The world feels overwhelming right now. If you’ve been feeling unsteady, struggling to find your footing in the midst of all the noise, know that you’re not alone. I feel it too. There’s a heaviness in the air—a mean-spiritedness, an arrogance that makes it difficult to process everything happening around us. The constant influx of information, the reactions, the name-calling—it’s exhausting.
In moments like these, I remind myself that this isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon.
Preparing for the Long Haul
I’ve never run a marathon, but friends who have tell me it takes time to build stamina. You start with short runs, gradually increasing your endurance, until you’re ready for the full 26.2 miles. You don’t just wake up one day and decide to run a marathon—you prepare. And I think that’s a helpful way to think about the challenges we face.
The chaos of the world can feel like an unrelenting storm, and if we’re not careful, we’ll find ourselves caught up in reaction rather than response. It’s easy to get swept into the frenzy of it all, to lash out, to lose ourselves in the flood of negativity. But that won’t sustain us for the long journey ahead.
So how do we prepare for the long run? How do we build resilience?
The Power of Breath
One of the most grounding practices I’ve found is simply this: breathing.
Noticing my breath. Slowing down. Taking a sacred pause before I react, before I speak, before I engage.
There’s something profoundly spiritual about breath. In Aramaic, the language Jesus would have spoken, the word for spirit is ruha—which also means breath, wind, and air. The Hebrew and Arabic languages share similar connections. The very thing that sustains our life is also a reminder of the presence of the divine, the Spirit moving among us.
We can’t go long without water. We can go a bit longer without food. But breath? Breath is essential, immediate, constant. And in the same way that breath sustains us physically, it can also sustain us emotionally and spiritually.
A Simple Practice for the Overwhelmed
If you’re feeling anxious or overwhelmed, here’s something to try:
1. Place your hand on your heart.
2. Take a deep breath in. Hold it for a moment. Then exhale slowly.
3. As you breathe, focus on the word “spirit” or “ruha.”
4. Let yourself feel the connection—to yourself, to the world, to something greater.
Every breath is sacred. Every breath is holy.
You don’t need a perfect meditation space to do this. You can practice it in the morning before you get out of bed. You can take a moment before lunch, even in the middle of a crowded room. You can pause before a difficult conversation. Wherever you are, whenever you are—you are always breathing. And you can always return to the breath.
Moving from Reaction to Response
We are called to engage with the world, to do what is ours to do. But we must do it from a place of grounding, not from a place of reaction.
When we take time to breathe, to reconnect with ourselves and with God, we shift from being overwhelmed to being present. We move from frantic reaction to thoughtful response. We create space to choose love over fear, wisdom over impulse.
This is a marathon, not a sprint. And breath by breath, step by step, we can find our way.
You Are Infinitely Precious
No matter what is happening in the world around you, remember this:
You are infinitely precious. You are unconditionally loved for the gift you already are.
So take a breath. Find your center. And let’s walk this road together.
Until next time.
Infinitely Precious 