I heard a news program on the radio last week that talked about the cycle of earthly things: rain, air, rocks. Things that have been present for thousand upon thousand years are still here in some form or another. For example, many stones washed upon the seashore have come from glacial boulders. Over time they have been churned up by the ocean and deposited on the shoreline. But the original form has been here for ions nonetheless.

The very air that Einstein, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Jefferson, Alexander the Great, (fill in any past figure from history) breathed is the same air that we do. The very air that Christ breathed is the same air that we do. To me that is astounding.

Makes me wonder if that fact alone would make me behave better?

Certainly we see the “Kate or Meghan effect” in the buying habits of their adoring public. According to British news, the Meghan effect results in brands she wears enjoying a thirty-five percent increase of desirability. The psychology is that if one purchases and wears the same thing, there is an affinity, a rapport, a vicarious feeling, a connection to the other.

I read an article where the author wore Meghan inspired clothes for a week. She didn’t have an epiphany but she did say that she was inspired to wear nicer, more presentable clothing and planned to do so in the future.

While it seems superficial, there is indication that people do behave differently depending upon their dress.

The idea of breathing in the same air that Christ breathed is one that makes me wonder- is there some type of effect to that? Will I become more compassionate? Loving?

Certainly the air quality has nothing to do with my level of compassion, understanding or love but being mindful of Christ “in me” certainly does. As I breathe in His air, do I take in His words, His guidance, His plans for my life? Do I breathe out His love, His compassion, His care for the world?

What about you? Have you ever thought of your place in the world in relationship to those who have gone before? To walk in the places those whom we admired walked? To hear the same rustling of the wind among the trees? To breathe the same air? Reminds me of old hymn:

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Fill me with life anew,
That I may love what Thou dost love,
And do what Thou wouldst do.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Until my heart is pure,
Until with Thee I will one will,
To do and to endure.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Till I am wholly Thine,
Until this earthly part of me
Glows with Thy fire divine.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
So shall I never die,
But live with Thee the perfect life
Of Thine eternity.

~Edwin Hatch