Thursday 23 February 2012

Pep talk


If you have been waking at 4.30 am
and as a result are feeling rather zonked,
may I recommend the following tonic:


Dry roast a teaspoon of coriander seeds
with a teaspoon of cumin seeds
in a small metal pan.
Grind in a pestle and mortar
and inhale.
(No, not like snuff.)
So that it doesn't go to waste, add it to some pumpkin soup
which will be a necessary restorative later in the day
when you have no energy left for cooking.

Additionally you might plonk a vase of daffodils
in a sunny patch on the hall floor,
and take a photo of it
to admire when the sun has disappeared
and with it the remainder of your life force.


As a final fillip, order a packet of wildflower mix from
Sarah Raven and then when you waken at 4.30 the next day
imagine being lulled back to sleep
by the sound of humming insects and buzzing bees
in your two metre square meadow.

See also this interesting article suggested by Arthur Ransome.

13 comments:

  1. Sounds good to me... (I've been considering a wildflower meadow in a large plant pot/container due to the limited available space!)

    ReplyDelete
  2. The last few days I have been waking after two hours sleep so would think 4.30 a luxury. Why do you suppose this happens?

    ReplyDelete
  3. That's where my lifeforce is too: disappeared. The mist has been hanging over Galway for five days now and not even wildflower seeds will save me.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's a mystery. It's not as though it is even getting light then. I wake suddenly and irrevocably regardless of how late I go to bed. Very boring.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love the specificity of this. I think I should copy it and keep it close at hand. Is everyone an insomniac these days?

    ReplyDelete
  6. How I sympathise - it's debilitating, isn't it? Have you seen this article

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16964783

    which cheered me yesterday and made me review my nocturnal wakings.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What an interesting article. I had never heard of the first and second sleeps before. It would certainly help to be able to adopt a less anxious mindset about waking. The trouble is there isn't quite enough time to get back to sleep!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I do so agree about the daffodils, they just seem to glow with Spring time energy! I'm considering a wild flower pot as my garden and hens are not conducive to meadows...Jane x

    ReplyDelete
  9. I stopped minding the wakeful hours once I stopped having to go to work, seriously impaired in energy and brain power, the following day!

    What an interesting article.

    ReplyDelete
  10. it was a great TV series and made me want to sew some seeds straight away!
    xxx

    ReplyDelete
  11. I like the idea of the daffodils. That sounds about where my energy is right now!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm glad you found the article interesting, but I do know what you mean about finding the time for the second sleep - mine seems to come about 2pm these days which isn't quite what's required.

    ReplyDelete
  13. The daffodils seem to form a clock face.

    ReplyDelete