Dare To Keep Breathing

I've been through the mill.  So have you.  So has she.  So has he.
I'm still here.
So are you.
So is she.
So is he.
You began the journey of life a long time ago.
Do you remember your beginning?
Have you decided when, and how, you will finish?
I've walked, and stumbled, and crawled through perilous, raging-white flame.
So have you.
So has she.
So has he.
We are still breathing, though I know breathing is more difficult for some.
What would you do, if one you loved couldn't breathe,
And you were given the chance to trade your breathing for theirs?
You would make the trade.  I know you would.  That is is what love is about.
How would you feel, knowing you had sacrificed your way of life
So that they could have their own life more abundantly?
How would you feel, in a hospital gown, with breathing tubes and IVs and
Monitoring equipment hooked up to your body, complete with beeping
And humming noises threatening your sanity with their repetition,
Knowing that your sacrifice has enabled someone's freedom?
How would you view yourself?
As a hero?
As a warrior?
As a golden-hearted miracle touching the lives of other miracles?
However you've suffered,
Whatever your personalized, soul-crushing fires have done to you,
Remember the things you have fought through and are fighting through.
Look at the real You.
The You that still fights on.
It doesn't matter what your chances are.
What matters is that you take your chances, and run with them
Or walk
Or crawl
Or sit in a bed hooked up to a breathing tube and IVs, and
Dare to keep breathing.

Adam Scott Campbell