Sleep

The inspiration for this poem…

Sleep is a big deal. We take it for granted if it comes easily, but when it doesn’t we sure do miss it. There came a time in my life when not only did I miss it, I began to fantasize in the day about it like a starved person dreams of mountains of steaming food. For years I had beautiful colorful dreams I could no longer conjure up. Between work, family, healing, and life in all its specifics I became an involuntary member of the insomniacs club. Over the course of many years I found myself referred to a “sleep doctor”. He promptly referred me to a sleep therapist, but they were booked up all over town. So, I found myself in a packed room with a ragtag group of those weary from PTSD, many older men with sleep apnea stepping over quite a few emotional support animals, along many other tired people for many tired reasons. I did not know at the time that I was suffering from both PTSD and sleep apnea myself as I felt those were not things that could ever touch me. With that tired crowd I learned how to deal with many things in my waking hours that would help satisfy this deep longing for my long lost friend, but not before this poem arrived. One of the best gifts this poem gave was a sense of playfulness around a topic that became filled with frustration and downright anger at times. It helped me lighten up at when I just couldn’t seem to give in to the dark. Ultimately that led to learning how to relax more fully, which certainly helped me sleep! Just knowing how much company I had also helped…

Writing/Meditation Prompts:

• What keeps you up at night? What wakes you up in the dark and won’t let you go back to sleep?

  Note: It’s not always a deep dark thing…sometimes for me it was worrying if I had enough popsicle sticks for the art project at school!

• Do you have enough waking hours to process all that you are juggling (even if it’s just lining up your popsicle sticks…)?

• Can you take what’s eating at you and give it another identity (i.e. sweet syrup, an illusive friend or enemy, a mountain of cake…)?

• Play around with your frustrations, it can can help open doors to new possibilities for solutions you may not have ever before entertained.