What if this were your last breath?

What if this were your last breath?

I invite you to read that first line again and really, deeply FEEL it. 

This question is the name of a poem by Allie Michelle that I heard for the first time this week. When I heard this line, I stopped everything I was doing and took a breath. I slowly inhaled, felt the warm breath in my lungs and held it as if it were my last. Then I slowly surrendered my exhale. 

One thing struck me above all else during that breath: the exquisite preciousness of life.

We can only experience a moment once, and in that way it is as precious as a glass sculpture. It is totally unique. It can never be “gotten back”, but it can be experienced in all its depth of richness and vibrance. 

Our mace flow practice is an incredible opportunity to try to engage with this vibrance. We can only experience our mace flow practice in THIS moment, no other. Once we finish this unique mace flow practice, we will never have the same experience again. The next practice session will be different.

So drop in. Engage. Choose to be aware of what you are doing right now.

I often forget to be present with the unique experience at hand, but if I can return to my center, then I can appreciate the preciousness of the moment. And then something special happens:

I feel unconditional gratitude for the moment. Gratitude for the moment just existing.

As many of us experience this Thanksgiving weekend, let’s see if we can find gratitude for the uniqueness of the moment we are in. Gratitude for the precious moment we can only experience once.

And the next time you pick up your mace, ask yourself, what if this were my last mace flow practice? What if this were my last 360?

While this week’s Flow Friday is less tangible than the original blog I was writing about assessing and performing Arrows, I hope you found these words meaningful nonetheless!

I’m deeply grateful for everyone reading this and I wish you unconditional gratitude.

Carpe Diem,

Coach Lochlainn

P.S. This weeks video about an outstanding drill to develop functional bicep strength can be found here!