When I started this late last night, I was on the verge of falling asleep right on top of my keyboard. But the mind was racing 800mph (even with 'mother's little helper' kicking in) so what to do, what to do?
Write about it. What else?
Insomniacs the world over can identify with this issue. Good solid sleep has been replaced by "nocturnal awakenings" as one doctor described it (yeah, I wake up 10-15 times a night ~ same thing isn't it?) and sleep deprivation is used to torture people, so we all know what it does to your brain. Fried egg, once over.
If you DO manage to fall asleep, your dreams may include those scary little clay characters (think Saturday Night Live's 'Mr. Bill'......"oh noooooooooooo!") coming at you from all directions, distorted wee people who may resemble friends or members of your family.
"Oh noooooooooooo!" for SURE.
If not little clay creatures, you may get to see a million re-runs of your life, all presented in mysterious ways, and all for you to interpret. Is it day residue (something you heard or saw during the day and unknowingly 'recorded' in your mind) is it your subconscience desperately trying to send you a message, or is it more simple than that? Spicy food, eating too much before bed, stress...who knows?
My dreams have always been vivid, extremely detailed and bizarre. I even took a course, 'Dream Interpretation,' at NYU to see if I could figure out what the hell was going on inside my head when I was asleep. That's where I learned about 'day residue' so it did help to sort out the nonsense from the message.
I dream a lot about the past...so much so, that there are times when I wake up and think I'm actually in my old room as a teenager. I've read that if you dream about the past a lot, that means your spirit is longing to return to a simpler time, when life was sweet and uncomplicated as it can only be for a child.
How lovely it would be to dream about the happiest summer of your life, and then never wake up.
But that's a special kind of heaven, isn't it...?
To quote just part of Paul Williams' song (recorded by Frank Sinatra):
"Dream away child
Let your dreams run wild
Or a lifetime of worries
Might claim you
Dream away, child
Let your dreams run wild
Or the years
And the tears shed
Might tame you..."
