During our early years, we are taught to crave sleep. I remember morning conversations with my high school acquaintances, “Hey. What’sup? How’s your day? How ya doin’?” And the answer is always, a pained yet resounding, “Tired.” I remember yawning at least thirty times an hour until about noon. Coffee wasn’t a thing for high-schoolers yet and we began class at 7:20am. Whatever we were supposed to be learning would just not enter my brain. Every minute was a struggle to keep my eyes from closing and my body from entering that amazingly numb warm hum state. Most rooms kept a chilly temperature of just above freezing to keep our bodies as rigidly awake as possible without becoming popsicles. But no cold could keep my mind vigilant. I think school gave me my best lessons in meditation. Always in that half asleep zone, my mind would wander into dream-like trances, where I could focus on my goals, and my issues seemed meaningless. I would see dancing colors pulse in my mind’s eye. Red to orange to yellow….. down the rainbow scale and back. Sometimes, I would pick a person’s head to stare at and practice how quickly I could see their aura. (This was also practiced at church every Sunday). I got very good at it.
Cut-to college years: I refused to schedule a class earlier that 11am. I finally had a choice….. kind of. Some core classes were only offered at 8am. AHHHH, not again! And the boring ones! So my meditations continued. But this time WE HAD COFFEE. Four more years of exhaustion, mixed with parties, all-night studying and painting, horrendously obnoxious roommates, and early mornings, and I had about HAD it. I graduated cum laude and on time, but the day after graduation, I went into a two year hibernation. I needed to account for those thousands of hours of missed sleep for the past 18 years … (because we took naps in preschool). When I awoke, the grandest and most beautiful adventure of my time on earth erupted. I had choices, I had energy, I had naps, I still had coffee, and I had time. Life began. School was just one big mediation session, preparing me to feel freedom full force. For everything else I should remember learning, there’s Google.
- Ay, there’s the rub.
Art on an Island 