Sleepless nights
With the World Cup games happening in the middle of the night here in Australia………..there are lots of ‘bleary eyes” around today!
I, like millions others, sat up till 2am to watch the Socceroos play Brasil this morning. Come 4am, I dragged myself off to bed, disappointed at our loss, but not devastated…………we played well, but the luck wasn’t with us. That’s OK though, we’ve got a good chance against Croatia and the fact that we’re playing at all is something to celebrate!
As I lay in bed at 4.30am, exhausted, but unable to sleep, my mind wandered…………I started thinking about what other people are awake at this time of the night? Obviously, other soccer fans in the southern hemisphere, but who else?
I thought about people who were lying awake because they were worried and unable to sleep……………the people who are worried about not having enough money to pay their bills, the people who are worried about a son or daughter who is out late, the people who are worried about the security of their job, the people who are worried about a sick family member or friend, the people who are worried about their future, the people who are worried about their relationship………….the list goes on.
I thought about people who can’t sleep because they are sad or depressed. The people trying to come to terms with a loss………..an empty space in the bed where there used to lie someone they loved, the people struggling with the fear and anxiety of depression, the people battling physical pain due to illness or injury, the people feeling frightened because their nighttime hours are full of nightmares.
I thought about the people who cant sleep because they are cold, living on the streets or in refugee camps. The people who can’t sleep because they are hungry. The people who can’t sleep because bombs are ringing in their ears.
Thinking of all these sleepless people made me feel guilty and then I realised I shouldn’t feel guilty…………..I should feel GRATEFUL!
I snuggled down under my doona, with a full stomach, next to the man I love, in a warm house, in a peaceful country and reminded myself that the day to day things that keep me awake at night are so small in the big scheme of things…………they are not worth the energy I give them………………from now on I won’t let the negative things invade my peaceful thoughts…………..I’ll focus on how very lucky I am and be grateful.
It reminded me of something my Dad always used to say, “I used to complain because I had no shoes……….until I saw the man who had no feet”.
Sometimes we need to remember that man with no feet!