Bob Schwartz

Askew: Crooked, awry, lopsided, cockeyed.

There is a Buddhist practice to welcome the most adverse things as opportunities and the most adverse people as spiritual friends. I ask myself, “How’s that going?” and I admit “A work in progress.”

The good news for me is that for a portion of the day, I breathe. Obviously I spend the entire day breathing, but for a time I breathe consciously, in and out.

No, those askew/crooked/awry/lopsided/cockeyed things keep multiplying like a virus, no matter how many conscious breaths I give and take. Just as with any virus—we’ve had some recent experience with that—it is essential to address the problem. But those breaths can put those things in their place and us in our place.

Yes, “take a breath” is seemingly cliched advice when we are overwhelmed. We certainly are being overwhelmed, in many ways strategically. The reason “take a breath” is constantly advised is…it works.

Take a breath.