Four Pillows

I bought my forth pillow in less than 3 months yesterday.  No, I am not a Princess.  I have a neck problem.

If you've been following the blog, you know that the first pillow I purchased was too hard.  It was cheap.  Really cheap.  It had the same contours as the one I used at home.  But it was like a rock!  Within a week, I bought my second pillow.

The second pillow was priced middle of the road.  It was one of those memory foam ones.  I tried using it for a few weeks, waking several times each night.  It seemed the right amount of fluffy.  I dreamed of sleeping soundly on that wonderful pillow... but I was not having sweet dreams... I couldn't even sleep long enough to get to the dream state!  So I was off to purchase a third pillow.

I splurged on the third pillow.  I spent almost S$100 on it.  It was contoured with a lumpy top - the good kind of lumps.  It looked luxurious!  It had to be the right one - it was expensive!  I tried.  I really did.  For at least a month.  The pillow was too high.  Not contoured in the right places.  Terry to the rescue!  I started using his pillow, which he really loves, and he used my seemingly perfect pillow - but even he didn't find it facilitated a great night's sleep.

I was not sleeping.  My neck was in pain all the time.  I bought a forth pillow yesterday.  It's smaller.. my size.  It's contoured.  And its height is adustable!  I woke many times last night with my new pillow.... I'm hoping it's just an adjustment thing.

My four pillows are like the four pillars of our international move.

The pillow like home.  Making a home is important.  But trying to make our new home like "home" won't work.  We need to be open to new things and accepting to new ways of doing things. 

The dream (not) pillow.  Living here is fulfilling our dreams.  It's important to be realistic about the dreams.  Day to day life is still here.  Putting your dreams in perspective is important for preventing disappointment.  It's also important to re-evaluate your dreams and re-visit your purpose for the move.  And tweak along the way.

The luxurious, lumpy pillow.  Yin yang.  There cannot be complete strength, expansion, and brightness without some weak, contraction, and darkness.  And vice versa.  You may as well surrender to it.  You'll grow more if you do.

The adjustable pillow.  Adjustment.  It takes time.  But sometimes you need a little push... some self motivation... some nagging from your partner... a reminder from your daughter... support from your friends.  And all that is OK.  I'm grateful I have the opportunity to be self motivated, nagged, reminded, and supported.

A fifth pillar (who knows, I might need another pillow!)... be present.  Enjoy it now.  Take second chances when they're given.  My brother has a brain tumor.  He had treatment a year ago and today we learned the tumor is shrinking... it's dead.

Life here is good.  Life there is good.  Life is good.  Even with bad pillows.