Breathe……….

Well, I am clearly not a frequent blogger……………but as I am on holiday this week I thought I would share the thread that God and I are exploring - writing often helps me to smooth thoughts out!

Breath, our breathing, that is what has been on my mind (and in my lungs!), this summer.  That is what has come back to me over and over again via different sources (putting aside Baader-Meinhof for another discussion!)

It began with a morning contemplation on the beach in Wales where I was struck by noticing that our breath is just like the tide; it ebbs and flows, it comes in waves, those waves differ in size and intensity, it keeps on going day and night until it is finished……..

There is something about breath that has the message of our connectedness - our being human and part of this whole physical universe……..

And then, whilst still pondering all of this I go to a Forest Church session at Greenbelt and we are invited to consider God as breath in the universe, to consider that we cannot describe God as we cannot describe breath, that all descriptions fall short………..breath as the Spirit of God in us is………indescribable.

Taking it a step further; our breath gives us intimate connection with God but also with the world in which we live - that exchange of air and its components between us and plant life and other animals.  And then considering that through our breath we are connected physically to one another - I breath the air you breath - how can we harm or look down on one another when we share the same breath?

And there is something about receiving and giving in breath - we have to do both in the universe - and in a balanced way……to enable the other…….so that we all thrive and grow together………sometimes we are not good at doing both these things.


I bought a badge, designed by Micah Purnell, which says 'we breath shallower now' (see here for this work and more: http://www.micahpurnell.bigcartel.com/product/we-breathe-shallower-now), and am considering how true this is - in all ways as Micah implies.

And this morning I was reminded that this breath theme thing has been going on a bit longer than this summer - maybe it is this years theme - maybe God is reminding me to breath through all that is on my plate!………..I was reminded that I spoke about breath at our Pentecost service this year - am I allowed to quote from my own sermon?????  Well, here it is anyway:

'If the Church is the body of Christ on earth then the Holy Spirit is, or should be, that body’s breath of life.
Our physical breath has to be breathed in – we decide how much we breath in – we can breathe deeply or have shallow breathing – there is no charge and no restriction on how much we breathe in – make the most of that it’s one of the last freebies!  But most people breathe with only a small part of their lungs.And it is the same with God’s Holy Spirit – what would happen if the holy catholic Church, if we in our part of it, opened up a little wider to let more of that breath of life in.  If we all took gulping great big breaths of God’s Holy Spirit – breathing it in and breathing it out - what kind of Church might we become?'

I have become more aware of my breathing, more aware of the gift that it is, more aware that it is a great leveller, a great way of connecting with our humanity and our earthiness whilst also connecting with God's spirit, that holy breath and breather in us.  I have been reminded to breathe…….something we all need to be reminded of………..great big lung-fulls of the life giving breath of God.