There are a lot of things that keep us up at night. Children are notorious for interrupting a good night's sleep. From those challenging early weeks when sleep merely taunts you between feedings, to nights sitting up with sick kids or snuggling up with a child who sneaks into your room and says, "I'm scared."
In fact, I think mothers sleep differently than other people. I know the slightest sound or call of a child will wake me instantly while my husband continues to snore away next to me. Of course, I don't hear his alarm clock go off in the morning. It's like our subconscious knows the delegation of responsibilities.
Some people are kept up at night worrying about problems, or from being sick or in pain. I recently tore my MCL sledding in the mountains. Being horizontal was the worst, and every time I shifted positions at night, my knee would fall painfully out of alignment, wake me with a jolt and make it difficult to get comfortable again. At the same time, I had two sick children and we had just put our youngest in his first "big boy bed." Needless to say, I haven't had a really good night's sleep in a while.
I am the first person to defend the importance of sleep. It is a terrible feeling to be stuck in wakefulness when all you want to do is doze off but you can't. Those kinds of sleepless nights can feel endless.
But something else has kept me awake recently as well -- creativity. It is a completely different experience to be awake because your mind has so many new ideas. I didn't want to fall back to sleep for fear of forgetting the inspiration. I felt like a comedian or artist who keeps a pad of paper by the side of their bed (or a smart phone in my case) to write down the jokes or visions that come to them in the middle of the night. Only after recording them could I relax my mind again and drift off.
It is like a literal and figurative Awakening.
When something causes your mind to go into overdrive, or when you have an original idea, don't push it aside so that your can roll over and go back to sleep. Acknowledge it and follow it, as it is sure to lead you toward your dreams.
