Breathe

 

I was playing on the playground at Greenbrier Elementary School with my friends.  They year was 1981.  I was 10 years old and in the 5th grade.   I had never gotten into any trouble at school for I knew the second I got in trouble at school; it would be double when I arrived at home.  We were playing around the basketball court just having a good time when a ball bounced just past me.  I reached down to pick it up, and turned around to give it back to whomever was playing with it.  I did not even get turned around good when my face was met with a flying fist of fury.  Apparently, this kid thought I was about to steal his ball instead of give it back.  My nose exploded, blood gushing everywhere.  The teacher rushed me in to see the nurse and another rushed the other MMA wanna-be into the principal's office.  It was not long sitting there; trying to hold my nose closed and stop the bleeding, that I heard several paddle licks and screaming coming from inside the principal's office. 

                Although, satisfying as it was hearing that little punk get what he deserved, it did not make the pain go away.  Almost instantly, I had breathing issues.  For the next 40 years, I have never spent one night away from nose spray.  Only with a squirt here and there would I find any sense of normal breathing.  I would often have panic attacks, waking up in the middle of the night feeling as if I cannot breathe.  As a result, more fears come along like Claustrophobia that have enhanced the true fears that follow me wherever I go.

                Fast forward to today, 40 years later.  I am sitting at home my recliner for the next six days.  I have just had sinus surgery (formally called a repair of the Nasal Septum) and I am not allowed to move around much or lift anything for several days.  The swelling is so bad that I cannot breathe out of my nose at all, making me extremely sensitive and have a heightened awareness of my fear of not being able to breathe.  I have put this surgery off so long because of the horror stories that have come with people having to have it.  The nose being packed.  The constant pain of sinus cold like symptoms, black eyes and overall discomfort for at least a week with no sleep have made me put this off as long as I could possibly put it off.  However, as everyone has told me, my sufferings now will not compare to the betterment of life that will be coming after the swelling goes down and the splints come out.  That day cannot come fast enough.

                Breathing is something that we do not think about often.  It just comes naturally.  We just do it without thinking about it.  Our body is conditioned to just breathing.  Breathing changes according to what we are doing and how our surroundings are affecting us.  If we are running, we breathe harder.  If we run too far and too fast, we might have to stop and "catch our breath."  If we get scared, it "takes our breath away."  If we have a panic attack, our breaths are short and spotty.  Some people stop breathing at night while sleeping so they need the help of a machine.  There are many things that affect our natural breathing that we can or cannot control. 

                If we visit a Yoga Studio or become in the training of Martial Arts, one of the first ways in which you are trained is your breathing.  You must control your breathing to stay under control.  You must be a master at controlled breathing to be able to control yourself, or your opponent.  Breathing is emphatically the basis of life.  And to have that quality of life, we must be able to breathe and control our breathing.

                Traveling, Overlanding, Car Camping or just escaping to the outdoors lets you breathe in ways you cannot in your ordinary life.  To be able to get out of the normal routine of a 9 to 5 career will not only prolong your career, but it will also prolong your life.   There is much to be said about the way that the outdoors helps us to breathe, to exhale, and to let everything that we have built up inside of us out.  We take upon stresses in life; some we know about and others that are hidden.  You can feel the relaxation around the campfire, or just sitting in your favorite camp chair staring at the beautiful world that we have been allowed to live on more day in.  There truly is nothing like it.

                I read about depression all the time.  I read about suicide all of the time.  People take in so much that it is impossible for one to deal with.  That is why there are organizations out there like Sheepdog Impact Assistance and We are the 22.  They take people who are on the verge of depression and suicide on outdoor adventures like snowmobiling, underwater diving, hog hunting, side by side trails, float trips, mountain climbing, etc.  It helps get a new lease on life.  It helps them escape their normal lives and just breathe. It allows them to get outside and see how your quality of life will change once you exit those four walls that seem to always be closing in on them.

                You see, for us to live, we must breathe.  Also, for us to have quality of life, we must breathe.  We must get away.  It is not just a vacation.  It is not just a getaway.  It is therapy.  It is healing.  It restores that life inside of us that the rest of the world has sucked from us.  The world takes prisoners.  We become prisoners to stress and anxiety, to demanding bosses and unforgiving taxes and government.  There seems to be no escape sometimes, but there is.  There are wide-open spaces, rivers, mountains and big skies that are just sitting there waiting to renew, to rejuvenate, to rescue us and help us to breathe.  Controlled breathing.  Impactful breathing. Full of life breathing.

                Filling our lungs with good, clean air is more than just physical healing.  It also brings mental healing.  Our brains are sharper.  We love more instead of hate.  We care for others with sympathy and love instead of just passing by without a care in the world.  We have more energy, stamina and a vigor that is instilled in us just by taking ourselves out of one place and inserting ourselves into another.  It is incredible to think that just a place on earth can do that, but it can, and it does it well.  Look at Social Media.  People do not post pics of their stressful jobs with excitement.  They post about their adventures into the unknown.  They post about their family trips, their scenic tours and their great adventures out to one of their bucket list places.  That is life.  That is living.  That is making good use of our time while we still have time on this earth. 

                Think about where you would like to be right now.  Sitting beside that river, or standing in it casting that fly rod towards your next catch.  Pitching your tent overlooking that vast expanse of Big Sky or overlooking that cavern or canyon.  Driving mountain trails, not being able to take your eyes off the snow covered peaks.  Now, how does that make you feel?  I know, sorry you are no there, lol.  But in reality, it gives you a sense of hope.  A restful hope of finally making that trip, visiting that special place that helps us BREATHE.