Appreciate Breath – The Rest Is a Beautiful Bonus

How my deep appreciation for breath began

I don’t take anything for granted—not even a single breath.

It may sound like a poetic exaggeration, but for me, it’s the truth. The simple act of breathing—the inhale, the exhale, the way air quietly moves in and out—has shaped the foundation of my life. It has been a guide and above all, a gift I was never guaranteed to keep.

My story with breath began before I even had the words to describe what was happening. At just 11 months old, I started having mysterious health issues. Seemingly out of nowhere, I would come down with pneumonia. Again and again. The doctors were puzzled. Why was this baby, barely out of infancy, repeatedly struggling with such serious lung infections?

Eventually, the mystery was solved—acid from my stomach was silently leaking into my lungs, causing infection after infection. By the time this was discovered, my lungs were already severely damaged. The chronic breathing issues had begun, and with them, a lifelong intimacy with every inhale and exhale.

Some of my earliest memories are of gasping for air, the fear and fight inside my little body, and the relief when medicine made it easier to breathe. And while I may not remember every detail, the emotional imprint of those moments remains crystal clear: breath is not promised. It is precious.

A Childhood of Hospitals and Trust

My parents often told me that I was strangely calm, even in the face of medical tests, long hospital stays, or being left alone overnight before I was even a year old. I didn’t resist what was happening; I simply was in it. In hindsight, I think I always had a quiet trust—a connection to something benevolent and unseen—that helped me go though what was a part of my life’s destiny with a level of grace and surrender.

That quiet trust would carry me through one of the most terrifying moments of my early life. When I was 2.5 years old, in the middle of the night I became ill again out of the blue, but this time I wasn’t taken to the hospital quickly enough. By the time morning came, my skin had turned grey. I was limp and lifeless. 

Oddly, I can still feel into that moment. There was fear, yes. But what followed was something else entirely: surrender. A deep, intuitive release to whatever was to come. No resistance. Just trust. I was taken to the hospital, and the prognosis was uncertain. It wasn’t clear whether the antibiotics would work in time.

But I’m here. So they did.

The First Gift

Surviving that night was the first of many gifts that breath would give me. It planted a seed within me—a knowing that nothing in life is promised, but everything can be appreciated. I came to realize that even one full breath is a miracle. And maybe, just maybe, this simple awareness is the doorway to appreciating every other miracle that life holds.

Because when you have breath, you have life. And when life is yours, everything else is a bonus.

Dancing With the Breath

I spent most of my childhood and early adult life on medication. I had to manage my health with the help of doctors, treatments, and sometimes limits. But I also had a dream: I wanted to dance.

And against the odds, I did.

Thanks to the support of modern medicine—and perhaps a touch of grace—I got to live that dream. I became a dancer. I traveled the world. I performed in places I never thought I’d see. And each movement, each leap, each twist of my body was an ode to the breath that had brought me there.

That experience deepened my gratitude in ways I can’t fully explain. I wasn’t just dancing—I was celebrating life. I was moving because I could. I was moving because I was breathing.

The Anchor of Breath

Life is unpredictable. It ebbs and flows. We win and lose, love and grieve, rise and fall. But no matter where I’ve been—through loss, illness, injury, joy, heartbreak, and rebirth—there’s been one constant:

My breath.

Or perhaps more accurately: the breath that breathes me.

It’s always there. Quietly present. Unfailingly supportive. An anchor in every storm. A friend in every transition. A gentle reminder that I am alive, that I am held by something greater, even when everything else feels chaotic.

And isn’t that what so many of us long for? Something to hold onto. Something real. Something simple and true. The breath offers all of that—and more.

Gratitude in Every Inhale

Sometimes it takes a crisis to shake us awake. To show us what we’ve been missing. For me, that crisis came early. And though I wouldn’t wish the experience of not being able to breath properly on anyone, I am deeply grateful for the clarity it gave me.

Because now, no matter what is happening around me, I can always come back to this truth:

I am breathing. And that is enough.

From that place of deep appreciation, every other part of life becomes richer. Relationships, creativity, work, dreams, and daily routines—they all become infused with the awareness that they are bonuses, not guarantees. And when we meet life from that space, we move from lack into love, from stress into surrender.

We remember that life isn’t about chasing more. It’s about appreciating what already is.

You Are Supported

Right now, wherever you are, reading these words—you are breathing. Pause for a moment. Feel the gentle, sacred pulse of air moving in and out of your body. Notice the miracle of it. You don’t have to earn it. You don’t have to prove yourself for it. You don’t even have to think about it.

Something greater is loving you through every breath. Supporting you. Sustaining you.

In a world that often tells us we need to do more, be more, and have more, I offer you this quiet truth:

You are enough, just as you are. You are alive. You are breathing. And that is beautiful.

Come Join Me

I now share this appreciation through what I call Daily Soul Streams—spaces of reflection, connection, and gratitude. If you’ve forgotten how loved and supported you are, come sit with me in that space. Come breathe with me. Come remember who you really are beneath all the noise.

Because when we appreciate the breath, the rest becomes a beautiful bonus.