Calming the Mind Chatter

      The time for sleep has come.  However, my mind is still buzzing.  After twelve hours of juggling appointments, writing, fielding phone calls and trying to make a prioritized to do list,  my brain is barreling full steam ahead.   It can be hard to turn off the monkey brain and shift into "at home" mode.  A hot bath and a cup of tea help.  My newest addition to the tea collection, Moonlight Lavender, is at least providing a lovely aroma for the mind chatter.  I have put on some relaxing music.  Mediation is often a helpful calming tool, but I think I am too far gone tonight.  Maybe reading my trashy novel might work. On second thought probably not, since it is a murder mystery.  I guess that means the next episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" on Netflix is not a good choice either.  Perhaps just  few minutes of deep breathing will do the trick.
   Everyone has routines they use to help them transition from one situation to the next.  They become so ingrained we often don't think about the morning cup of coffee on the way to work or the five o'clock news we listen to on the radio as we drive home.  Those rituals are important.  They ground us and center us.  They remind us where we are in the day.  We treasure them because we would miss them if they were gone. If they are left out of our day, then as my mother used to say, "Everything goes to hell in handbasket."
     Today my transition rituals need a boost.  I think I will try a spritz of my favorite perfume.  I can't wear it work because of other people's sensitivities, so I wear it to sleep.  It makes me smile even when I am dreaming.  Anne Lamott's  Plan B which is sitting on my bedside table might do the trick.  A good laugh and wonderful writing can't help but redirect the energy.   If none of those work, oh well, bring out the handbaskets!