This Single Breath - Poem

While you were busy being busy,⁣

quietly and steadily,⁣

without a conscious thought or effort,⁣

fresh air entered into your body.⁣

Holding you⁣

nourishing you⁣

keeping you alive:⁣

this single breath.⁣

⁣

With this one inhale⁣

trillions of air molecules filled your lungs,⁣

to for a short period of time⁣

become part of you.⁣

Of your body,⁣

your being,⁣

your life force.⁣

So that you may run,⁣

grow,⁣

think,⁣

play,⁣

heal,⁣

and dance.⁣

This single breath.⁣

⁣

Do you ever wonder...⁣

About its journeys made,⁣

the places dwelled,⁣

the shapes inhabited?⁣

Who was this breath⁣

Before it became you?⁣

This single breath.⁣

⁣

On our pale blue dot⁣

the tiny building blocks of life⁣

travel wide and far,⁣

constantly changing shape.⁣

What is now you,⁣

perhaps once was⁣

a tomato plant in the garden,⁣

a great king,⁣

a penguin on an ice sheet,⁣

an ancient redwood tree,⁣

a tiny piece of moss on the pavement,⁣

a microbe at the bottom of the sea,⁣

a dinosaur roaming the plains,⁣

or Madonna.⁣

This single breath.⁣

⁣

Each exhale⁣

is your gift ⁣

to life. ⁣

For life that is yet to start.⁣

For breaths that are still to be taken,⁣

and steps that are still to be walked.⁣

For seeds that are yet to sprout,⁣

and cells that are yet to grow.⁣

In an ever evolving ⁣

and expanding ⁣

cycle of life.⁣

This single breath.⁣

⁣

You see⁣

by being alive⁣

you ARE the sky,⁣

you ARE the rain,⁣

you ARE the rivers,⁣

You ARE the mountains, ⁣

the grass,⁣

the forests,⁣

the plant life,⁣

the animals,⁣

the stars in the night sky.⁣

You are the universe,⁣

and the universe is you.⁣

Through this breath,⁣

you are⁣

inextricably ⁣

and eternally⁣

connected to all of existence.⁣

The simple yet enormous act⁣

of filling your lungs with air,⁣

makes you part of all that was, is,⁣

and will ever be.⁣

⁣

This single breath.⁣