I’d give last night only 1 star, if I were asked to rate it. I guess I’m grateful I don’t have to write a review of a crappy night.
[No AI is used in writing or editing this blog. This is human content for human readers.]
The news is grim, and mostly outside my control, so I attempt to shrug off the worst of humanity: the genocides, the corruption of powerful people, war, the high cost of groceries and gas, and even general ignorance and incivility. None of that reaches me on the trail in the morning. I’m grateful to get a break from all that crap, even if only by being alone for awhile.
I slept badly. My sleep was poor and interrupted, broken into basically two hour chunks. That kind of shitty night does not result in adequate rest, at all. So… here I am, not well-rested, on a Thursday morning. A work day. This is less than ideal… but it could be worse.
… Later, I see the dentist 😆…
I get to my halfway point, fatigued and frustrated. The walking is an effort this morning. I feel as if I’m pulling myself along, while also pushing myself reluctantly down the trail. My boots feel heavy. I feel slow. I sit down on this bench, grateful it’s here. I look at the night sky. No moon. Few stars. The dismal darkness is already color shifting to something a bit more blue. Daybreak soon. G’damn I’m so tired.
Bad nights happen, eh?
I breathe, exhale, and relax. Meditation. Writing. Watching the darkness dissipate, becoming a new day. It’s a familiar routine, and in the familiarity, I find some comfort and a new beginning. Fatigue? More coffee! Stupid and a temporary solution at best. It’s not sustainable. Fortunately, it’s rare for me to have a profoundly poor night’s sleep these days, although they often cluster together. I stare at the peculiar predawn blue hue of the sky, no longer quite night, not yet day.
My mind wanders into the surreal space of a brief “micro sleep”. I don’t realize it until I shift abruptly back to being quite awake. My CPAP machine is quite effective, but its power to improve my sleep does not do anything to prevent me being wakened by my Traveling Partner’s own difficulty with sleeping. I sigh to myself.
… For an extra bit of “fun” (it wasn’t), I clumsily managed to toss my morning medications into the air with a twitch of my wrist. With the help of my headlamp I find most of them. The ones that have gone entirely missing, I have backups for. Not my first time at this. 😆
I’m still yawning when the first hint of the sunrise comes. I shrug to myself. Things could be worse. I’ll deal with it, with some patience and self-compassion – and a lot of coffee.
I sigh again, as I get to my feet. Blah blah, something about beginning again. 😆 I’ll do my best – that’s all I’ve got. I squint at the rising sun. This path won’t walk itself. Time to get on with it.
Evening Light 