Following the thought process of ‘a spiritual whitespace’
A place of quiet and rest.
The word prompt for Friday was Exhale.
Dictionary.com says it is to Breathe Out.
(example sentence: Breathe in deeply and make an effort
to exhale all of the air out of the lungs.)
I remember when we were expecting our first child.
We took the Lamaze birth classes to learn how to relax
when the labor process would begin.
A large part of that class was learning how to breathe.
Breathe in… hold it…then breathe out.
It was a cleansing breath.
Breathe in… hold it in then breathe it out.
We would do that routine over and over as it helps
when the pain arrives.
This concept also works in other situations.
The urgent call, your daughter is being taken by ambulance to the ER after a car wreck.
Breathe in… hold it and breathe out
The manager tells you to move and you have no idea where you will find something you can afford.
Breathe in… hold it and breathe out.
The bills are over whelming you and you have no idea how to fix them or pay for them on time.
Breathe in… hold it and breathe out.
The car breaks down and you have to be towed.
Breathe in… hold it and breathe out.
Cleansing breath…
realizing that you are not in control of anything.
Last month we sat in a room with a dying man.
Listening to the sounds of his breath as it moved slowly
with the help of oxygen pumping air into tired lungs and heart.
Pulsing …in a rhythmic pattern.
In and out… in and out.
Inhale then Exhale… Breathing out. Letting it go.
We were in the room when he took his last breaths.
Five times he breathed in and out.
I counted them. In a rhythmic way.
Then the final exhale.
It was over.
The early morning call telling me my dad passed away.
It was over. His breath was gone.
I laid in bed and took a deep breath of my own and then let it go.
Exhale the cleansing breath.
The early morning call telling me my mom passed away.
It was over. Her breath was gone.
I laid in bed and one more time finding myself
doing the exhale cleansing breath.
It is only by God’s grace we breathe in and breathe out.
Genesis 2:7
then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, the man became a living creature.
Breathing in and exhaling out.
There is a beginning and then an ending.
The new baby cries taking in his first breath,
the old man dies exhaling his last.
Exhale: Breathe out. The process of letting go.