Just Breathe

Why does it seem that there is no time left to breathe? Sometimes I really think that all of the oxygen has been sucked out of the universe and we've been left with an atmosphere of other people's anxieties. Why is it so difficult to find a moment when breathing comes easy and the air is sweet again with the smell of lilacs clinging to it? I just want to get a big gasp in and drink in the air like a big cup of water after a hot day in the sun. Instead I attempt to practice the breathing techniques they teach you in childbirth class- 1 2 3 breathe 1 2 3 breath...while I wonder how I can stay awake for the hour drive home in bumper to bumper traffic behind other people who also lost the ability to breathe praying that I don't end up in an accident because the guy next to me is reading the newspaper while driving 45 in a 65. 1 2 3 breathe...