By The Grace Of….God

These thoughts came to me one night, as I lay awake trying to fall asleep. I had a slight cold and I was somewhat mesmerized by the sound of my heavy breathing. My cat was lying at the foot of the bed sound asleep, and I could also hear her gentle breathing. I am sure at some point, we have all fallen asleep beside a loved one, as we listened to their breathing. It is a very comforting sound. The night in question, it so happened to be my pet. It occurred to me; that is the sound of life….the sound that keeps us alive. This is something most of us take for granted. I don’t think it is something we all dwell on….let’s face it, it’s a bit morbid. I have thought of this before because I have lost people close to me. By the grace of God, we are all here.

All these random thoughts crossed my mind as I lay there – wide awake now. My mind raced back to the time, several years ago when I came down with pneumonia. Prior to this; I was already in awe of the human body, because I have had some health issues. However; I think that is when I became even more fascinated with human biology. In that instance, it was our respiratory system. The primary organs are our lungs, but the heart and lungs have to work in tandem to keep everything in balance. Put simply….breathing is inhalation and exhalation of air. But; it is obviously not that simple, as I discovered when I had double lung pneumonia. The sicker I became, the harder my heart had to work to keep up….my blood pressure escalated. Breathing became increasingly difficult. I will spare you the details of my illness. The human body is so complex and simply amazing in its ability to heal and regenerate. I eventually recovered, but I never forgot (once again) how majestic our bodies can be. I also never looked at breathing quite so simply again.

As I lay there, thinking of the greatness and miracle of the human body, my mind also drifted to the present state of the world. I thought of how people can sometimes be so unkind (even cruel) and unjust to their fellow human beings. Some people walk around acting as if they are immortal. The reality that we are all ‘visitors’ is sometimes conveniently forgotten. Many people take life for granted. My thoughts then drifted back to the present, and the simple act of breathing. I listened to my now rhythmic breathing as I got closer to falling asleep, and that of my cat. And again the thought occurred to me…..“by the grace of God, we are all here.” Let us make our time on this earth count….for good.