Just Breathe
A Pearl Jam song and also... a way of being, especially in parlous times
Yes, I understand
That every life must end
As we sit alone
I know someday we must go
Oh, I’m a lucky man
To count on both hands
The ones I love
Some folks just have one
Yeah, others they got none
Stay with me
Let’s just breathe
Practiced all my sins
Never gonna let me win
Under everything
Just another human being
Yeah, I don’t want to hurt
There’s so much in this world
To make me bleed
Stay with me
You’re all I see
Did I say that I need you?
Did I say that I want you?
Oh, if I didn’t, I’m a fool, you see
No one knows this more than me
As I come clean..
Nothing you would take
Everything you gave
Hold me ‘til I die
Meet you on the other side
These days, I often listen to Just Breathe. It is a grounding reminder of the touchstones of love, relationships, embodiment. It even begins and ends with the awareness of mortality, astonishing in a death-denying society.
When instructing meditation, one reminds the new meditator to keep returning to the breath. There are many ways of doing silent meditation, of course, mantra based like John Main’s, the sacred word of Centering Prayer, but returning to the breath is perhaps the simplest and most embodied instruction.
Just breathe.
Do you struggle with anxiety? Nearly 40% of Ontario high school students, according to this source, have moderate to serious anxiety and depression (the two are often linked). While older adults don’t tend to be quite as anxious, this says that it could be up to 20% who have an anxiety disorder, and of course more who struggle with it from time to time.
Further complicating our already challenging lives, it seems the world has become more and more stressful.
This song was released 60 years ago, though, the year I was born, so is there a sense in which every age feels catastrophic? Probably, but arguably there has never been a time when overwhelm from global news has been so pervasive. The Internet, still in its infancy really, given that human history is in the tens of thousands of years, and the pervasiveness of internet connection only began in the 21st century, has meant that news of an earthquake, tsunami, war, or other disaster hundreds or thousands of kilometres away can pop onto your phone within hours or even minutes.
In the 20th century, people relied on radio and newspaper, as well as word of mouth, to learn what was happening elsewhere. So, sure, it could be anxiety producing, especially if you were living during one of the World Wars or the Vietnam war or… But the relentless of bad news on personal devices is a new phenomenon.
Perhaps reminders to breathe are helpful then.
A thought, though. What kind of air are you breathing in? Many humans live in pollution-filled cities with constant noise and bustle.
Having regular times to walk among trees, by the ocean or a lake or river, and quietly observe the animals moving freely in the wild is nourishing to an anxious spirit.
Image credit - Great Egret in Cootes Paradise, Hamilton, Ontario photographed by Robert Pental.
Today at Christ’s Church Cathedral Hamilton, in addition to the regular services at 8:30 and 10:30 am that always offer opportunities to relax into the peace of ancient and modern Anglican liturgy, we have Oasis (an hour and half for people to come and go, sit in silent reflection for a while or perhaps walk the labyrinth while peaceful organ music plays gently) from 12:30 pm, and Taizé songs and meditation for about 40 minutes starting at 4 pm.
Whether you have the opportunity to come and sit with us at one of these times today, or you are taking time wherever you are…
Just Breathe.