I stumbled across some poems by Jane Kenyon (from a series entitled “Having it out with Melancholy”). I am having a running battle with melancholy these days and her words fit my mood. But this week I found this bit especially true:
4 OFTEN
Often I go to bed as soon after dinner
as seems adult
(I mean I try to wait for dark)
in order to push away
from the massive pain in sleep’s
frail wicker coracle.
Yes, yes, and yes!
Sleep has been very elusive recently…insomnia has moved in, and I am really so over it. But the more I fight it, the worse it seems to get. It is a vicious circle.
Speaking of melancholy, Michelle Obama’s podcast this week…wow! It has quickly become the best conversation in the entire week. I have written down so many things that I want to keep in the forefront of my meager, depressed, sleep-deprived brain. This one from Michele Norris was the best of the best: Don’t reach for normal, reach for better! YES! It is nice to know that my house is not the only one that is experiencing depression, concern, worry, stress… and the feeling that I just can’t take one more day of the ugly reality we live in…Thank you, Michelle for sharing so openly and honestly. I feel just a little bit less alone today.
If you, like me, have some niggling worries (okay, night terrors) about “what if” scenarios regarding the election not happening in November…this might allay your fears…it did mine a bit! (you will need to fast forward to 34:44 to listen to Teller – of Penn and Teller – give you the run down of what would happen if there are no elections in November…and it does not end with President Pelosi, just saying)
It should come as no surprise that I am in LOVE with Patrick Stewart’s Sonnet a Day and the sonnet from the 3rd was especially lovely:
Sonnet 102. #ASonnetADay pic.twitter.com/pF32pQz0K2
— Patrick Stewart (@SirPatStew) August 3, 2020
If you are on Twitter, he is an excellent follow!
Finally, in the anticipation category, Ali Smith’s Summer will be out soon! And I can hardly wait!
That is all I have for this week, have a good weekend and I will see you back here next week!
Well, you’re not alone! I am doing pretty much what Jane Kenyon wrote in “Often”, sometimes going to bed by 8:30, but this morning I was awake from 1-4:00 am. They are lonely and bleak hours. I haven’t listened to Michelle Obama’s latest podcast (I’ve been “saving” it for a time I can really listen) but she is always honest and I’m looking forward to it. Thanks for your Friday finds and I hope you find less melancholy, more peace, and some restful sleep this weekend,
So much here that makes my heart ache, Kat, It’s the trueness of the the words, I suppose…which IS poetry, after all… I am eager (to put it mildly) to get home to my faster and more reliable WiFi so that I can tune in to Michelle Obama’s podcast. And I hope you’re able to find some peaceful sleep…pronto.
I’m sorry you are having trouble sleeping, I’ll be praying for you!! I follow Patrick Stewart and he is delightful!
Oh Kat, I’m sorry for your insomnia (and for mine, and everyone else’s too) – it’s hard enough to deal with All This when we’re well-rested. There are still plenty of good things out there, and even things to look forward to. Thank goodness for coffee, Michelle Obama (podcasts in general), new books … and weekends! wishing you a good one, and a nap!
OH dear. Insomnia isn’t fun. I hope you sleep better this weekend. It’s just such an up and down time. I find I”m fine for a few days and then feel quite anxious about the state of the world. Thanks for the reminder about M. Obama’s podcast. I need to find this and listen. I loved her book – she read the audio!
You are definitely not alone! I’m not feeling the insomnia, but the melancholy is lurking. I’m working hard to fight it off because I know how completely it can take over if I let it!
I still haven’t listened to the Michelle Obama podcast, but I really want to. Especially if she’s being so candid about how things are in her home. Honesty is so important right now!
I hope you find ways to enjoy the weekend!
You are most definitely not alone. One of the main reasons I walk or run every day is that, in addition to wanting to keep my step streak alive, I find that getting physically exhausted helps me to get to sleep in spite of the “what ifs” that regularly go through my head. It doesn’t get rid of them, but it makes them easier to ignore because I just don’t have the energy to do it. I am not discounting, of course, the fact that I’m on an anti-anxiety medication as well. But in this crazy reality, everything to combat the anxiety helps, even if it’s not completely effective. I really hope that in a few months we’re looking forward to better days!
I am so sorry about your insomnia. Sleep deprivation is the worst. I read the transcript of what Teller said about the elections — it was so confusing that I refused to read it a second (or third or tenth) time. I shall leave it to the pundits and the courts to figure that out.