let them breathe.
When you let them breathe, you just let them be, exactly as they are. You don’t need to change them, don’t need to control them, don’t need to improve them. You just let them breathe, in peace, and you accept that. You might even smile at this breathing.
As you go through your day, let everything breathe. Let yourself breathe.
There is no need to do anything. You don’t expect anything from anything or anybody. Just let them come as they come, let them go as they go.
Just appreciate everything and everybody as they are, miracles of existence, breathing in the soft air of the world, and smile at this joyful manifestation of love.
Let Everything Breathe was first published on Zen Habits on 2/4/16.