When Breath Becomes Air
There are so many precious things in our lives,
yet too often we pass them by without recognizing their true worth.
Only after they are gone do we realize how precious they were,
and grieve what we have lost.
Health, family, love, and all the things that matter most
should never be taken for granted.
We should receive them with gratitude, cherish them,
and hold them close while they are still ours.
As Paul Kalanithi wrote in When Breath Becomes Air:
“The defining characteristic of the organism is striving.”
When Breath Becomes Air is the deeply moving memoir of Paul Kalanithi, a Stanford-trained neurosurgeon whose brilliant future seemed to lie before him when, at the age of thirty-six, he was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. He died the following year, at thirty-seven, leaving behind an extraordinary reflection on mortality, meaning, and what it means to truly live.
There are so many precious things in our lives.
The sky, the earth, the wind.
Family, love, friendship, health, and so much more.
Yet until we lose them, we often fail to understand just how precious they are—how miraculous it is simply to have them in our lives.
Life is not merely a matter of survival.
It is a search for meaning, and a practice of gratitude.
We should strive to live not simply to survive, but to discover meaning beyond survival. And while breath still fills our lungs, we should be grateful for the precious miracles that surround us each day.
Today’s Reflection
★ In the stillness of the early morning light, take a moment to write down, one by one, the things that are precious to you. May we not repeat the human folly of discovering the value of what we cherish only after it is gone. ★
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