Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Just. Breathe.

recently I had a friend say to me "you never blog anymore".    my response was something like "life is too busy" or "don't have time" or something to that effect.  while that may be, it boils down to me not making the time to do it.   maybe it's because I didn't have anything to say.  (if you know me, you should laugh now, as I always have something to say.......)  at any rate, onward..........  

Topic:  Just.    Breathe

Being a "brasswind musician" I, of course, must be concerned with the concept of correct breathing.  We could go on, and on with suggested exercises, books/videos/inspiring audio on the hows, whys and heretofores of breathin' right.  This topic isn't about that......

Today's society has us going so damn fast in whatever we do that it's terribly easy to be caught in a maelstrom that we call our "life".  I'm not going to lecture on slowing down, changing what you do, etc.  there are tons of blogs and other writings on that--hell, I subscribe to several to seek tips in organization, paring down, and so on.
Nope, this is about saving what little sanity you may have left in your crazy, over-scheduled life.    Bottom line:

 Just.  Breathe.

If we can find a way to take 30 seconds, close our eyes and breathe, often that will allow just enough of a break to regain focus, and feel better about the next activity.  If one can take as much as 5 minutes to do this (and not fall asleep!!!) then a good amount of time (likely as much as several hours) that follows can be easier to take, easier to get through, etc.
I'm not going to go into the physical nor spiritual reasoning behind all this, nor suggest you do anything but breathe.  It's requisite for living, so why not take 30 sec. to enjoy it?

Yes, this is aimed at you, the college student who put off the projects/papers and are now scrambling; yes, you, the band director whose band just isn't jelling this week; yes, you the adjunct running around trying to make sure everyone is happy, while living on .00003 cents per day; yes, you the high school student trying to keep it together long enough to get into college, and ultimately, me.  We ALL need to take a moment and breathe.

Just.          Breathe.