Well... here's my twist. Struggling for breath is no fun. Makes one not want to meditate on your breath. I ended up with a serious chest infection at the end of May (hence my June hiatus) that was misdiagnosed for about a week, and there I was... all of a sudden in the ICU on mechanical ventilation. Some heavy duty drugs have wiped my ICU memory clean. For my brave family and friends, the whole thing lasted 6 days longer than I can remember. Home now and slowly on the mend.
Breathing and not breathing... it's been all around me and in the news lately too. I've had asthma all my life. My dad died last year of pulmonary fibrosis. My mom has post-polio syndrome and is short of breath a lot of the time.The husband of one of my kid's favorite teachers and a community soccer dad died of mesothelioma a few years back. One little fibre of asbestos would have been enough. Made Chuck Strahl sick. Yet our Canadian government(s) in their infinite wisdom(s), are opposing the addition of asbestos to an international list of hazardous, controlled substances. Sounds like a lot of self-interest, "head in the sand" sort of stuff. Canada sells 95% of it's asbestos to other countries and we're spending millions to clean it out of our government buildings? Why do we want to get rid of it so badly if it is safe? If it's the difference between breathing and not breathing?
Some respiratory illnesses can't be prevented. "Idiopathic"... there's a mouthful for ya. But several important ones can be treated and major ones can be prevented. Stop smoking. There goes lung cancer, emphysema and COPD. Ban asbestos. No more mesothelioma or asbestosis. Because really, what's more important than our breath? In. Out. Sigh.
