A year or so before the pandemic hit, I was diagnosed with asthma. The timing of the diagnosis was either devastatingly awesome or outstandingly terrible. I still haven’t really decided.
Either way, when the world shut down in early 2020, I was still figuring out the whole breathing normally thing. Throwing a new, little-understood respiratory disease and masks into the mix was just the existential cherry on top of an asthmatic sundae.
In some ways, I had a head start on the pandemic. I had already been playing the game of allergies, anxiety, or asthma for months. Yes, adding COVID messed with the alliteration, but it also doubled the anxiety…so, there’s that.
In other (and most) ways, it just sucked. Not knowing what to expect from an existing condition, combined with the impending doom of a pandemic…I do not recommend it.
That being said, I did walk away with a new appreciation for the power of breath. It turns out that you can’t see how lost (or oxygen deprived) you are until you’re shown the way. In my case, I couldn’t see how shallow my breaths were until I was handed an inhaler.
A few deep breaths can’t necessarily solve all your problems, but they can give you the space and clarity to find a solution. And sometimes that solution is simply to keep breathing.
Be Kind. Be Brave. Stay Awkward…and don’t forget to breathe.
Onward & Awkward 