Choosing Happiness!

Ok so I couldn't for the life of me sleep today, my body was protesting too much... So I started counting up in my mind all the beautiful things in life that bring with them happiness, and it sort of turned into this.....



Frosted white windows and snowballs in winter
Freckles on noses all scrunched up in giggles
Wellington boots crunching crisp leaves of gold
These are a few of my favourite things

Dewdrops in meadows, magnificent forests
Friends who are soul mates, and carpets of bluebells
Brown paper packages tied up with string
These are a few of my favourite things.




Soft scents of jasmine and lilacs and roses
Great sprawling oak trees & tiny pink daisies
Freshly mown grass and the babbling of brooks
These are a few of my favourite things

Black and white photos and gorgeous high heels
Mountains and rivers and bees gently busy
Rainbows on waterfalls, shell covered beach
These are a few of my favourite things

Ice cream with pretzels, and faithful white westies
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favourite things

When the pain bites
Prejudice strikes
When I'm lonely or sad
I simply remember my favourite things,
And then I don't feel so bad!

We each have the power to choose how to view our lives, what to place the most importance on, whether we want to be happy or not.

It's more of a fight for some of us than others, perhaps, to choose happiness for our lives - but no matter how hard, it has more importance than almost anything we could do for ourselves and for those around us. I wonder how much better life could be for each of us if we chose to focus on the good (however small those things may be, especially for those of us living within four walls!) rather than the bad. How much better this world could be if more people could only learn to live that way.

Happiness doesn't always just happen. Sometimes we have to actively choose it, fight for it ... choose to see the beauty around us, and keep choosing it every single day, no matter how hard it sometimes gets!

"Dwell in Possibility..." Emily Dickinson

I'd love to hear your reply and I know it'll be valued by other readers too! I always try to respond, please just be aware that it can take me some time to find the energy to do so as I've been particularly ill recently and struggling to get online. Thanks for reading! :)

Choosing Happiness!

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An Ode To Insomnia

Why is it that when we most need to sleep, when not sleeping is going to make us sicker, that that's when Insomnia rears it's ugly head??!!??

I don't have anywhere near as much of a problem with Insomnia now as I did in the first few years after my relapse ... when I would rarely be able to sleep more than a few hours a night, and would regularly be awake for days at a time. But still, now, on the days when sleeping is most vital, it's like my brain has a hissy fit and refuses to play ball - just sits down in the middle of the court, folds it's arms, and sulks with a vengeance.



I'm trying hard to rest and recover from my visit to the dentist this week, my first outing in over 8 months - something I'll try to talk about over the next few days as I'm able - but my body's on high alert and my mind just won't stop buzzing - little wonder considering how much adrenaline seems to be rushing around my system, and how high my pulse is right now! The physical stress of leaving my bed, never mind the house, and undergoing painful dental work has left my body in a pretty bad way. My pain levels have been fairly stable for the last few months, but now they've suddenly kicked off again with a vengeance, and let me tell you, lying awake in mind-numbing pain is not my idea of a good time!! My M.E. is totally kicking my butt!!

All in all, I feel pretty frustrated right now, & I'm dreading trying to sleep today! I've set some essential oils burning to try to calm myself down physically before settling down to sleep (well, my carer has), hopefully that will help. And thank God for my sleeping tablets, Zolpidem, which not only make me sleepy but also go some way towards dulling the pain for a few hours so I can get to sleep initially, which is often my biggest issue.

I found this poem a while ago, by Liza Rosenberg and I find myself thinking of it now when I'm hit by a bout of insomnia - it always makes me smile because it's so me. :) I thought I'd share it with you guys too. Please do check out
her site, she has some really awesome poetry posted there. :)


Ode to Insomnia

Bleary-eyed and body weak
The lack of sleep begins to wreak
Havoc on my tired soul
Exhaustion starts to take its toll

I try to rid my mind of thought
But sadly it is all for naught
For slumber doesn’t want to come
Despite the brain and body numb

So I sit and try to write
Listening to sounds of night
Feeling just a little punchy
Damn it! Now I’ve got the munchies…


Posted With Permission. :)

Reader Questions : What do you guys do to beat Insomnia? How do you cope with the emotional side of not sleeping & the increased symptoms that causes?

I'd love to hear your reply and I know it'll be valued by other readers too! I always try to respond, please just be aware that it can take me some time to find the energy to do so as I've been particularly ill recently and struggling to get online. Thanks for reading! :)

An Ode To Insomnia

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