My husband wakes up at much at the same time of day everyday--5:30 am. He wakes just before the alarm goes off. He claims it is because his body gets too sore from lying in bed , but I think it is because he hates the sound of the alarm clock.
I can pretty much only sleep about two hours at a time because my body, too , protests the constant pressure of being laid prone with joints unmoving and seemingly at rest, but in actuality in various states of seizure. Hence the pain of even turning over stirs one to awaken with a hesitancy and a certain dread caused by wondering which movement will lessen or worsen the condition.
The days when one could work and play for more hours than sleep have vanished as completely as my desire to do so. Those times of having to have the alarm clock placed inside a metal cooking pot set across the room so one would have to actually stand up and walk to stop the sound in order to become fully awakened are but a faded memory. What was I doing that I would be so absolutely exhausted that I wouldn't be able to wake up to a regular set alarm clock? If I recall correctly, it was the effect of the burning of the candle at both ends. Now that's a phrase seldom thought of and a concept even less seldom applied in this household for at least two decades.
Another guaranteed 'up and att'em' practice that circumvents the comparative gentleness of the clanging of any alarm clock is the tradition that was practiced in my family of origin by the early morning glass of water in the face. Now this wasn't an every day occurrence and in reality probably happened no more that two or three times to either myself or any of my siblings during our comparative short stay in the family home. I think it was the seemingly randomness of the act that made it so effective. The coldness and liquidity of the water certainly made it more memorable.
Now, it seems, one can be awakened by almost any sound, bell, musical selection,or song. One can even program the room's lighting to gradually brighten or fall as needed to fit the slumber needs of the individual. This compared to the abrupt flicking of the overhead ceiling bulb or the flipping up of the bedroom blind is , if one will please forgive me, like night and day.
It makes me wonder how did people actually know and have the motivation to get out of bed and prepare for the day's work before all the gadgetry and inventions of the modern world came to be? I think it probably had a lot to do with having to eat to live, and in order to do that, one had to get up and earn one's daily bread or salt as the case may dictate. In an agricultural setting , one has to variably go fetch or catch the food to be eaten, so sleep in that instance, is often regarded as a necessary inconvenience to ongoing survival-- more of a hindrance than a pleasure.
Gone are the days of working from daylight to dawn with the only pleasure being able to sit and eat three times a day. Gone is the simple satisfaction that comes from having the health to fulfill a day's labour. Gone are the reasons to feel genuinely fatigued enough to fall gratefully into bed and sleep the dreamless sleep of one satisfied with life. Gone, it seems too, is the motivation to leave that sleep to embrace the day.
And so with these thoughts in mind, I wish each and every one of us a night of worry free slumber that can only be a result of a day's toil full of heartfelt vigor and love of the activity performed. May the knowledge that whatever choices we made during the day that wanes, were made out of compassion, love , and understanding for the fellow creatures sharing our world. It is my wish that all our awakenings will be with ease and blessed with an optimism and confidence that whatever unfolds minute by minute, we will do our best to make it a day that will end in a welcome and deserved rest full of pleasant dreams of both the day to come and the day just passed.
I can pretty much only sleep about two hours at a time because my body, too , protests the constant pressure of being laid prone with joints unmoving and seemingly at rest, but in actuality in various states of seizure. Hence the pain of even turning over stirs one to awaken with a hesitancy and a certain dread caused by wondering which movement will lessen or worsen the condition.
The days when one could work and play for more hours than sleep have vanished as completely as my desire to do so. Those times of having to have the alarm clock placed inside a metal cooking pot set across the room so one would have to actually stand up and walk to stop the sound in order to become fully awakened are but a faded memory. What was I doing that I would be so absolutely exhausted that I wouldn't be able to wake up to a regular set alarm clock? If I recall correctly, it was the effect of the burning of the candle at both ends. Now that's a phrase seldom thought of and a concept even less seldom applied in this household for at least two decades.
Another guaranteed 'up and att'em' practice that circumvents the comparative gentleness of the clanging of any alarm clock is the tradition that was practiced in my family of origin by the early morning glass of water in the face. Now this wasn't an every day occurrence and in reality probably happened no more that two or three times to either myself or any of my siblings during our comparative short stay in the family home. I think it was the seemingly randomness of the act that made it so effective. The coldness and liquidity of the water certainly made it more memorable.
Now, it seems, one can be awakened by almost any sound, bell, musical selection,or song. One can even program the room's lighting to gradually brighten or fall as needed to fit the slumber needs of the individual. This compared to the abrupt flicking of the overhead ceiling bulb or the flipping up of the bedroom blind is , if one will please forgive me, like night and day.
It makes me wonder how did people actually know and have the motivation to get out of bed and prepare for the day's work before all the gadgetry and inventions of the modern world came to be? I think it probably had a lot to do with having to eat to live, and in order to do that, one had to get up and earn one's daily bread or salt as the case may dictate. In an agricultural setting , one has to variably go fetch or catch the food to be eaten, so sleep in that instance, is often regarded as a necessary inconvenience to ongoing survival-- more of a hindrance than a pleasure.
Gone are the days of working from daylight to dawn with the only pleasure being able to sit and eat three times a day. Gone is the simple satisfaction that comes from having the health to fulfill a day's labour. Gone are the reasons to feel genuinely fatigued enough to fall gratefully into bed and sleep the dreamless sleep of one satisfied with life. Gone, it seems too, is the motivation to leave that sleep to embrace the day.
And so with these thoughts in mind, I wish each and every one of us a night of worry free slumber that can only be a result of a day's toil full of heartfelt vigor and love of the activity performed. May the knowledge that whatever choices we made during the day that wanes, were made out of compassion, love , and understanding for the fellow creatures sharing our world. It is my wish that all our awakenings will be with ease and blessed with an optimism and confidence that whatever unfolds minute by minute, we will do our best to make it a day that will end in a welcome and deserved rest full of pleasant dreams of both the day to come and the day just passed.
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