Remember the last time you were taken by surprise by a gust of wind, an unexpected scent, a dramatic change in temperature or unexpected sounds. We rely on our sense of smell, touch (through our skin), and sound to be aware of the wind, of scents and of temperature change and noise. Regardless of the sense, these sudden changes, born in the air, surprise us.
The wind applies unexpected pressure.
A new scent brings a smell to us that we were not expecting. It might be pleasant and evoke wonderful memories of joy, pleasure and happiness, or it might be unpleasant and evoke memories associated with fear, sadness, or anger.
A sound might make us thing of crisis and emergency, and it may be certain music which evokes memories of activities, both pleasant and unpleasant that we associate with that music.
The air around us today may bear to us any number of things that elicit from us unexpected and unplanned for internal experiences. Those experiences often come to us as memories that we associate with sensations, sounds, and smells. In each one of those, we have the opportunity to react or respond. A reaction will leave us in a state of stress where in some way or another we try to escape the experience. We might have an internal sense of “oh, no, not that again!”
A response might be something like this: Oh, dear friend _______. You are here again. Welcome into my space. What do you have to teach me today?
Just try it. Air bears many things to us for our renewal, if we welcome it as such. The next opportunity for renewal may come with our next breath.
Bob Patrick
Thank you for reminding me to go out this morning and enjoy the air.