Be Reborn Through Inspiration

Find out why it makes sense for people to use breath to calm their thoughts, and explore the connection between spirit and wind: it’s all right there in the word “inspiration,” and it will inspire you to feel reborn over and over again.

The word spirit is derived from the Latin spiritus, which is translated as breath. In Hebrew, ruah means both spirit and wind. The observation of one’s breath is a popular form of meditation to calm thoughts. The word “inspiration” evokes the excitement of creativity. It is imbued with exhilaration and passion. This is my primary association with the word, but Webster’s first definition of inspiration is “breathing in.” Our life’s first breath is our inspiration. It gathers us from our mother’s womb and receives us into the cradle and adventure of Mother Nature.

Life is a charm dangling on the thread of inspiration. How many breaths have I been given? How much happier would I be if I remembered the gift of life with each breath I take? To be fully alive is to be aware of the delicate nature of inspiration and expiration.

In this way I am reborn–into the present–several times every minute. If I knew my last breath was to come in a few days, would I be satisfied with today’s choices? Would I be pleased with the last conversations I had with members of family and close friends? Do I express in the world all the love I feel?

It helps my sense of connection to remember that the oxygen that supports my life was made by the photosynthesis of plants. The vast rain forests are often called the lungs of the Earth. The thread that is my life will sever in minutes if I am deprived of air, so I owe my life to trees and other plants.