Breathing Room

Breathing Room

We have a room for everything - eating, sleeping, watching TV - but we have no room for Mindfulness.

I recommend that we set up a small room in our homes and call it a 'Breathing Room', where we can be alone and practice just breathing and smiling, at least in difficult moments.

That little room should be regarded as an Embassy of the Kingdom of Peace. It should be respected, and not violated by anger, shouting, or things like that.  When a child is about to be shouted at, she can take refuge in that room. Neither the father nor the mother can shout at her anymore. She is safe within the grounds of the Embassy. Parents sometimes will need to take refuge in that room, also, to sit down, breathe, smile and restore themselves. Therefore, that room is for the benefit of the whole family.

I suggest that the breathing room be decorated very simply, and not too bright. You may want to have a small bell, one with a beautiful sound, a few cushions or chairs, and perhaps a vase of flowers to remind us of our true nature. You or your children can arrange flowers in mindfulness, smiling. Every time you feel a little upset, you know that the best thing to do is to go to that room, open the door slowly, sit down, invite the bell to sound - in my country we don't say 'strike' or 'hit' a bell - and begin to breathe.  The bell will help not only the person in the breathing room, but the others in the house as well.

I believe that every home should have one room for breathing. Simple practices like conscious breathing and smiling are very important. They can change our civilization.

--Thich Nhat Hanh