#1258 theoldmortuary ponders.

See *

If you had to give one life-changing tip, what would it be?

My life-changing tip is not a quick fix and may not even change lives but the tip does enhance life and that in itself changes everything.

Live life as it is, and not as you hoped or expected it to be.

Don’t dwell on what isn’t but embrace what is.

I have to say this seems glib and simplistic when written down.

My own regular insomniac relationship with 3:30 a.m suggests that my head does not always find my own tip easy to put into practice . But even if I have to force my own theory on my chaotic over- busy mind at times. I know my head and heart benefit in the long run.

And Oh My Goodness! The mental long run can often be an exceedingly long run, arduous and exhausting.

But living life as it is , is as good a survival tool as a tin of Brown Kendal Mint Cake.

*I am a sucker for a retro branded tin. This one fell into my shopping  yesterday. When I was young our family holidays always involved long walks, scrambling over or up rough terrain and admiring the landscape. The only safety equipment was some water and Brown Kendal Mint cake.And my mum left somewhere nearby reading a book. Mini me thought I was conquering Everest. That was unlikely as our holidays were always in the U.K. Non holiday adventures requiring Mint Cake took place in Essex or Suffolk. No dizzy heights in either place.

50 years since Brown Kendal Mint Cake has passed my lips. It will find a way into my life as it is, but only tiny little pieces occasionally. It really is possible to have too much of a good thing. Bigger bits may be allowed if I have to consider things of Everest proportions during my 3:00a.m tribulations.

#1394 theoldmortuary ponders.

If you didn’t need sleep, what would you do with all the extra time?

What a perfect prompt for this morning. My head has had a very busy night whilst I slept on.

I have a fair bit of experiencing no sleep. Night shifts, 24 hour shifts and a head that gifts me insomnia when times are tricky. Hence the swan images. I am pretty good at appearing to float calmly while life throws me curve balls and incendiary devices. Under the surface though I am paddling furiously and not always in the right direction.

My head is a bit busy right now but I am sleeping well. But my dream world is very creative. Writing an in depth blog overnight that in dream world was rather good, in my opinion, but that I have no recollection of the details. In another remembered dream loads of paintings in shades of orange.

This more or less accurately answers the question. In a world where I didn’t need sleep I would be more creative.

But we all need sleep and a lack of sleep absolutely affects how creative I can be. However if the streets at night were safe for women I would walk more. Night walks in central London gave me some of the best experiences of walking  through famous and architecturally beautiful streets without crowds. I felt safe in a way I could never feel in a provincial city or in the countryside.

So that just leaves me reading and nibbling. Great for knowledge, not so good for the waistline.