the breath of life
That which one needs or depends upon for a healthy or fulfilled life. We cannot turn our backs on the scores of people being denied their freedom, for freedom is the breath of life—to deny someone freedom is to deny them life. Unfettered creativity and imagination is the breath of life to an artist of any medium.
the breath of life
a thing that someone needs or depends on. Breath of life is a biblical phrase: ‘And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life’ (Genesis 2:7).