When you feel like everything’s falling apart around you, breathe in, breathe out. The bomb has gone off—you just have to pick up the pieces and glue them back together with gold, like those beautiful Chinese cups. Just because something is ugly doesn’t mean you can’t turn it into something beautiful.
When you feel like you can’t breathe because everyone’s on your case, breathe in and breathe out. You’re indispensable, even if no one says it in a way that makes you say “thank you.”
When you feel like your relationship is hanging by a thread, breathe in and breathe out. The only way to get through this impasse is to talk about it. A figure skating pair couldn’t score a 9.5 without practice and communication.
When you feel like you’re bothering the people around you, take a deep breath. You’re not the first or the last person whose little one has a bacon tantrum in the snack aisle at the grocery store.
When you feel like everything is happening at once, breathe in and breathe out. You’re not an octopus—tackle problems one at a time. And if it’s making you feel overwhelmed, it’s not the end of the world. You can go to bed, take a bath with a glass of wine, or work off some steam at the gym; tomorrow everything will be better.
When you feel like you’re alone, breathe in and breathe out—it’s just a feeling! Look around you; look at what you have and what you’ve been through. Just because your loved ones aren’t right in front of you doesn’t mean you’re alone.
Breathe in and breathe out; we often forget that it’s the oxygenation of the brain that allows the body to function. Without air, you can’t do anything, so breathe in and breathe out.
P.S.: I’m still struggling to put this principle into practice, but with time, everything will be okay!