Catching Z's: Ramblings of the Sleep-Deprived

(i wrote the following for the community newsletter this week. just thought i'd share it here in my blog)

have you ever tried to stay awake for three consecutive days with only 6 hours' worth of sleep? i have. just recently, actually. and well.. it didn't exactly feel great :p

some people dread the nighttime. for most, the "witching hours" are unholy.. scary.. too quiet. as for me, well, i'm a night person. i prefer staying up late. i find i am most productive from 11pm to 2am. it is the time when i am able to write and compose my essays and other literary stuff. it is my "alone time" - where my only companions are my trusty zen micro and my beloved pc.

nighttime always had this appeal for me, even when i was much younger. back in high school, i remember i'd literally go sleepless for 36-48 hours straight.. just so i could read a good novel or study for a test. i loved the solitude and the quiet that i got when everyone else was asleep.

recently, though, the habitual sleep deprivation seems to be costing me. after a particularly busy weekend (mostly because of the upcat) with almost no sleep, i woke up on monday morning to a spinning room. i got up from bed and found that i couldn't even walk straight. haha.. i probably looked like someone with a bad hangover. minus the drinking :p

i wasn't able to go to work that day. i just stayed home and watched tv. and slept. and slept. and slept some more. it was as if i couldn't get my eyes to stay open. i was powerless to stop my brain from shutting down and dozing off.

and i guess the same can happen to our spiritual lives, if we're not careful. i mean, we can be so busy doing our daily routines - going to work, doing household chores, paying bills, even serving in church. and often we do not even take the time to pause.. to reflect on what we're doing. we are proud of our "dedication" and our "zeal".. and we forget (or sometimes even refuse) to take time out from the busyness of life.

but after some time, we find ourselves waking up with no enthusiasm.. no energy to finish the things we are tasked to do. everything becomes a burden. we experience burn-out. and we can't understand why.

"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God." Ex 20:8-10

this is more than just good advice. rest is, in fact, essential to our spiritual lives. we all need our Sabbaths. not only on sundays or weekends.. but everyday. to take time off from everything else. to refocus our spiritual eyes. to spend a little more time with our most passionate yet most patient Lover. without it, we cannot function the way we should. without rest.. without spending some quiet time with our Lord.. we are like mere robots. all work. no heart.

"And as I lay me down tonight, I closemy eyes, what a beautiful sight" (Sleeping to Dream)
hmm. He is a beautiful sight, indeed ü i think i'm going to start catching up on my "zzz's" from now on.. ü