I wake up in the middle of the night for different reasons. Sometimes it is due to sleep apnea, sometimes nature calls, sometimes I hear a bump in the night, and sometimes it is because I am thirsty. I don't like waking up in the middle of the night because it usually means I will have a hard time getting back to sleep and there is nothing I treasure more than a good night's rest.
But, there is something about the night time that I really like. It is called "peace".
There are other periods of peace that I like. When it snows so hard nobody can do anything and the world stops, it is peaceful. One of the only good things about this Coronavirus is that life is lot more peaceful. I have experienced peace on vacation only a couple of times in Greece.
I often think I could do better if I stayed up at night and slept in the daytime because for some reason the "sunlight hurts my eyes." Don't get me wrong, I love the outdoors, I love the sunshine and water. I love sunsets and sunrises, but I get really stressed in the daytime because of all that is going on everywhere.
I don't believe that the earth was designed for cities although there are many great things about cities and the ability to have the things that large cities have the ability to provide. Man wasn't created for this overly stimulated world. Humans aren't a product of the modern age but of the ages that made us who we really are, the natural way of living.
One of the biggest tragedies on earth is the conquering of the natural ways of living by civilization. I think of the Native Americans that inhabited this country and how they lived. They had their problems but they knew what those problems were and they accepted them for what they were...part of life. Then the Europeans came and brought civilization to them, and drove them out. Completely robbed of their existence and their right to live.
They had no insurance to pay, no mortgages, no taxes, no alimony or utility bills. They had to organize their shelter, grow and hunt for their food and care for their families. They had no Bibles to read or politics to worry them. It wasn't utopia, but it was real and simple.
Everyone wants freedom, right? Yet people do nothing but encumber themselves with things, duties, and responsibilities that serve the community around them because they have to pay for those things, like this computer! LOL!
Today the goal of freedom is achieved through organizing life so that at some point you earn money without having to go to work for it. I believe that nobody should have to work past the age of 65. But, everyone must have a way to earn more money in retirement than they earned while working, and have it grow. The idea behind social security, medicare, and pensions all support that idea that your reward for contributing to society during your life through your work, no matter what it is, should be a retirement without the worry of money.
Gathering moss is what life is all about and we spend all day everyday doing it. But at night, we sleep during the time of peace, and miss peace entirely.
We only have the moment. Our life's moments are in times of peace and in times of turmoil. Each moment tied together like links on a chain. That is our life line.
But the clock keeps ticking. The sunrise is eminent. The peace passes. As the day approaches and the light goes from grey to bright you feel the tension of the day bloom inside your soul and peace becomes only a memory. Time to deal with the crazies.
I know the practices of meditation, yoga, and serenity based mindsets. These are the only things that have ever brought me peace in life. Part of that is music of course, but music is my business so sometimes it is part of the crazy.
Life is like a battle. You must arm yourself before you enter it. The only real way to shield yourself from the insanity is to become what has been called an "Enlightened Warrior" where your weapons are not daggers, swords, and guns, but meditation, yoga (which is actually a form of martial arts and vice versa).
It is easier to have peace when the world is inactive, at night. We are never actually "Free." The only real chance at peace and freedom is when we master the art of serenity within as a daily practice, never mastering, but always entering into it with a beginner's mind.
The peace of night time is wonderful, wouldn't it be nice to have this all day long as well. It is possible, but you must prepare for battle.