..then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)

               Just breathe.

              Breathe in. Breathe out. Nice and deep. Feel the air fill your lungs. Feel your muscles relax. Feel the goodness of life.

              I know, I know. Who’s got time to “just breathe”? There are chores to be done, bills to pay, kids ballgames to get to, and the new season of America’s Got Talent isn’t going to watch itself.

              But there’s something about taking a few moments to just breathe. There is something holy or sacred, as if it somehow connects us to the holy or sacred. The words breath and Spirit are the same in the Hebrew of the book of Genesis, after all.

              When you think about it, breathing connects us to one another, too. The air I breathe is the air you breathe. A part of the breath that has left me churns through the air until you breathe it in, just a I breathe in that which was once a part of you. And that connection extends to all of nature, all of creation.

              What could be more sacred than to just breathe? Certainly nothing is more important. So stop what you’re doing and take a moment or two right now and just breathe. And as you do,  know that by each breath you take, you are entangled with God, with others, and with all creation.

              Just breathe.