Take My Breath Away

I have always seen these photographs in magazines or online of people wearing swimsuits and stocking hats as they get into an outdoor hot tub, under the stars, surrounded by snow. My summer-loving heart has had at least some curiosity surrounding this notion of being warm-ish in the wintertime while enjoying the great outdoors. So I was excited this past week when I could create this winter magic on my own outside, in the snow, under the stars, in my little inflatable hot tub. 

What I didn’t know from those photographs is that there is something that happens when you go from an air temperature of 19 degrees to a water temperature of 104 degrees:  You lose your breath. Google tells me that this happens because a reflex has been triggered in the airways, causing a sudden dilation and sometimes a slight spasm. During this initial and sudden shift in temperature, the body tries to adjust to the sudden influx of warm air and, as it does, a person can experience something that feels like a momentary shortness of breath. 

I accentuate that it FEELS like a momentary shortness of breath because while this is, in fact, the sensation we experience when moving from cold to warm temperatures, we aren’t actually short of breath. Our breath hasn’t been lost and it hasn’t been taken away either (despite what the song from the original Top Gun soundtrack would have us believe). What’s actually happening is that our blood vessels are dilating–expanding and getting larger–as a way to help release some of the sudden heat and regulate the body from the inside out.

Science did its job, and my body followed suit. After a few intentional, deep breaths, and a few more moments in the balmy hot tub water, my body’s breathing became normal once more. Allowing me to see that what had felt at first like a complete loss of breath was really just a portal into a new reality.

I don’t know about you, but lately I have felt short of breath often. Not from the temperature extremes, mind you, but from the sudden shift in all kinds of climates of which I am a part. I am breathless over the shifting political climate and what it means for me and the people I love. I am breathless over the shift in health status many in our congregation have found themselves undergoing recently. I'm breathless over the shift in our capacity to genuinely care about one another without first asking if the other is worthy of such care and support. I am breathless from all of the shifts that cause worry, and breathless from all of the shifts that bring about uncertainty, and breathless from every shift that has brought me to countless sleepless nights. I wonder if you feel breathless too?

What I try to remember in times like these is the lesson I learned at the hot tub the other night:  My breath is not being taken from me. I have not lost my breath anywhere, it just feels that way. My body is trying to regulate my temperature. It’s trying to bridge the gap between this moment and the next, not by shutting down. Not by making my world smaller. Not by isolating or removing me from reality entirely. My body–and your body too–is trying to lead us from this moment to the next through dilation. Through the growth and expansion of our blood vessels.

By the grace of our Creator, our bodies understand intuitively what our conscious selves often do not:  Growth and expansion are the bridges we need to help us all move between these moments that take our breath away…even when it feels like we should all just hole up in our own little corners and batten down the hatches until the moment passes. 

But we don't need less…we need MORE. More compassion. More togetherness. More walking around our neighborhoods with eyes WIDE OPEN to what is needed right now. We need more self care, and more communal care. And more bowing heads in prayer instead of bowing our heads over our cell phones. We need more love and more justice and more tangible evidence that these moments that have left us feeling breathless have not actually stolen the breath of LIFE from us. 

So, my friends, in these breathless moments–no matter what they are for each of us–let me remind you to take a deep breath. And another. And another. Remember that, despite how it feels right now, the breath of our lungs has not been taken away, it's still here. At our disposal. Helping us expand and grow in ways we didn't even know were possible. 

Breathe deeply, my friends, and be encouraged.
Pr. Melissa

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