PONDERING THE PURPOSE OF SLEEP

Greetings from the mountain top…

The guru two mountains over came to visit this morning and, as we watched the sun rise while enjoying a piping hot cup of mountain goat tea, we began discussing the purpose of sleep.

With a bevy of 20-something, wanna-be hippie chicks (currently from Craig) asleep on the floor of the man cave the discourse was either going to be about sleep or the various positions in which seven woman can…but, I digress.

Throughout my many lifetimes I’ve listened to those who bemoan the need for sleep or who crave it and look forward to it.  That those sleep-obsessed parties were unaware of the true purpose of sleep does not lessen the telling nature of their views.  Sleep, you see, is a preparatory activity for death and how one views sleep is a good indicator of how one views death (and life).

There are very few experiences which one cannot share with others–even relieving ones self can be shared (and some actually pay good money to, but again I digress).  Sleep and death, however, are solo activities which one must experience completely alone. Sleep prepares you for death although an argument can be made that death is actually sleeping to an obsessive level.

No matter how much you struggle you ultimately cannot avoid falling asleep anymore than you can you avoid dying.  Both can be delayed, both can be fought, both can be unwanted, but both–ultimately–win.  Make peace with sleep in order to make peace with your inevitable death, but avoid embracing sleep too often or too soon–you do not need to practice dying.

Good luck falling asleep tonight with that factoid rattling in your brain.

Peace out ya sleepy little freaks