Exhale

The Scene:

I was in a place I'd never been and as I was being shown around we came to a swimming pool...

The Conversation:

Host:
Here there is no need to breathe by inhaling and exhaling. You can, but you don't have to.
Like most new arrivals you are still breathing, but that's a matter of habit.

Me:
So this means we could go under water for?..

Host:
Correct, there would technically be no need to surface.  However,  a lot of people drown.

Me:
I don't understand.

Host:
Right now breathing is all you know, you've been doing it so much for so long.
Once you realise, really realise, you don't have to, you can stop, and you will.
Eventually breathing will require a conscious effort, and there will be times that you'll want to.

Attemping to be fully submerged for any given length of time is such a foreign concept, not being used to it can cause panic. The default mode kicks in and people start trying to breath again.

They wind up drowning.

End Scene

It's taken me weeks to find the lesson in this dream, but here's my take away:

Fully experiencing and enjoying the moments and people around, you by not doing what you don't have to, may be the very thing that keeps you alive.