Breathe

Breathe. So very deeply. With every single cell in your body. Relax into the wave. Follow it. Move inside of it. Stretch it. Let yourself be carried by its swell. The breath. The flywheel of these pedaling legs. The regulator of this preoccupied mind. Guiding my bike by guiding my breath. Riding into my center. Inspiring steady circles. Expanding. Contracting. Spinning. Listening to what my breath is trying to tell me. Learning what my breath is trying to teach me. Life itself can only flow from the breath. Rolling through the autumn of my life. Getting closer to fall’s peak in my part of the world. Maybe on its cusp. Maybe just past its prime. A vibrant color explosion. This faint musty aroma. Pleasantly enhanced by this merciful cool breeze. These trees. Dressing up for the occasion. Before disrobing again as they prepare for the approaching winter. These leaves. Their final expiration after a long summer. Showing us how magnificently liberating dying can be when we don’t resist it. Stunning surrender. Nature’s rhythm. Each breath cycle a life of its own. Birth at the very beginning of the inhale. Death at the very end of the exhale. With a subtle silent pause in between. The path is right there. This web of life. Truthfully all interconnected. Breath. Mind. Body. Nature. Life. Existence. All that is. We just have to pay attention. Follow the breath. It’ll always lead you back home.