Here’s a picture of our Morris team in Palo Alto near the fence of Gunn HS. The point is to notice the fence, not the team, though you are welcome to admire us as well.

This fence was covered with white paper onto which a group of people associated with the HS painted the blue lines, on Earth Day of this year. It’s a temporary installation that will move to a new home eventually. Danish artist Jeppe Hein created this activity, called Breathe With Me, which has been performed at various places around the world, to give people a chance to meet and breathe together as the pandemic lifts.

The actual painting was performed in a ritualistic manner. Each person first meditates briefly, inhales, then, while exhaling, paints one blue line in a single stroke from top to bottom without lifting the brush. This first line is for the well-being of the person painting. Then the same person repeats the process, painting a second blue line to the right of the first one. This second line is for the well-being of Earth.

In the case of Gunn HS, the ceremony corresponded with a somewhat abrupt back-to-school decision in Palo Alto, and was used to ease the transition from virtual to in-person schooling. Meeting outside the fence first and gathering in a thoughtful, ceremonial way was fear-reducing, especially for many of the teachers. Perhaps some students felt the same way, but in general I find young people are anxious to get back to living socially, whereas a high portion of adults are fearful about it.

Behind the HS property runs a wide bike trail which connects a quirky commercial area–think high-end ice cream–with a largish park. One serendipitous outcome of the project for many in the HS community was discovering that recreational area, which isn’t obvious if you are entering and leaving school via the front door.

I have been skeptical of activities that border on woo-woo for most of my life, and while I still dismiss many of them, I know longer feel that needing this sort of thing occasionally is a sign of weakness. I realize that most of us have been damaged by our toxic environment and isolating culture, and there is certainly no downside to standing outside and breathing with intent. In fact, between yoga and singing, I’ve becoming a regular practitioner of Breathwork, which was recently associated with improving results for long Covid patients, just the latest in its long list of benefits. Deep breathing outdoors even replenishes one’s microbiome, especially if done in a variety of ecosystems and altitudes.

We came out to dance on what would normally have been the May Fete at Bol Park, a regular gig for us in Palo Alto that was canceled in 2020 and again this summer. Dancing in honor of the goals of the Breathe With Me project–community building, supporting the environment, and re-connecting with the planet and each other–turned out to be a fun and fulfilling substitute.