I want to talk about sleep…or maybe lack of it. For one reason or another I have nights where I fall asleep just fine but then something wakes me up in the middle of the night and then, WAM, I’m awake. You too?….you are not alone (ask around)! The trick is how to get back to sleep. For me it is controlling the worries. What is it about the middle of the night that makes small problems, little nudgy worries, or things you forgot to do, feel exponentially BIGGER?
The picture on this blog is a greeting card I found with this caption on the front:
Who would want to live with some Crickets
in your room carousing loudly all night?
That is to say, either befriend all your thoughts,
party with them the best you can…. or toss the rascals out.
Hafiz
EXACTLY!! Toss the rascals out!! Do you have a trick to make that happen? One of my Forestry professors would go through the Latin names of trees. My mother will name the U.S. presidents in sequence (impressive, and something I’m ashamed to admit I can’t do). She will also name the states in alphabetical order. What else…..recite poetry; sing a song (quietly in your head of course); draw a picture in your head.
I calm my middle of the night worries by thinking of a project I’m working on and plan ahead. I focus on the colors I’ll be using. I go through the next steps in fine detail planning what materials I need to get, how I need to cut something or the hand stitches I will use. The forced focus on details fills the spaces in my brain squeezing out the worrisome thoughts. Before long I’m off to dreamland….
We all need that thing that helps us calmly focus and “toss the rascals out”!! What’s your trick to get you back to dreamland?
(Speaking of dreamland…check out my Dream Scapes on my projects page. I did these in 2013 originating from a stamp of a face invoking dreams of all kinds!)
Made with Stitches 