And you thought you were struggling…
By now you probably don’t have to be reminded that focusing on breathing is at the root of re-calibrating yourself — both body and mind. This is the main principle that underlies pretty much any form of meditation you may undertake. That’s because it works. The great thing is, it’s an easy principle to put into practice — you can do it right now.
Just breathe deeply — try it. Feel that? You will likely feel a wave of something like relaxation come over you — perhaps just for a second or two. It is the quickest and most accessible way to reset yourself. Especially when your mind has become like a sports car in mud — engine going at several thousand RPMs, wheels spinning in the mud, going nowhere.
Breathing as a reset is no secret. People have been doing it for centuries — millennia even. Thousands of articles have been written about the simple act of consciously breathing. And why not? Breathing is the most fundamental expression of yourself. It is the quickest, most accessible way to re-express and re-assert what you are — here and now.
But breathing is more than just mindfulness. Breathing is the fundamental act of both destruction and creation. You are — in the act of breathing in then out — destroying what you were, and creating what you are now. In the reverberations of the day’s noise, I think we all fail to remember that.
You’re Creative by Nature
The fact is, we’re constantly creating — creating ourselves in each moment. Real creativity comes when we realize this and capitalize upon it — when we capture that creative act and express it at a higher level — in prose, poetry, music, or images. In a way, we are chasing the dragon that is never more than a breath away. There is comfort in that, so take comfort in coming to understand it. You are a creative person — with each and every breath you take.
There is a wonderful quote from one of my favorite books, Not Always So by the late Shunryu Suzuki:
Usually our society works in a superficial, frivolous way. The controlling power is money or some big noise. Our eyes and ears are not open or subtle enough to see and hear things….Those who are accustomed to big noises may not notice, but we can communicate without talking so much. We may not always be smiling, but we feel what others are feeling. Our mind is always open, and we are expressing ourselves fully.
We communicate so much without even trying to communicate. We do it by simply breathing and relaxing — just being where we are in a certain way.
You’re Never Not Working
So often, I end up scolding myself for not putting my head down and slaving away at whatever concrete piece of work I’ve pushed myself to do. By doing that, I rob myself of the real power of just expressing myself as a conscious, breathing human. I rob myself of the natural expression that Suzuki talks about.
There is so much to observe in oneself and in others, as we all go about the business of existing — from day to day, from moment to moment. Even when there are strict parameters of how we ought to do the work we’re doing, we exhibit creativity and variation — most of the time without even realizing it.
By now, you’re probably used to reading articles confirming that you need to ramp up your creative efforts, and suggesting how to do that. This piece of writing rejects that notion. I’m saying that you need to realize that you are constantly creating and expressing — even when you’re not technically working. So take comfort in that. You are never not doing creative work, so long as you are coming to know and express yourself more fully. And this can be as easy as consciously breathing.
I sincerely believe in the need to give ourselves and others a break — to go easy, and assume that we are (for the most part) doing the best we can. This is not to say that we shouldn’t push ourselves and others to do better. Rather, we need to strike a balance between complacency on one hand, and a drive to do better on the other.
Just Mind the Swings
We often swing from a helpless frustration one one side — to a mad dash to shove ourselves and others into excellence on the other. Neither is good. Neither will work. But as obvious as it sounds, we tend to forget that in the practice of living. We get anxious, fearful, angry, and desirous. We quickly and clumsily grasp at straws — looking for the comfort of short-lived gains. They give us little real benefit.
Just because I’ve written about all of these pitfalls doesn’t mean I’m any less susceptible to them. I struggle with mindfulness, as I am sure you do — as everyone does. The real mistake is thinking you can somehow transcend this struggle. You will never do that. Realizing that it’s a struggle, and realizing the need to re-calibrate yourself? That’s the real victory — the real transcendence.
And that can be as easy as consciously breathing—right here and now.