Â鶹Éç

Over the last few days I’ve been feeling unwell, with aching limbs and a light intermittent fever. I’ve tried to rest as much as possible and fearing it may be symptoms of the coronavirus, have also become a little more conscious of my breathing - am I developing a dry cough or whether my chest feels tighter. It was one of the first things which struck me when I started reading about the virus, that many of those who ended up in hospital were there because they’d reached that dangerous stage where they were struggling to breathe.

We don’t think too much about our breathing because it’s the most natural thing we do, the most fundamental sign of life. It’s not till you see someone unable to breathe on their own that you appreciate the gift of natural breath. I realized this when around 23 years ago I sat at my mother’s hospital bedside during her last few days after she suffered a massive brain haemorrhage. As she lay there, helpless and crumpled in the layers of crispy white sheets, I knew that she would probably never breathe by herself again - yet at that point, I was just grateful that there was a ventilator which helped her – her body was still rising and falling and life was welcome in whatever form.

And when my eldest son was just under 2 years old, he was diagnosed with asthma - his persistent cough and the thought of possible long term reliance on steroids and inhalers alarmed me and became a turning point in our lives. As a family we encouraged the boys to be active in all kinds of sports including learning to swim well to strengthen their lungs; suddenly resilience and strength was as much about how well you could breathe as it was about healthy competition.

Breathing marks the beginning and the end of life. In the Qur’anic story of Adam’s creation, we are told that God perfects Adam by blowing into him of his divine breath. While this has been understood in various ways, there’s a sense that human beings share a unique relationship with God, a higher consciousness of right and wrong; we have something of the divine within us which can help us to reach the limits of selflessness and sacrifice for others. Perhaps we are seeing this already not only in those who are risking so much to keep society moving but also in the growing numbers of young people who simply want to volunteer and do something to help. So much of human life is about loss. And today as the race for ventilators is on, as families hear of their loved ones dying because of breathing complications, maybe all of us can appreciate a little more the gift that is the science and poetry of the human breath.

Show less