Quotes have always fascinated me - they capture an idea that preserves the depth, yet articulates it in simplicity. Here's one that I've come across recently: "I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." — Nelson Mandela

In his book, Aurora, 17th Century Christian mystic Jacob Boehme differentiates the body and the soul as the body being from the elements and having “elemental food” while the soul has “its source from without, by and from the air. . . .” Just something to ponder as we breathe the air together.

Sam Kean’s book, Caesar’s Last Breath, says that with every deep breath, we are likely inhaling an atom from Julius Caesar’s final breath. There’s more: Since he breathed throughout his lifetime, we are probably taking in thousands of atoms and molecules that Caesar once breathed. At Christmas time, we might also note that we are taking in thousands of atoms once breathed by Jesus Christ! And everyone else! How’s that for connectedness?