If I had a dollar for every time I heard the words, “Mum, I can’t sleep!”, I would be able to finish work, buy a boat and sail the seas of the Caribbean!
My son went through many years of having trouble sleeping. It started just after his bullying experience began. When we were on a holiday in Queensland, he came to me late one night and said the magic words, “Mum, I can’t sleep!” I looked at his beautiful face and felt the frustration and helplessness that were so visible in his innocent eyes. He was looking at me to give him the answer, the magical words that would make all his fears go away. His eyes were pleading with me to help him free himself from this horrible beast that was taking over his thoughts and controlling his mind.
I took him to the window, which spanned the whole length and height of the room and I said, “Look out there honey, look at our world!” The lights were dancing on a beautiful night time canvas and oozed a sense of excitement and mystery. I said, “Look at how beautiful our world is! It is buzzing with life! Every single person out there has their story, just like you. Everyone has something to say and is experiencing life right now. Everyone has something different going on. Our world is so big and so exciting and so mysterious that when we look at it as a whole, our problems seem so little. Don’t get so caught up in your worries and your fears, that you forget to look past them and see the true beauty of life, the real meaning of why we are here. Life is precious, life is beautiful, life is so much more than worrying about things we have no control over. It’s about living, not only for tomorrow, but for now, right now. It’s about not holding back and making the most of every opportunity. It’s about being a part of a magical, mysterious, beautiful world, that holds no limitations for the believer. It’s about letting yourself go and appreciating every moment, big or small and living in that moment, but at the same time, enjoying the promise, the excitement and the mystery of tomorrow.” He looked at me with those big beautiful eyes, and gave me a hug.
Here’s hoping that my kids take in some of my ramblings, and believe in the promises that they hold. Let’s hope they can learn from my life lessons and apply them to their own lives. Let’s hope they can do this, do it well, and do it much better than I ever could.