SLEEPLESS NIGHTS DON'T LAST LONG

Most people have probably experienced sleepless nights when they toss and turn, distressed amid life’s worries.

Some of you may be having restless nights at the moment. You lie awake in bed and gaze into the darkness, unable to get a wink of sleep as you wait for the day to dawn. Just as you are on the verge of dozing off, it is time to get up. You have to go to work, but you are in bad shape and in a bad mood, and feel distinctly unhappy. You have probably experienced this kind of a day.

How can you cope with a sleepless night? Usually the cause of loss of sleep is worry. For those who suffer sleepless nights, I would like to point out the following facts. First, sleepless nights do not continue for very long. No one ever has difficulty sleeping for as long as three or four years - it is only a temporary condition. Another fact is that your soul is being tempered at this time. What is important is the extent to which you forge and temper your soul to refine it at these times.

If you are constantly lying awake at night, instead of making any hasty decisions about what to do, you need to endure this time. There is a theory that in life, there are seven-year cycles. According to the Japanese statesman Katsu Kaishu (1823-1899), life cycles change every seven to ten years, so if you stand in the shade for ten years, you will eventually see the sun again. On the other hand, although the sun may be shining on you now, in another ten years you may experience the shade. The tides of destiny do not flow in the same direction for more than ten years.

This is quite possible. Just because the sun is not shining on you, there is very little to be gained by wailing, lamenting and complaining about it. People are calmly watching to see how you lead your life in the face of adversity. If you behave in the same way that people who suffer misfortune usually do, you will learn nothing from the experience and, as a result, others will not hold you in very high regard. How you lead your life when you are going through adversity is very important.

From "An Unshakable Mind" by Ryuho Okawa