as we get older, we wake up more in the middle of the night. this can be from worry, from light sleeping, from going to the bathroom. what happens next is trying to go back to sleep. this is when your original tiredness is gone and you now find it harder to go to sleep at 2,3,4,5am. you also start to think more and you start to worry about things in your life. this syncs with the feeling of uncertainty that happens very often in night time. night time is when the demons come out and prey on your usual insecurities. you sense of insecurity is heightened during night time. so when you wake up in the middle of the night and you can’t go back to sleep – this is phase 1 of going back to sleep. phase 1 is when your mind is racing and your insecurities are at a daily high level – much more than during the daytime. during phase 1, you are in a fight with yourself, with your insecurities, and with the clock. phase 2 kicks in after the 1st hour of being awake and this is a kinder phase – where you actually start to think about solutions to your problems. phase 3 is when your mind is getting tired again and try to go back to sleep. the 3 phases usually take 2 hours or less. what is key is that you recognize these 3 phases and you accept each phase as it comes to you in the middle of the night. if you understand these 3 phases and accept them, then you can actually wake up with some answers to your daily problems. remember – phase 1 – let your mind run and don’t get too discouraged with the insecurity onslaught. once you reach phase 2 – you are in the clear and can actually solve problems. for phase 3 – just settle back in and let your body disconnect from your mind – you will eventually fall asleep. i am still struggling with grasping these 3 phases but you can make progress and make the most out of these night time awakening scenarios – where they become more of an awakening in the metaphorical sense rather than a troubling experience of actually being awake in the middle of the night.
Month: May 2020
fight of your life
Life is exciting, life is exhilarating, life is a fight – especially when you are down and out – when the biggest recession of any lifetime has hit you hard – has hit everyone hard. Like millions everywhere – you have been laid off due to the covid virus recession – you are down to you last paycheck, you are waiting for unemployment payment relief, you have a limited supply of cash, you switch your healthcare to your spouse’s company because she still has a job (fingers crossed). Your debt is rising, you have cut costs the best you can – you haven’t told the kids so they don’t freak out. You are in the fight of your life – the biggest fight that you have ever been in – more than the great recession – more than all the various issues that you have fought through over your life and over the 20+ years of your marriage. You just want to survive for now – you need to find a way to push through – to find work – to reinvent yourself – to do whatever it takes to make it through this fight. You can do it – you have to do it – you can preserve the life that you have achieved – you can still hit your goals for the future. This is what life is all about – fighting through these times to make it to the other side – intact and maybe even better than before. You must wake up every day with a positive attitude – you must know that you are going to be OK – you must feel good about the future even though everything is crumbling around you. You must get through this fight of your life – you will get through this fight of your life – this is the big one that has been waiting for you. You will survive – you will thrive – you will be alive to look back and see that you won this fight. You want that feeling in the future – so you must get out of bed, you must put one foot in front of the other, you must try everything possible to survive and succeed at surviving. You will win this fight of your life, you will win.
only the music
we all grow up listening to our parent’s music – at least that is what we did in the last century. we still listen to that music – we listen to the old songs – the ones that were there before us or were there when we were young – driving around in the car with mom/dad – the music playing – we took it in without even thinking. we love this music now – especially as we get older. it takes us back to the days without worry or without a care – we see those old images in our mind – we see the old house – the old friends – the old neighborhood. it is so good – it is so true – it is so pure – it takes us away from all the troubles of today – all the bs stress of being an adult. as our parents pass away – all we have left to remember them and remember the times we had with them – when we were devoted, when we were not jaded, when we were innocent – all we have is the music – only the music.