The breath moves like the ocean

This past week, my family came to visit.

We spent a few days in Malibu, staying by the ocean.

There was a moment early in the morning before anyone else was up.

Sitting there, the sound of the waves filled the space.

Each one arriving a little differently than the last.

— The insight —

Not everything moves in a steady rhythm.

The mind often expects it to.

There’s an idea that things should feel even.

That the breath should settle into something smooth.

That attention should stay in one place.

But experience doesn’t organize itself that way.

It shifts.

Some moments feel clear.

Others feel scattered.

And neither one is a problem.

— The shift —

Take a moment at some point today.

Notice your breath without adjusting it.

Let it be uneven if it is.

Let it settle if it does.

There’s nothing to correct.

— From the canyon —

A few waves came through, one after another.

Then a pause where the water flattened.

Then another, slightly stronger than before.

Nothing repeated in quite the same way.