Sleep Walking

I know that every morning, at some point, we all wake up and get started with our day.

We awaken from sleep( and hopefully a good sleep) and we begin certain routines.........morning rituals if you will and for most of us they are the same day after day. Then our day begins, and once again for most of us, we go through the motions. Maybe we go to jobs, or we work from home, no matter what those motions involve pretty much the same activities on a day to day basis.

Many of us wonder, why we are bored, why we feel so empty, why we are depressed. Don't you think it may be time for us to wake up?????

It seems we exist many days on auto-pilot, knowing exactly how our days will start and end. It is not surprising then, that when life throws a curve ball, we lose it. Maybe the depression in this country is tied to our ambivalence. We eat the same food, listen to the same talk radio show, watch the same tv shows, complain about who's in office, judge each other, listen to the same music, the list goes on and on, and it's all the same day, day after day.

So what if tomorrow, when someone asks you how you 're doing, instead of starting the same old triad, pain, politics, everything that can possibly be wrong..........wake up. If it is a beautiful day say so, if things really are bad, instead of blaming, discuss honestly what is happening that is causing you so much grief.

I know we all love the familiar, but eat something new for breakfast. Don't listen to the news!

Listen to beautiful music. Take some deep breaths, and whisper a prayer of gratitude.

Look around and see if you can hear a bird sing. If someone cuts you off in traffic, send them a blessing instead of a curse.

When you start your day of work, instead of just doing what it takes to get by, do your best.

If you have some extra time, offer to help someone , kindness and service are great ways to feel awake. I think that numbness is epidemic in our world, and much of it we do to ourselves.

It is so easy to take a drink, swallow a pill, and not feel. Being awake takes effort, and it can be quite scary. When you are awake, you begin to see and feel, and that is not always pleasant.

When I was caring for my mom, I developed severe headaches, I knew it was stress, but I went to the doc, just to let Rick know that he would not be collecting insurance on me any time soon.

The first thing the doctor wanted to do, after he heard what was going on in my life, was to put me on antidepressants. I declined, and he was appalled. I tried to explain to him that I understood life was not one big party, that I believed we were here to experience and learn.

How could I do that if I could not feel? For me being able to feel, good or bad, happy or sad, was important, it is how I stay awake. This is my journey and I have to stay true.

Some days I find my self on auto-pilot, those are the days when I feel empty, those are the days that I begin to feel down. Thank goodness that I have people around who remind me to breathe, to meditate, to eat fresh food, and drink pure water, to wake up and see what is going on around me.

So, if you have found yourself sleepwalking lately, if you are moving through your days and they have become a blur......it is time to wake up. Take a mental health day, and go outside. Nature is a healing force, fresh air, sunshine, clouds, rain, wind, it is all good. Walk, we were meant to move, and as you walk, take in as much oxygen as you can, be greedy, it's free. You are worth more than fast food, you are worth a piece of fruit, a home cooked meal. You are worthy of seeing a beautiful flower and hearing the song of a bird. You are worthy of silence, and good conversation. Wake up, look around, it will all be gone before you know it, don't sleep through

the experience of being here.