My Gen X Playlist: I Can See Clearly Now – Jimmy Cliff

Throughout my adult life, I’ve struggled with bouts of insomnia. Fortunately, these aren’t every night occurrences, but at times can stretch out a few nights in a row. There are two types that I encounter. The first is waking up at 3 am and unable to fall back asleep. This usually is driven by stress from work with my mind unable to unwind. I usually end up getting up in the middle of the night and having an earlier start to my day. By the end of the week, the long hours and lack of sleep catch up to me and I crash for most of the weekend.

The second type is a little more difficult. I lie in bed replaying moments or words that I’ve said during the day. As a perfectionist that leans introverted, this combination can be challenging. Logically, I realize I’m probably blowing things out of proportion, but I am unable to subdue my thoughts and the loop of images and words wins. I find this type of insomnia more difficult because I am unable to lower the volume in my head. I usually put on ear pods and a podcast in an attempt to distract myself and eventually fall asleep. The next morning, my eyes open and the loop in my head is gone and I feel normal again. Jimmy Cliff covered Johnny Nash’s I Can see Clearly Now for the movie Cool Runnings. The lyrics from this song are fitting for these mornings.

Oh, yes I can make it now that the pain is gone. All of the bad feelings have disappeared. Here is that rainbow I’ve been praying for. It’s going to be a bright bright sunshiny day

I can’t say that this is my favorite time of the day, but I can say that I appreciate waking up to this moment of normalcy, having made it through the night. Oddly enough, I don’t wake up to a sense of relief that might be expected. In the morning, the weight is lifted and I’m back to being me. I shower, shave, savor a cup of coffee and my day begins anew without a hint of the night before. I know this is a good thing, this process of suffering and letting go. It’s not fun, but I’ve accepted life is full of trade offs and I’ll have to endure a few sleepless hours to receive this morning rainbow. This is not an exact match to today’s prompt, just something that bubbled up and now spilling onto the page. It’s close enough for now.

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For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

I can see clearly now the rain is gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind

It's gonna be a bright (bright)
Bright (bright) sunshiny day
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
Bright (bright) sunshiny day

Oh, yes I can make it now the pain is gone
All of the bad feelings have disappeared
Here is that rainbow I've been praying for

It's gonna be a bright (bright)
Bright (bright) sunshiny day

Look all around, there's nothing but blue skies
Look straight ahead, there's nothing but blue skies

I can see clearly now the rain is gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Here is that rainbow I've been praying for

It's gonna be a bright (bright)
Bright (bright) sunshiny day
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
Bright (bright) sunshiny day

Bright (bright)
Bright (bright) sunshiny day
It's gonna be a bright (bright) bright (bright)
Sunshiny day
It's gonna be a bright (bright) bright (bright)
Sunshiny day

Bright (bright)
Bright (bright) sunshiny day
It's gonna be a bright (bright) so bright (bright)
Sunshiny day
It's gonna be a bright (bright) bright (bright)
Sunshiny day