Starving Hysterical Naked

This weekend has changed my life. Why? Well, I'll tell you. But, first... you might want to sit down.

Imagine that the simplest, most fundamental assumptions on which you rested your life, the very facts that drove your every move, your every decision - were suddenly violently ripped from beneath your feet, throwing you into a state of chaos, disorientation, imbalance! Well, what I learned this weekend did just that. Except - worse, because what I experienced in reaction to this radical, far-reaching fact were 2 somewhat opposing feelings, leaving my soul in a state of perhaps eternal conflict. (I should note - this was all courtesy of the Sleeping and Dreaming exhibition at the Wellcome Trust).

Apparently, the "fact" that we need 8 hours of sleep - is a MYTH! It was popularized during the time of King Henry VIII when Sir Thomas More wrote Utopia - and in his "perfect world," the inhabitants slept 8 hours!

My immediate reaction was one of relief. To someone with insomniac tendencies, knowing that we are each "unique" and that there is no real number of hours that the human body requires - or rather, that there is variation among us - is alleviating.

But, on the other hand, to someone who has planned her life around 8 hours of sleep - that is, constantly set, reset and modified her alarm during sleepless nights in order to assure the valued 8 hours of sleep - to someone who has missed meetings, classes, exams, & outings in pursuit of the heavenly 8 hours of sleep - this piece of news is quite troubling!

What was soothing - apparently many great inventors, discoverers, and thinkers have stumbled upon their creations in their dreams, literally. Among them, Paul McCartney. He woke up from a dream listening to the tune of Yesterday playing in his head & wondered how nobody had ever written down the melody to such a beautiful song. Enjoy!

Paul McCartney - Yesterday

Besos.