I changed my attitude and everything in my life was impacted.

The sun was hot and the air was thick as I pressed the crosswalk button. I caught a glimpse of myself in the storefront window, and the “Censor” (which is what I call the negative, angry and highly critical voice in my head) began clamoring on about how terrible my dress fit me these days.

As soon as I recognized that I was allowing the Censor to take up space in my mind, I forced my eyes upward to the sky. With great effort and intense focus, I forced my attention to my breath.

Breathe in…one, two, three, four.

Hold…one, two, three, four.

Breathe out…one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

Repeat.

Feeling like I was living out a scene in a movie, it suddenly felt like the entire world stopped. The street noise seemed to fade away as did the criticizing thoughts of the Censor. During that moment, I was aware of only my breath and the brilliance of the wide open blue sky above me.