Shall We Snooze?

It can be said (because I’m saying it) that the person who has achieved true happiness in life is the one that, somehow, has figured out how to live a structured and fulfilling life without the need of an alarm clock. This might apply to both ends of the economic spectrum. 

 The one thing that the very rich and the horribly poor share in common is that they can sleep as late into the day as they want without any real need to wake up. It must be nice to be wealthy and only get out of bed because you simply want breakfast. That’s the thing that pulls you out from under your covers. I have to get out of bed because I need to walk to work.

Why does Bill Gates get out of bed? Bacon. Maybe morning sex...I would  do. 

Or maybe there’s more to it than that. If you think about it, why wouldn’t a wealthy person want to get out of bed? While we rise to re-live the same mediocre day we have lived a million times, one might think that a wealthy person is rising to infinity, waking up to a day stuffed with possibility and excess. A full day of bacon, if you will. I can’t help but picture an imaginary rich man waking in pajamas made of velvet, throwing open the curtains to a spectacular sunrise or mid day sunshine, whatever the heck floats his boat. This is morning for the man who needs no alarm clock. In stark contrast, I wake up early-ish. When I go to bed it’s dark, and when I wake up it’s still the same way (depending on this daylight savings fiasco). I’m apparently being out-slept by the sun. My cell phone alarm clock goes off at 6:00 AM, and is immediately re-set for 6:15. This is done hurriedly, with annoyance. But I need to go and work out. Gurr...

At 7:15 I rise in rebellion. I turn on the lights and sit back down in the bed. Then I stare at the wall for about 10 minutes. It’s like I’m saying ’screw you’ to the new day. Yes, I’m awake, but no, I’m not going to be any more productive than if I was asleep. It’s like the early stages of grief when a person is in denial. Eventually, I move into acceptance, and that’s when I begin to stand. There is a certain allure, I believe, in turning off the alarm, shutting your eyes, and returning to wonderful sleep, to stay in the comfort of dream even as your head rolls away. However, there is so much to do and so many beautiful things to see. Rise and shine!