Holding Our Breath

February 25, 2024

A well-known expression is: "I am holding my breath." This means we're hoping the outcome is what we want, but we are unsure. We have such high expectations that our wish will come true that we suspend our breath in anticipation of the outcome.

The expression likely evolved into its modernized usage from a Shakespearean phrase, "Waiting with bated breath," spoken by the character Shylock in the Merchant of Venice (1596). "Bated" comes from "abated," which means stopped or suspended.

Suspending our breathing may be an attempt to give us a sense of control. For some of us, it may mean that our breath has been literally taken as we anticipate the outcome.

Is our bated breath because of ego anticipation, soul anticipation, or a combination of both? If it is the ego's, it's the expectation that the ego's story will be satisfied. If it is the soul's anticipation, it's the expectation that our soul's purpose is being affirmed. If it combines the ego and the soul's anticipation, then the ego is in line with the soul.

Inquiry: What have you held your breath in anticipation of?

Dear God,

Sometimes, I have been so full of anticipation that people have told me, "Breathe!" My soul is so full of the wondrous things that await.

Amen

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