Day 9 of 30: Essential for Life

A prompt on breathing freely by Dr. Colleen Farrell

Today’s prompt is from Dr. Colleen Farrell, who works in pulmonary and critical care at New York City’s Bellevue Hospital. We grew up in the same town in upstate New York and played in a youth orchestra together—I the double bass, she the violin. Colleen’s prompt is about something miraculous, something so essential, yet that we often taken for granted: breathing.

Below I’ve also included a link to her playing Amazing Grace at the memorial service of a nurse at Bellevue. As I rewatched the video, I thought about the millions who have died from covid-19. The poet Marie Howe told me in our September Studio Visit that to remember someone is to re-member them—to put them back together and to hold them within ourselves. May we remember them. May they be with us always.

Sending love,

Suleika

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Essential for Life by Dr. Colleen Farrell

Breathing is on my mind a lot lately. As a doctor caring for patients with COVID-19, every day I see people struggling to breathe. I witness how the virus prevents the oxygen in our air from being delivered to their bodies. My team and I do everything we can to help our patients breathe freely again. Sometimes those patients end up being one of our own. Just last week, we lost beloved nurse Ernesto DeLeon, who died here at Bellevue Hospital.

Breathing is central not just to our physical well being, but to our emotional and spiritual wellbeing. When we are scared, anxious, or stressed, our breaths become shallow and tight. 

Breathing connects us to nature. We take in the oxygen released from the trees and exhale carbon dioxide into the environment. The trees use that carbon dioxide to grow, and in turn, generate oxygen for us. Our breath connects us to our planet and to each other. 

Breathing is also a question of justice. In certain parts of the world, including within my city of New York, the air is polluted and suffocating. Eric Garner's final words, before he died in the hands of police, were "I can't breathe." To live freely, we must be able to breathe freely. 

Your prompt for today:
Because breathing is essential for life, it touches every part of our existence. What does it mean to you to breathe? When was the last time you really noticed your breath? What were you doing? Was there ever a time when you realized you had taken your breath for granted? 

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