Inhale, Exhale

Inhale, exhale.

That’s how it works. You breathe in, then you breathe out.

Although… I guess sometimes, that’s not what it feels like. I’m not talking about breathing anymore. I’m talking about life.

Inhale, exhale.

That’s how it should be, but it’s not. We take in a deep breath, and we hold it. We carry the world on our shoulders and have rocks weighing down on our chests, as the clichés go.

There are a lot of things that those rocks could represent. Money, work, a break up, sadness, our thoughts, or even life in general. There’s another thing it represents: ourselves. Who we really are.

Inhale, exhale.

It’s not something we’re taught to do. Breathing just happens. (Thanks, brain!) When it comes to who we are—who we really are—it’s something that we need to be reminded of.

You can’t just hide. When you hide, you feel like there’s something holding you down, and you can’t breathe.

You’re holding a secret, and you’re afraid of the world finding out. You’re scared that it will change everything around you, the way people look at you, of the effect it might have.

Inhale, exhale.

You wake up every single day, and the very first thing you do is put on the mask. We all have (or have had) things that we felt we had to hide.

Maybe you’ve been divorced for 2 months, and you haven’t told your mom about it. Maybe you lost your job, and you’ve been lying to your partner, and instead been going to drink at eight in the morning. Maybe you pretend to like Nirvana because your friends will laugh at you if you say you love Taylor Swift. Maybe you’re gay. Maybe you’re pretending to be brave, but you’re really terrified. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

I could go on for ages. There are too many secrets in the world.

Inhale, exhale.

It’s really hard to do sometimes. It’s easier to carry the weight because if no one knows, nothing changes.

But is it really easy? Isn’t it dragging you down? Aren’t you tired of hiding? Haven’t you had enough of it? Don’t you want to let it all out?

I know you’re afraid, but we’re all scared sometimes. Life can be hard, and it kicks you in the butt. But don’t forget: you can kick it back.

Inhale, exhale.

You can continue to hold your breath. You can continue to be afraid. You can hide forever… or you can face the darkness, and show the world your light. Your magic.

It might not be easy, and hell, maybe your biggest fears will come to life. Here’s another cliché, though: You’ll never know unless you try.

Inhale, exhale.

I promise, it’s simple. Once you do it, you’ll never have to hold your breath again.

Here’s how I see it. Say it all goes to shit, okay? Say you get yelled at and cursed out. It’ll suck, I know. It’ll be hard. But go outside, and look up at the clear blue, infinite sky, and notice how you’re feeling.

You’re breathing. You’re inhaling… and you’re exhaling. You don’t have to hold your breath anymore. You’re still alive.

So, try it again. Feel how good it feels.

Inhale, exhale.