One Breath Away From Freedom…
I sat on the scooter with my friend Laura on the back, driving high speed through Denpasar, the main city of Bali. We were on the way to jail, where her fiancé – now husband – was held: James, also one of my closest friends.
James is a healer and has taught me a lot about Dr. David R. Hawkins’s Map of Consciousness and his research on human emotions. In other words, Laura and James aren’t only two of my closest friends, they are also teachers to me.
Between thousands of honking scooters, we found ourselves speeding through Denpasar’s extremely busy traffic. Luckily my first boyfriend was a local and taught me how to move through Bali’s traffic wild, safe and fast.
Halfway there, I notice my nervous system shutting down. Already 9 days have past since his arrest. In short, he’s an innocent man that grew up in a country ruled by a dictator, there’s only 2 countries left on this world like that, guess which one.
Laura and I, we knew the whole backstory and with that also knew the motivations behind this horror scenario. My friend and her fiancé walked the risk of extradition and minimum a decade in jail, in his country of origin, where torture isn’t uncommon.
Imagine the thoughts that were running through our mind, as we we restlessly working and fighting to find a way for his freedom. It seemed impossible at first, but with the help of an angel – also a lawyer – and a handful of close friends, we moved through that process, day by day and night by night.
I sat on the motorbike and noticed how the tears in my eyes made it hard to see. Still driving fast, because I knew that if we wouldn’t make it in time to that meeting, we might loose him.
The last time I felt such stress and anxiety was long ago. And never has it been related to such a nightmare scenario. The breakup from my first boyfriend, the one who taught me how to drive, was hard. But this was another level of horror.
The stoplight turned red. I kept driving. Another one red. We kept going.
Somewhere close to the location, I stopped. Laura simply hugged me and we sat there on the side of the road for a moment. After 1 hour flying through traffic.
Simultaneously we spoke the words: I need to take a breath.
We both have been breathwork and yoga practitioners for years, and therefore knew how much it can change to take a handful of the right breaths.
Inhale tender. Exhale slow. One more.
That was one of the moments I felt immense gratitude for all the teachings I have received, all the hours of breathing practice, meditation and yoga.
Every single moment on the mat has given us the wings to navigate this challenge, even though we didn’t know what ending the story would take. We managed to relax a bit and from that state find trust and hope, in an almost hopeless situation.
And all of the hours on the mat. They were just one breath away.
One breath is what it took for us to remember and connect.
One breath was what gave me the strength to keep driving, and one breath for her to stay hopeful that she’ll be able to hug her fiancé again.
The ending of the story was the one of a good thriller: Until the last minute we didn’t know what the outcome would be. And just as we thought it was over, freedom was given.
The coming days we went to the beach together again. We surfed together again. We laughed together again.
I am writing this, with tears of gratitude in my eyes, as a reminder that we are only one breath away from freedom. Always.
Keep breathing my friends. Stay dedicated to your practice.
Namaste,
Mo
