breathe, breathe in the air…

I don’t know about you, but I feel anxious and wound pretty tightly. It’s not great, Bob.

So I’m being the person I need in the world. This is for me, and for anyone who needs it:

  1. Take a deep breath. Hold it and close your eyes for a few seconds.
  2. Gently exhale and feel the breath leave your body. Inhale, and feel it come back in.
  3. Relax your shoulders. You’re holding a ton of tension in your neck and shoulders and you’ve been doing it so long, you don’t even notice it.
  4. You’re clenching your jaw, too. Open your mouth and take in a big breath. Feel that air nourish you and let the nourishment spread outward through your body, from your lungs to the tips of all your fingers and toes.

Repeat if you like, and then think of three things you are grateful for.

  • I am grateful for my health.
  • I am grateful I have enough.
  • I am grateful for the love and support of my wife and children.

This helped me unwind a little bit. Maybe it’ll help you, too.

Stay safe, stay healthy, and please choose kindness.

44 thoughts on “breathe, breathe in the air…”

  1. Just baked a huge batch of banana bread. Feeding friends and neighbors is my stress reliever 💖

  2. At exactly the right time. I am truly grateful for your presence in my life, Wil, even if you aren’t aware of it! 💖

  5. I do look forward to your posts. Yesterday, you mentioned you didn’t think your gift added much to a solution while we’re all quarantined. You were wrong. You make things so much easier to bear with your gift of writing and humor. Thank you so, so much for sharing those gifts with the world.

  9. I find meditation, just 5-10 minutes a day, to be super helpful. I especially love the feeling of being grateful, sometimes even at the littlest things that we might not have noticed before. And the big things too!

  11. I get panic attacks along with severe depression. Of course I got the flu right when this thing became a pandemic and my stress levels went through the roof. I’m 54, trying to quit smoking (in a pandemic LOL) arthritic and I have allergies. I already know my changes are poor if I catch this thing. One thing that helps is tuning out all the attention grabbing DOOM headlines. I really don’t need them.

  14. I found an online, face-to-face activity that approached normalcy, to be helpful. In my case, it was a poker game, but it could just as well have been a Zoom-based happy hour.

  15. Bless you! I am a retired RN, have not been panicking (I’m in the “vulnerable” age group, but no other risk factors), have not been hoarding, though I did buy some TP to donate. Just registered to be a volunteer RN in CA if needed. I continue to be surprised at the way people are equating infection with death, as the most reliable statistics thus far put the death toll at approximately 3% (SARS was 10%.) I have my doubts about the accuracy of diagnosis, but am going with what’s being reported. (I am aware of at least 2 instances where presumptive cases were included in the numbers.) To be sure, it’s highly contagious but pretty wimpy, since washing your hands with regular soap will kill it. And we do need to protect the vulnerable–make no mistake–as it can be transmitted when an infected person is asymptomatic. Caution & prudence are called for, not panic. Italy is having a very hard time of it, for several reasons: https://time.com/5799586/italy-coronavirus-outbreak/; https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-18/99-of-those-who-died-from-virus-had-other-illness-italy-says. The physical (not social!) distancing is important, disinfection of surfaces, staying home, and most of all, correctly and frequently washing your hands, not touching your face. Stay well, people! Love to all–

  19. Thank you – after 4 hours online today (3 of them presenting “how do do online” for educators), I really needed a break.

  23. That works even better if your in your Bathroom and the lights are out . That way without the concept of time you relax that much more

  25. This was just what I needed this evening. Thank you!
    I’m thankful for:
    A hot dinner in the oven
    Healthy family and pets
    Indoor plumbing, it may be April but it’s cold where I am.

  26. Thank you. This helped tremendously.
    “Look for the helpers”. Let me tell you, you are one of my helpers

  27. I really did need that. Love and hugs (of the virtual sort) to you and yours!

  28. My building complex shares visitor parking with a hospital that’s in the midst of an outbreak. It’s been a designated testing and treatment centre since this started, and if you look at the Covid19 heat map my neighborhood is red, so that was inevitable, but it still sucks. I’ve seen people in the parking garage just standing next to cars embracing. I’ve seen them crying down there. I know it’s because they aren’t allowed in the hospital with their infected loved ones.
    I don’t know what percentage of neighbors are hospital employees, but judging by how often I see their uniforms in the elevator, it’s a fair few.
    So obviously, it’s extremely unlikely that we’ll avoid infection. I’ve made peace with the idea that it’s a when and not an if.
    Even so, today was a beautiful day, which is especially appreciated because being able to go on our balcony adds an extra 300 sq ft of living space. My son and I are trying to start our garden from seeds and today we went outside to transplant our seedlings into bigger pots (although it’s still too wintery here to plant them outside).
    My little boy, being a little boy, is very noisy, so after we’d been outside a few minutes, one of our neighbors from the building across from us brought her kids out to their balcony and they started waving and yelling hello. Then the kids a couple of floors down came out. Then a few more kids, and a few more after that. Then just people, bought outside by the sounds of noisy, joyful children.
    We blew bubbles, an activity that, in my opinion, gets more entertaining the higher up you go. It must be a shared opinion because we had a very large audience. The kids waved to their friends and then just to each other. They called out to each other by name, overjoyed to just stand outside and yell as loudly as they could. And no one complained or told them to hush. The adults watched them and listened and were glad to just be with people. And there were people, so many of them. And it was really pretty great.
    I don’t know if we’ll end up a little bit sick or a lot. But I know that fear exists to keep you safe and that ship has sailed, so there’s no point in holding on to it. If we only have a few weeks left together, they’re going to be a good few weeks, with good days and joyful children and bubbles. I’ll be careful, but I refuse to be anxious. No one ever promised you tomorrow anyway. Not to any of us.

  29. I want to emphasize that no one’s reaction is “wrong”–whatever anyone is feeling is completely valid for them, and there is no judgment attached. No “shoulds” when it comes to how anyone is feeling and responding. Everyone deserves compassion and love.

  30. Thank you for posting this. As I was reading through, I found myself instinctively doing the steps. It made me realize that I haven’t taken any time to process all the craziness that has transpired. Thank you for being a helper!

  31. Gracias ! Gracias ! Gracias y mil gracias ! Cada vez que me llega la notificación de una entrada nueva de tu blog me digo: estobes algo que quizás te ayude. El de Hoy es uno de esos . Gracias por recordarme la importancia de calmarme, reducir la tensión y agradecer .

  32. ♥️🙏♥️ Thank you for being the person we all need in the world right now, Will.

  34. “Don’t be afraid to show you care.”

    You’re perfect right now, thank you.

  36. Try Insight Timer if you get a chance. It is free and there are many wonderful guided meditations, some long, some short, but very relaxing.

  39. Thanks for posting this. I shared it with my friends as it is something I think we all needed. My mother asked me where the labyrinth pictured in the photo was located. I could not find it online. If you took this picture, could you let me know, she loves labyrinths (we have one at our church!)

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