ZZZZZZzzzzz......
Today I would like to rant a bit on one my favorite activities. This activity is common throughout the animal world, a favorite past time of household pets, college students, and the elderly. No, it's not dry humping or drinking milk, but rather that oh so essential act of sleeping. Yes, sleeping. I must confess, I am an addict.
Nothing starts off a good day like sleeping in. Just like the other millions of Americans who work for the weekend, I look forward to my weekend with joy simply because it is the two days of the week I can wake up whenever I so please. I can open my eyes, welcome the sunlight in and then shut them right back up and wander back off into dreamworld. So delightful.
Now, for all the well-to-doers and busybodies out there, the obvious argument is, "Isn't sleeping too much a waste of time and life?" or "You can sleep when you're dead". To that I rebutt: no, it's not a waste if it is something I love to do, and no, you don't sleep when you're dead, you're dead when you're dead. If I have something important to do or an event to attend, then of course I shall rise to the occasion and get my lazy ass out of bed. But if I have nothing really better to do, and a 6 foot horizontal slab of some sort is in immediate reach, you can believe that I will be sprawled out on it. Whether it be inside on the couch or outside on the hammock, I can be found with my feet up and head back.
What is it that draws me to this essential, yet basic 'activity'? Is it my raw laziness or lack of motivation and ambition? It very well could be. I would rather like to think of it as my type of meditation. It is an undervalued opportunity to be able to lie in silence/darkness and just think to yourself and reflect on the day's happenings are your own thoughts. Granted, this often leads to sleeping and dreaming, but I also find that I can remember my dreams far more lucidly in the afternoon than upon waking up in the morning. I am also a fan of the analyzation of my dreams, but that will be another post. A little self-reflection is good for anyone.
What brought this notion upon me was an incident in the lazy afternoon of yesterday. I was laying in bed after an early soccer game when my cat came in the room and laid down next to me. He immediately fell asleep as if it was exactly what he was supposed to do. I'm sure I have noticed it before, but that cat sleeps a lot. That is what cats do, I suppose. It got me to thinking, shouldn't we humans be indulging that urge to sleep a bit more? I know logistically this can't happen. Schedules are too full as is and everyone has someplace they have to be. I find it gravely unfortunate that we can, for the most part, no longer truly enjoy this simple pleasure. Alarm clocks, meetings, due-dates, deadlines; all these conventions pull us from our normal system of sleep.
It saddens me to think that as I get older and my responsibilities increase, to my family, my career, as well as to myself, my opportunties to loll in relaxation will continually decrease. My need to be awake and attentive will overwhelm my ability to rest and reflect. Sleeping is such a simple pleasure, healer of wounds and pain, soothing agent, time for peace, re-energizer, and something no one can live without. In a world that is always on the go, it seems the pr0-sleeper such as myself is looked at in a negative sense. My guess to this view is that it's hard to make money while you're sleeping. An unfortunate result of capitalism, to say the least.
Look, I'm not bashing capitalism or ambition or active people, as people do what they must and that's their choice. My recommendation, however would be to live like my cat for a day; do what you got to do, but take a nap when you feel like it, embrace sleep like it is eating, when you feel like it, do it. See if you feel better, take some time for yourself, enjoy your pillow. Actually, that sound like a good idea...
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