It gets me through the nights..

March 11, 2010

you know those nights I’m talking about. Those long, looong, LONG nights, when your restless mind just won’t let you keep your date with the Sandman. Or your restless heart won’t even let your uneasy mind take over, just for a break.

So, on those nights, I try a series of different tricks to help ease the jitter-bugs, soothe the savage beast within. Here’s my list of favorites.

Peter Murphy-If you haven’t heard me wax exuberantly here about Peter Murphy, then you don’t know me as well as you think. I adore his music, and listening to him can distract me long enough to realize my problems are just as meaningful as anyone else’s. And that he is human, really, just like me. and that, is a balm all by itself.

Hafiz-As shown in my post recently, poetry is excellent for the soul. I recommend it specifically right after dinner, and just before a long walk. Daniel Ladinsky’s translation has brought Hafiz back with faddish intensity, but it honestly is some great stuff. My other personal favorite is called Wow.

Hot baths-Now THIS is the nucleus, the center, the core of my relaxation techniques. I’m not always in the mood for one (hot summer nights on the 3rd floor is no time for a bath!) but 95% of the time, I am. No matter where I’ve lived, who I’ve lived with, how weak my body has been, or especially, how much money I’ve had, this luxurious me-time has a 100% sure proof guarantee.Sure, I would prefer a hot springs. Hell yes, I would love a massage. Yes, I want to get dressed up and go out with friends. But all of those things take $$, and if I don’t have it, a hot bath can still give me a sense of dignity, grace, fluidity, and open possibilities. Without Fail.

The Red Violin-We all have favorite movies. I’m famous for clocking tons of screen time when I need to battle some demons, deal with insomnia, or work through some issue. My favorites are TV shows on DVD. I can stop at any episode, and only eat up 40 minutes at a time, approximately. But this movie, is well worth the extra time. It lifts and bends the story like a bumping country road. there’s no huge crescendo at the end, no heroine to be saved.It’s the story of an origin and life of an object, a rare and caringly crafted red violin, that lived, truly lived, for more than 400 years. And the lives it touched along the way.

Counting change- This is a more obscure comfort, not well known among my friends.I don’t use it to relax as much as briefly cool my anger so I can focus it through to the resolution. It sharpens my mind, brings clarity. I tend to clean out my change purse every couple of nights, and throw the nickels, dimes and pennies in jar near the computer. My friend CTP graciously gave me a ton of those flat paper rolls for holding the change a while back, so besides counting it out, I package it as well. I’ve heard recently that the banks won’t take them like that anymore, but I don’t care. It’s currency, and plenty of places are happy to take a full roll, as long as it’s neatly put together.

These are all just means to an end. Sometimes, whatever I’m dealing with is bigger than all of these methods. Job stress, relationship stress, death, grief, friendship strain, worry, health, a hundred myriad things that just won’t take a backseat and let me unwind. But trying even one of these methods usually works, on some level.

What do you do?

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