To Breathe, Or Not To Breathe?

So, let's think about this for a moment.  How many times have you realized you're not breathing,  so you consciously take a few deep breaths (because you notice that your shoulders are supporting your ear lobes), and then without even being aware of it, you return to not breathing? 

There is a reason why, when people meditate, they focus on their breathing.  It provides oxygen to our blood thus relaxing our muscles and allowing our minds to slow down and focus. 

I began to really be made aware of taking time to breathe several years ago.  I was involved in a prophetic prayer ministry.  We would, as a group, meet weekly, wait on the holy spirit, and then minister through prayer to someone who had asked to be prayed or prophesied over.  Whenever I would wait and listen, I would always hear to tell the person "to breathe", "to remember to breathe, to keep your mind and muscles relaxed".  

I believe without a doubt that those words were not meant just for those individual people, they were meant for all of us!  We live in a society that rushes through each day, mindless of so many things around us.  We barely focus on the task at hand, just wanting to get it crossed off our list so we can move on to the next item (which is where our mind really is).  Often these tasks involve real people, real life, something or someone who needs us to take that moment to breathe, relax and be in the moment with them...just for a moment.  For me, these moments involve my kids, my husband, a good friend or two...the very reasons I have a list at all.

So take a moment...To breathe, or not to breathe?...that is the question.