Insomnia Post #2

To be clear, I currently don't have insomnia, rather the opposite. I've decided my body needs to crash and recover after the incredibly long divorce ordeal. We don't realize the toll that enduring and functioning in a state of constant stress takes on the body. It's my only explanation for the incredible tiredness taking over my body. I've been sleeping between 14 and 18 hours a day. This may not be the reason, but it seems very plausible to me. Maybe it's like being in a five year fight and having it finally end. Every fiber of your being is exhausted and shuts down to recover.

At first I felt guilty for being so "lazy", but then I decided to be gracious, forgiving my self for the harsh judgement and just give in to what was needed. Mental and emotional stress can be just as damaging as physical exertion on the body. The same applies to verbal and emotional abuse which can be just as harmful as physical abuse and in some cases more so. Several books I picked up over the years have helped me understand this topic more, one specifically good one is "The Verbally Abusive Relationship" by Patricia Evans.

A couple of days ago I ran across this article on happiness at Yahoo's Shine which was very interesting. It's by Gretchen Rubin who also wrote the book, "The Happiness Project". I have no affiliation with her or the publisher, I just thought the article complimented what I've been feeling of late and that some of you may enjoy reading it. In the article, she writes, "According to my ground-breaking happiness formula, to be happy, you need to think about feeling good, feeling bad, and feeling right, in an atmosphere of growth. What’s dragging you down? Is it a lack of fun, of connection? Do you feel a lot of guilt, boredom, or anger? Do you feel that something’s “not right” about your life? Do you feel stagnant or stuck? Focus your efforts on the choices that will do the most to address what’s not working in your life."

She goes on in the article to list a menu of choices to right yourself and the boat called your life. It begins with Friends and goes on to Fun, Challenge, Do good, feel good, Energy, Order, Guilt, Nagging tasks, Good citizen and Gratitude. The list can serve as a jumping off point for improving one's life and happiness. I've read and re-read the article four times now and it's serving to remind me of a number of things, like be kinder to myself, be grateful for what I have, try to tackle things that keep order out of my life and that "less is more" also per Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.


It's not anything new or earth-shattering, but it rounds up a lot of ideas we've all read about  into one place for an overall picture of achieving happiness in the short span of time we have on this planet. For more information about Gretchen Rubin, you can check out her blog on Shine.


On a different but similar note, I don't often check stats for this blog since it's written for me and if other people enjoy it or find something of help/interest in it, then all the better. But I checked earlier today and I had an inordinate number of views for "One Simple Post". Now, I don't really recall what I wrote on April 9 of this year so I looked it up. I discovered what made that post special and stuck a chord with people, it was K. D. Lang's performance of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. It's an extremely moving piece done with great inspiration by Ms. Lang. So I wound up viewing it again on You Tube several times. I find a great deal of peace in it though I have no idea why. It's just very moving.