12/12/2019

A Story of Sleeplessness

Recently, many friends shared with me on their struggle with their chronic sleeping disorder (at least for two weeks). Week after week, most of my patients come to me for treatment for their various physical pain, and I only found out that most of them also have problems with either falling or staying asleep at night. Many clinical conditions such as ‘the post Menopause syndrome,’ or the ‘Endocrine disorder,’ and so forth would affect our sleep. No one would be able to rest well if they suffered from any form of physical pain. 

Empirically, a TCM physician, can treat clinical pain condition along with the sleeping order. So, before I start the acupuncture, I would ask patients that ‘there is anything that bothering you?’. People seem to have tongue tight to answer my question for my Insomniac diagnosis, but they knew what is bothering them emotionally. Before scientific finding confirms the root cause of the Insomnia, people would accept emotional disorder could be one of the reasons for Insomnia. I would share a story as below to help people to evaluate their emotional state and also let’s see what ‘THE GREAT BOOK’ has to say about it. 

The Story

There is an old blacksmith who lives in an old part of town. As no one wouldn’t come to his shop for custom ironware, so he sold iron axes, iron pots and a few other iron products in his old blacksmith shop. He sits near the doorway, and he put all of his iron goods outside the door. He didn’t bother to close the door at night. Business was not good or bad; he earned enough to get by. Most importantly, he led on an undisturbed life. 

When people walk by the old blacksmiths’ door, they will see the old blacksmiths lying vivaciously on his bamboo chair with a radio in his hand and a purple teapot on a small wooden table next to him. One day, an antique dealer passed by the old street and spotted the purple sand kettle next to the blacksmith. He carefully examined it and decided that a famous maker made it in the Qing Dynasty. The dealer immediately made an offer of 100,000 yuan wanted to buy the sand teapot. 

The old blacksmith was stunned and then turned down the offer, for his grandfather had left the pot. The three-generation of their grandfather drank from this pot, but after the dealer left, the old blacksmith lost sleep for the first time in his life. He had used the teapot for sixty years and had considered it was an ordinary teapot, and now someone wanted to buy it with a hundred thousand dollars. 

He used to lie in his chair, and drink his tea, and put the pot on the table with his eyes closed and now he would sit up and see if the pot is still there. It makes him very scratchy and restless. What is more intolerable is that when the town know that he had an expensive antique teapot, they asked if there were other treasures in the shop. Some people even wanted to borrow money from him. Soon, then  the antique dealer paid him another visit and offered 200,000 and more on open negotiation, for his teapot.

Immediately, the poor old blacksmith’s life turned upside down, and not only he couldn’t sit still during the day, but also had a problem to sleep at night. He finally called in a crowd neighbour, took the hammer and smashed the purple teapot to pieces in front of the crowd. Finally, the old blacksmith’s day gradually calmed down, and gone back to sell his iron wares, lying down in his bamboo chair listening to the radio and drinking his tea. No more sleepless nights, the End

I have to admit it  honestly, that I admired the old blacksmith’s courageous move to smash the teapot. Can we conclude from the story than what falls on the ground was not all the broken pieces of the antique teapot, but the endless contemplation of greed, desires and infatuation? We easily allow situations or people in the world to rob off our joy and peace that usually results in sleep deprivation, knowing that not sleeping well and not sleeping enough whatever the reason, will affect our health and a general sense of well-being.

This year, I had a chance to study the life of King David in the Old Testament of the Bible. I concurrently study the book of Psalms that gives evidence of him as the man who after God’s own  heart. When he fled from his son Absalom, he openly articulates how his anxiety that affects his sleep while full confidence in the Lord for untroubled rest, even during his trying period;

Psalm 6: 7-8 JPS

I am weary with groaning; every night I drench my bed, I melt my couch with tears. My eyes are wasted by vexation, worn out because of all my foes.

Psalm 3: 6

I lie down and sleep and wake again, for the LORD sustains me.

Psalm 4:9

Safe and sound, I lie down and sleep, for YOU alone, O LORD, keep me secure.