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Late last night I curled up in bed with a book trying to finish the last few pages, when unusually for me my eyes kept shutting on their own accord and no matter how hard I tried to keep them open, they would not budge.

When I finally gave in and let myself drift off into dreamland I couldn’t help but wonder about how the papery thin bits of skin that fold over your eyes can feel like the heaviest things in the world. As sleep is so important for our well-being it probably is a  good thing that our eyelids shut and won’t be pried open when we are in need of a few hours shut-eye, but what about all the other lids in the world?

Lids on jam, pickles and relish should give a distinct pop when you open them for the first time, letting you know what is inside the glass is untainted and ready to eat. Getting said lid of your preserves may be a little tricky at first but then that is what men and jar openers are for.

Then there are all the lids we keep on our emotions, sometimes, good sometimes bad. Anger shouldn’t be preserved and bottled up forever but letting it out all the time isn’t a good idea either, just lift the lid in the appropriate moments and let the anger out, in a controlled way, before it boils over. Keeping a lid on stress can lead to physical pain like tummy ulcers, hives and tension, so it is better to make sure the lid is lifted and the goods are aired before they literally turn into a pain in the neck.

We often hide away our inner-most thoughts and feeling in the back of our emotional larder, sealing the jars and containers airtight, sometimes forgetting to label them and hoping they will keep. But as any good therapist will tell you it is better to get out that tin-opener and take a good look at what is inside, because often the picture on the lid doesn’t really match the contents and the sell-by date could be long passed so it would be better to throw them out.

It does seem a little ironic that men are good at opening jars but most find it easier to keep a firm lid on emotions and thoughts. They may feel more in control by letting their partner guess what they want or need, or maybe they just have never lernt how to put emotions into words. Unlike women who tend to keep petty annoyances bottled up and stored on the vanity table in an attempt to foster closeness. Both aren’t good tactics as silence can lead to depression and isolation, two jars on a shelf standing together but each completely in vacuum.

So as I unscrew the lid off my home-made jam (nektarine and peach) and spread the preserve on my rye bread I can’t wait to see what other lids I will pop today and which contents spill out. Because as industrialist Henry J. Kaiser said so eloquently

You can’t sit on the lid of progress. If you do, you will be blown to pieces.