How to wake up at 4am on a public holiday: I did it!
As promised, here are some tips on how to wake up at 4am to do volunteer work on a public holiday. Actually they are tips on how to do just about anything you set your heart on!:
[1] Eat light. Eat right. Eat slowly. Just had a light sandwich meal before bed. I mean when I left OmIm it was 11pm. There's nothing like indigestion to spoil your slumber party.
[2] Be patient. Just because you are in a hurry does not mean the whole world owes you one. As I waited for the cashier at Seven Eleven, everything that can go wrong went wrong. The cash machine went out of paper. The top flew off the machine as the cashier tried to sort out the machine. A part fell off and went missing when the cashier tried to stuff the new paper into the machine. The other staff was new and had just closed off accounts on the other machine. There was an impatient young lady behind me in the queue budging forwards and trying to get the price for a bottle of chilli sauce and to pay for it while all this is happening. So many potential triggers to have me fly off the handle. However, although I wanted to be out of there and into bed as soon as possible, I knew I had to remain calm. Focus on breathing. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. There is no need to dissipate precious energy being angry -- need that for the next day's work. I can also help the poor chap who was struggling with the machine to stay present by not having to deal with angry impatient customers and trying to sort out the machine as best as he can. He apologised for keeping me waiting when the machines were sorted out (they turned on the other machine again) but I said "it's ok. These things happen." Shit happens. Whether you are angry or not, you still gotta deal with the dirty job. ;-)
[3] Avoid the TV like a plague. Even a passing glimpse at the set can end up setting you back 5-10 minuntes -- and you realise that you've only been watching the commercials! My brother was watching TV when I came home. I made the mistake of trying to see what he was watching and ended up sitting there for longer that I really wanted to. What I really wanted is to get as much sleep as soon as I could! These tv guys are pros. They really know how to capture your attention and hold it. So beware! These machines are time zappers. If you treasure your life, avoid it as far as you can!!!
[4] DO YOGA. Helps me to drop right into sleep every single night. Ahhhh.
[5] Once you make a decision, never look back. I noticed throughout the whole attempt that at the back of my mind, a thought keeps tentatively poking out to try and mess around. "Why did I ever volunteer? 4am!? I could be sleeping soundly at home!" I just have to say back to it: "Hello, Miss Selfish Ego, sorry but we've heard your argument before. Unfortunately, your whining is not gonna change a thing. You see we have already made a decision to help others and while you may not like it, it will be a good thing to do and our Great Soul will very much appreciate it." ;-D Make a decision based on your conscience and never let your selfish desires disuade you...anytime after. Never make the same decision twice -- there is no time to waste in life doing this! I would rather be sleeping than having some pointless fantasy about how I can have more sleep if I faked some excuse about not being able to go volunteer at 6am. Realise that this is gonna be a constant process. As Miss Selfish Ego is very childish and sneaky and persuasive, so being very aware that this is happening helps. We need all our patience and determination to keep Miss Selfish Ego in check. The positive way to look at this is to see it as a challenge to hold your decision out. Thwart the ego! It felt good holding on to a decision you know is well made. This gave me positive waves of energy to prop me up standing for 4 hours manning the recycle bins in the early morning. This is how we save the earth afterall -- a little by little.
[6] Mediate...and be aware. After I finished my shift at 11am and had lunch, I went up to the mediation rooms at the monastery to meditate. There were about 4 other people there and we were all doing our own mediation. I recognised one of them as a volunteer on my shift but they were all strangers to me. The strange and beautiful thing about meditation is that it is easier to meditate when you are with others who are meditating. No one was giving instructions. No one moved. When I entered, I just went on one of the many neatly arranged cushions and just joined in. It was like entering a calm pool after having gone through the waterfall. I felt enveloped into the pool of quiet and concentration created by the other meditators. Although you can hear the announcements and festivities outside, we were very still. I watched the signs: that sense of almost falling asleep. . .then stilling yourself awake. . . and then you are in. I stayed there for what seems a long time. When I opened my eyes, it was only 20 minutes. I felt all the tiredness and sleepiness drop away. Funny, it was during the meditation talk later that I really nodded asleep. That's because I realised that I had gone for the same talk by this speaker before. My concentration wavered and the whole body failed. I saved my speaker and fellow participants from any distraction by deciding to leave then.
[1] Eat light. Eat right. Eat slowly. Just had a light sandwich meal before bed. I mean when I left OmIm it was 11pm. There's nothing like indigestion to spoil your slumber party.
[2] Be patient. Just because you are in a hurry does not mean the whole world owes you one. As I waited for the cashier at Seven Eleven, everything that can go wrong went wrong. The cash machine went out of paper. The top flew off the machine as the cashier tried to sort out the machine. A part fell off and went missing when the cashier tried to stuff the new paper into the machine. The other staff was new and had just closed off accounts on the other machine. There was an impatient young lady behind me in the queue budging forwards and trying to get the price for a bottle of chilli sauce and to pay for it while all this is happening. So many potential triggers to have me fly off the handle. However, although I wanted to be out of there and into bed as soon as possible, I knew I had to remain calm. Focus on breathing. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. There is no need to dissipate precious energy being angry -- need that for the next day's work. I can also help the poor chap who was struggling with the machine to stay present by not having to deal with angry impatient customers and trying to sort out the machine as best as he can. He apologised for keeping me waiting when the machines were sorted out (they turned on the other machine again) but I said "it's ok. These things happen." Shit happens. Whether you are angry or not, you still gotta deal with the dirty job. ;-)
[3] Avoid the TV like a plague. Even a passing glimpse at the set can end up setting you back 5-10 minuntes -- and you realise that you've only been watching the commercials! My brother was watching TV when I came home. I made the mistake of trying to see what he was watching and ended up sitting there for longer that I really wanted to. What I really wanted is to get as much sleep as soon as I could! These tv guys are pros. They really know how to capture your attention and hold it. So beware! These machines are time zappers. If you treasure your life, avoid it as far as you can!!!
[4] DO YOGA. Helps me to drop right into sleep every single night. Ahhhh.
[5] Once you make a decision, never look back. I noticed throughout the whole attempt that at the back of my mind, a thought keeps tentatively poking out to try and mess around. "Why did I ever volunteer? 4am!? I could be sleeping soundly at home!" I just have to say back to it: "Hello, Miss Selfish Ego, sorry but we've heard your argument before. Unfortunately, your whining is not gonna change a thing. You see we have already made a decision to help others and while you may not like it, it will be a good thing to do and our Great Soul will very much appreciate it." ;-D Make a decision based on your conscience and never let your selfish desires disuade you...anytime after. Never make the same decision twice -- there is no time to waste in life doing this! I would rather be sleeping than having some pointless fantasy about how I can have more sleep if I faked some excuse about not being able to go volunteer at 6am. Realise that this is gonna be a constant process. As Miss Selfish Ego is very childish and sneaky and persuasive, so being very aware that this is happening helps. We need all our patience and determination to keep Miss Selfish Ego in check. The positive way to look at this is to see it as a challenge to hold your decision out. Thwart the ego! It felt good holding on to a decision you know is well made. This gave me positive waves of energy to prop me up standing for 4 hours manning the recycle bins in the early morning. This is how we save the earth afterall -- a little by little.
[6] Mediate...and be aware. After I finished my shift at 11am and had lunch, I went up to the mediation rooms at the monastery to meditate. There were about 4 other people there and we were all doing our own mediation. I recognised one of them as a volunteer on my shift but they were all strangers to me. The strange and beautiful thing about meditation is that it is easier to meditate when you are with others who are meditating. No one was giving instructions. No one moved. When I entered, I just went on one of the many neatly arranged cushions and just joined in. It was like entering a calm pool after having gone through the waterfall. I felt enveloped into the pool of quiet and concentration created by the other meditators. Although you can hear the announcements and festivities outside, we were very still. I watched the signs: that sense of almost falling asleep. . .then stilling yourself awake. . . and then you are in. I stayed there for what seems a long time. When I opened my eyes, it was only 20 minutes. I felt all the tiredness and sleepiness drop away. Funny, it was during the meditation talk later that I really nodded asleep. That's because I realised that I had gone for the same talk by this speaker before. My concentration wavered and the whole body failed. I saved my speaker and fellow participants from any distraction by deciding to leave then.
