SPIRITUM

"Spiritum" is the Latin word translated as "breathe."

It means to live, to be animated. 

The English word "spirit" reflects this meaning. 

Genesis 2:7  

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

What does it mean to breathe? 




Simply and scientifically, it means:

We measure our lives in breaths.

"Older children and adults, when resting, usually breathe about 12-20 times per minute. Over the course of a day, that adds up to 17,000-30,000 breaths per day — or more!"  

Or we don't.

We talk of conscious breathing as an act of grounding, 

to remind ourselves of our worth and purpose.

When we want to feel united, we talk of "breathing together."

In some cultures, people exchange breath as a sacred greeting.

"The honi is a Polynesian greeting in which two people greet each other by pressing noses and inhaling at the same time. This is very honorific as this represents the exchange of the ha-- the breath of life--, and mana-- spiritual power between two people. This act and the concepts behind it are very unusual to western audiences and care should be taken to explain the spirituality and sacredness of this simple act of greeting."
 --Renee Bishaw, Hawaiian Greeting/Protocol 

 

When we fall in love, we want to share the same breath. 

And of course, everything can change in a breath.

“From the house of unbelief
to true religion
is a single breath;

From the world of doubt
to certainty
is a single breath;

Enjoy this precious single breath,

for the harvest
of our whole lives

is that same one breath.” 


--Omar Khayyam, Quatrains- Ballades

The harvest of our our whole lives is that same one breath.

In the spirit of the Hawaiian culture,
Mahalo
[Ma = In] + [hâ = breath] + [alo = presence, front, face]
"(May you be) in (Divine) Breath.

Nomadic Women

Nomadic Women

Life was meant to be lived on flat roofs,

Holding hands and gazing through desert sunsets to the other side of the world.

Praying and singing to bring in the nights, the season, births and deaths;

Falling asleep to the murmur of loving voices in earnest discussion.

 

Life was meant to be lived with bare feet

Finding joy in the reaching, the grounding, the hurting;

Losing ourselves in the lung-fire of exertion

And the tingle of moving hands and feet through air, water, soil.

 

Life was meant to draw lines,

Time itself henna-ing our hands and decorating our faces with marks of wisdom.

Losing ourselves to love, those cycles of beginnings and endings;

Remembering the exhilaration of living, praying, singing.

 

Till, in the end, we fall asleep, 

Then awake renewed, 

To the murmur of loving voices

In earnest discussion

 

Heroes Needed

 Generation of Heroes

Some will call us Hero

Someday.

When facts be known,

Perspective gained.

When time smooths

Turbulence

Into

Wide-stroked narrative.

I know because

I know They knew.

From Their journals, I read:

Some will call us Hero.

For doing what was called for.

Holding to right… despite the cost.

In those days as well as ours

Crisis is only a mix of

Danger

And

Opportunity.

Opportunity for some to call us…

Hero.