Remember To Breathe

Remember to Breath ... Sheri & Bill (Original photography by Sheri & Bill)

Ever notice how we preassign a specific number of breaths to certain tasks? Curiously in the deluge of daily duties, we assign some tasks with a few seconds for completion while we generously assign other tasks a couple minutes. When we exceed our presumed allotment, we get short of breath and often become impatient or downright annoyed or even blame our frustration on the task.

Bill: Grocery shopping for produce is a perfect example--as in opening the elusive “convenient” plastic produce bag. I allow 3 breaths for this task. However, opening time alone can exceed 2 minutes. Once I approach maximum allotted time, the fun fades, hands shake, cold sweats appear on my furrowed brow, as my breath has shortened. Decisions get clouded, fruit looks less ripe, and prices are instantly too high...who needs fruit and vegetables anyway!           

Sheri: Of course we don’t forget to breathe in general, but we do hold our breath unnecessarily when we are concentrating. For me, it happens when I have unexpected tasks, like trying to pull my driver’s license out of the protective slot in my wallet when I need to show I.D. at a checkout line—no clue how I got it in that slot in the first place!   

What about waiting for the red light to change--2 minutes? Or tying your shoes--30 seconds” Or waiting for an annoying TV commercial to end—5 seconds? Looks like we have endless potential breathing challenges.    

Quick—what’s the antidote? Well, the remedy of course is to mix in a more realistic expectation of allotted time and then be willing to take a few extra deep breaths when and if you miscalculate. Time and expectations are the key elements. Most importantly, no matter the challenges, remember to breathe!  😊

 Positively speaking, Sheri & Bill

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