Breath

cover image shot by @brandonthomasbrown

Off-center versus in center.

The place I find myself in versus the place I find myself trying to get to.  New York will do that to you. We get so used to navigating different spaces while simultaneously remaining vigilant at every moment. We never learn how to turn off this ability do we? From boarding a train to a day in the office, I find myself thinking, “What did they mean by that? Why do they keep eyeing me up-and-down?” Even when I’m just walking on the street there’s thoughts of, “Let me protect my partner at all times” or “Let me be aware so that they don’t catch me slippin’.” This sounds like paranoia but it’s not. I just have trouble turning off this mindset every now and again.

This is where I find balance.

That is the goal right? We may call it different things but balance is a fair conclusion to it all. I want to have enough money to take care of all my needs. In turn, I’ll have time to chase my dreams and desires. How do I balance it all? Finding balance is the cure from feeling off-centered to releasing that involuntary hyperawareness. A true thought detox was needed.

During a recent visit to HealHaus, I attended a mindfulness workshop geared towards men. It was here that I discovered how to release myself fully from the attitude that is always pondering, “What is next?” and morph it into my own ideology. One that declares, “I am doing enough.”

The amount of time we spend off-center transforms into the stress we feel each and every day. Getting to a balanced state of mind is a daily practice that requires intentional moments of breathing. (Profound, I know.)

Try to translate your many stresses into individual breaths you can take. That simple breath is a reminder that what you are currently dealing with has yet to kill you. Key the breathing, and realize that none of those things are able to kill you.

If your breath is enough, then you are enough.

And that in itself is enough.