Just Breathe

Good morning you. It’s a new day. The sun is peaking from behind the fluffy, white clouds. The quiet buzz of taxis are starting down the street. It’s a new day. Breathe it in. 

Most of you know I work at a television network. I cover a region of the United States. I keep a pulse on what’s going on there. Among the states I monitor are Louisiana and Texas. The pulse in Dallas and Baton Rouge over the past few weeks have been all over the place… but the people in those cities continue to breathe. The spirits of those who were killed are felt. Their breath can be felt. They are felt in the words spoken by people they helped protect. They shine brightly in the candles that flicker across the country in remembrance. They are felt in hugs that are given by strangers to those grieving.

Love, life and death unfold every single day. It’s something every person, in every city, every village, and every suburb have to deal with every day. So, when you feel sad or mad stop and breathe. Remember, there is good in the world. There is some good that comes from tragedy. I believe that cause I hear it in the stories being told by survivors of the ambush in Dallas. I see it in the flowers being dropped off at makeshift memorials in Baton Rouge… flowers that bring color and light to what sometimes may feel like dark days. The flowers are being given by people who are, often unknowingly, leaving footprints in our hearts. 

I wonder what footprints I leave behind. Do you? Footprints in the sand may be washed away, but they are proof that you existed and did something. Even when a footprint disappears in the tide, it’s taking the sand and bringing it elsewhere. Maybe the sand mixes with a new beach… a beach overseas in Nice. The sand mixes with people walking along that beach. They are people you probably don’t know… but the sand mixes with their footprints and in an instant you are connected. We are all connected. Through this blog. Through social media. Through friends. Remember that. Remember to spread love. To show respect. To honor life. To breathe.