breathe. feel. love. is a collection of poetry from the various pitstops in life’s journey. A collection of 80+ poems in English, Hindi, and Marathi, the writings are categorized into three namesake sections: breathe, feel, and love. To expect ourselves to process every aspect of our emotions is a tall order. If you have encountered an emotion that was novel or difficult to express, you may find that thought or two expressed here.

breathe.

Meditation on the breath is a meditation on the spirit, on the consciousness itself. In many spiritual traditions, the same word is used to describe breath and spirit. (Atman in Hinduism and Buddhism, Ruach in Judaism, Pneuma in ancient Greek religion, and Spiritus in ancient Roman religion). Poems in this section highlight the glimpses of mindful living amidst the day-to-day hustle, delving into the topics of self-exploration, perceptions, desires, gratitude, and non-duality.

feel.

Maya Angelou (1928-2014), an African- American poet, once said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said; people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” This section is the most diverse of the three, drawing inspiration from people, places, and contemporary events that evoked hard to forget feelings.

love.

What is true love? Eckhart Tolle says, “True love is transcendental. Without recognition of the formless within yourself, there can be no true transcendental love. If you cannot recognize the formless in yourself, you cannot recognize yourself in the other. The recognition of the other as yourself in essence – not the form – is true love…There may be substitutes, things that are called “love” but are not true love.” This section explores many different colors of love, from the true love built on essence to its substitutes based on form.