It's 3am and I'm wide awake. The mind is buzzing with random thoughts, sometimes of things long put off that need completion, sometimes of friends in far-off places, suddenly recalled in memories of a childhood that seems like only yesterday, then back to the present and things I did today. What makes us wake with a flood of thoughts spinning in our minds? Is there an 'off' button, or is sleep the 'off' button for the noise of daily living and the 'on' button for our memory bank? Perhaps this is the time when the mind has been stilled for long enough to bring important ideas to the surface - they are always lurking in the background, but can never make an appearance in the clutter of daily living. Sometimes these thoughts arrive in a dream - I know I have dreamt whole books! - but on waking, they disappear again, sometimes never to return, yet often recurring until you feel as though you are receiving a message but can't quite decode it.
A flick through social media will show you that many people are awake, thinking the same thoughts and wondering why it is that we have to wait till morning to act on these thoughts, and simply toss and turn until an alarm rings to tell us sleep time is officially over. Perhaps some of us are meant to work in the early hours and rest in the heat of the day? Seems sensible. We might be a lot less stressed if we didn't worry about being awake while everyone else is asleep. After all, every body runs on its own clock. But somehow I don't think the rest of the household would appreciate a burst of energy and a spot of vacuuming at 3.30. So it's a cup of tea, perhaps a sudoku and back to sleep.
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