Your breath and your thoughts both occur without your awareness all day and all night. However, you have the ability to control them both when you want. That is about all you have the ability to control. And once you realize that your happiness, feelings of wholeness, worthiness, health, relationships, abundance, connection, emotions, power of manifesting, and perspective is all about your thoughts - then you see the importance of becoming aware of your thoughts. Meditation does just that. That is why meditating is so powerful.