“Inhale. Deeply.”

What is the most important thing we need to sustain life? Food? Water? You can last a surprisingly long time without food or water. How long can you last without air, without breathing? Hold your breath, the answer soon becomes clear.

Now, breathe in. A long, deep breath. There's a problem with that too. To inhale deeply, we need to be empty. We need to empty the air out of ourselves.

Breathe out. Breathe out until you have emptied yourself of all the exhausted air. To achieve this, you may need to repeat the process a few times. Breathe out, all the way out. Again, breathing in, breathe deeply in, feeling the rush of fresh air, the prana of life, rush in to fill the empty space created by the out breath. Just as we need to exhale completely, in order to be able to inhale completely, so in life, we need to empty our mind, before we can fill it with the wisdom of zen. Exhale deeply, then inhale, deeply, taking in your life.

When you wake each morning, stretch your arms up skywards. Breathe deeply. Fill yourself with the emptiness of the air around you. Breathe. You are alive.

Today's thought is from the series '31 Ways to Have a Better Day'.