One Breath at a Time: A Story of Mindfulness and Resilience
Resilience is a quality that serves us well in all aspects of life. It enables us to navigate adversity, adapt to change, and recover — even grow — through life’s inevitable challenges. While resilience can be cultivated in many ways, including through modeling and lived experience, one powerful pathway is the practice of mindfulness.
This month, I have the pleasure of interviewing Jonathan Daniel Kruger Erbstein. I first met Jonathan when he was a law student at the University of Miami, where he earned his JD, MBA, and LLM. During his time there, he participated in the mindfulness program and served as president of the mindfulness student organization. In the years since his graduation, we have remained in close contact and have become good friends.
About five years ago, Jonathan was the victim of a random act of violence that left him with a catastrophic brain injury. He was not expected to survive. Yet Jonathan did survive, and he has gone on to thrive, defying all expectations except his own. While many factors contributed to his remarkable recovery and continued ability to live fully amid ongoing medical challenges — not least his generous and good-hearted nature, one practice Jonathan consistently credits as central to his healing is mindfulness.
Jonathan has recently released a book, The Light Lion and Love: A Mindful Journey of Transformation and Resilience, which chronicles his experience and distills powerful lessons about resilience, presence, and living with intention. Below are a handful of questions I asked Jonathan about his journey and what he wishes to share with others.
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Q: Jonathan, in your new book, you describe profound transformation. What was the most unexpected lesson that emerged for you through this journey?
Jonathan: One of the most unexpected lessons was realizing that strength does not come from control. Before my injury, I believed resilience meant pushing forward no matter what. After the accident, I learned truth comes from accepting life as it is. Whatever happens, happens, and the work is to meet and live the moment that is unfolding now. Whether it is comfortable or uncomfortable, clear or unclear, it is simply what is happening in this moment. This understanding allows me to chart a steadier path forward.
Q: Recovery is rarely linear. How did you work with frustration, fear, or uncertainty when progress felt slow or setbacks occurred?
Jonathan: Life is not linear. We exist in the present, and yet we carry memory, feeling, and sensation in the body from our past experiences. As my recovery unfolded, those layers began to surface more clearly as my awareness deepened. It can be uncomfortable when painful memories, feelings, and physical sensations arise, but they serve a purpose. They remind us that we are human, and they offer clues about what needs our attention.
What helped me was learning not to fight what appeared, and not to turn it into a story. I became careful with labels like “fear,” “uncertainty,” or “setback.” Those words can make an experience feel heavier than it needs to be, and they do not always serve healing. Instead, I learned to acknowledge the discomfort as part of growth.
Practically, in those moments, because I had been practicing mindfulness, I was able to become more aware of the discomfort without so much resistance. Rather than trying to push it away, I intentionally turned my attention to the breath and to the immediacy of the moment. When my attention rested on the sensations of breathing—sometimes also slowing it down—the fear began to release its grip. This created enough space for me to continue without being overwhelmed by what I remembered or feared.
Q: Mindfulness played a significant role in your recovery. Can you share how your mindfulness practice supported you during the most challenging moments of healing?
Jonathan: My understanding of mindfulness developed years into my recovery. Owing to the seriousness of my injuries, I was not consciously practicing mindfulness as a defined discipline. I was simply learning to stay with the present moment, because that was all I had access to. Over time, I came to understand that mindfulness is not separate from life itself; it is how we meet what is happening now. Even today, my relationship with mindfulness continues to evolve.
Q: Was there a moment when you realized you were no longer just surviving, but truly thriving again? What marked that shift?
Jonathan: The shift came when I truly understood that the past is the past. Memories can hold joy or difficulty, but they exist only as experiences arising in the present moment. When I stopped living inside what had happened and began fully inhabiting what was happening now, a change occurred. I could feel happiness, sadness, or anxiety without being pulled under by it, simply breathing with whatever arose and allowing it to pass. I believe this is available to all of us, whatever our circumstance.
In reality, we’re always in motion, sometimes feeling distress, sometimes feeling joy. What matters is meeting these moments with openness and authenticity. When I began living that way, one breath and one honest step at a time, a greater sense of aliveness returned.
Q: For readers facing their own adversity, whether physical, emotional, or professional, what do you hope they take away from your story?
Jonathan: The present moment is where your light shines; it is where you live. For years, I lived in the future, I chased the finish line, and replayed choices as if they were either blessings or regrets. In doing so, I became blind to what I already possessed and the deep knowing that it was enough. The shift came when I understood that there are no mistakes to erase. There are only steps that shape you, teach you, and guide you toward your purpose.
So, when adversity hits, come back to one breath and take life, one moment at a time. Release what does not serve you. Let the light in. The peace you are searching for is not somewhere ahead; it is within you, and it begins here.
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I have been inspired by Jonathan’s remarkable capacity to meet what life brings his way with presence, courage, and an open heart. I am deeply grateful to Jonathan for taking the time to share his experience and insights that we may carry forward into our own journeys.
If you are interested in reading Jonathan’s book, click here. Early in his recovery, Jonathan felt a spark of creativity that led him to paint, which he has kindled over the past five years. You can view his artwork by clicking here.
Scott Rogers
Scott Rogers, M.S., J.D., is a nationally recognized leader in the area of mindfulness in law and founded and directs the University of Miami School of Law’s Mindfulness in Law Program where he teaches mindful ethics, mindful leadership, mindfulness and negotiation, and mindfulness in law. He is the creator of Jurisight, one of the first CLE programs in the country to integrate mindfulness and neuroscience and conducts workshops and presentations on the role of mindfulness in legal education and across the legal profession. He is author of the recently released, The Mindful Law Student: A Mindfulness in Law Practice Guide, written for all audiences.
