Breathe This Way

It had been a rough day at work – one of those days when nothing goes right and you’re blamed for everything that goes wrong.   I left work defeated, but my day was far from over.  I had a volunteer commitment that night and a networking event after that.  My day had to go on, I just wasn’t sure I could.  I was so exhausted I could barely catch my breath.  

Then my cell phone rang and it was my mom.   She sensed my restlessness and asked what was really going on.  I took a breath…and I begin to spill my guts.  She listened without interruption.  Just an occasional, “I understand.”  After what was probably 30 minutes of me talking and her listening, I realized that I had reached where I was going. 

I said to her, “I’m sorry I’ve been talking this whole time.  I feel better. I guess I just needed to breathe.”  And she replied, “Breathe this way any time.”

After I heard those words, I was able to step back and look at the big picture of my day, and really my life.  I learned that allowing myself to breathe centered me and allowing myself to talk about what was bothersome helped me gain perspective.  But the biggest thing I learned is how important it is to have someone listen to you.  It is our deepest desire to be heard.

In hearing myself, I understood that whatever daily trials I encountered – I was still here.  I had the same power to accept those feelings of defeat that I had to reject them.  I was going to get through this day just like I always have.  And I was able to remember this because someone took the time to listen.  This simple gesture breathed life back into my day.