Ever notice how the mind does crazy, even weird things?
A few nights ago, I know I lost a lot of sleep trying to dig back into my past from thirty-some years ago when Capt. SO and I lived in a different state. This was BK (before kids), although I'm not certain why that fact is pertinent to the gist of this posting?????? I kept trying to remember the names of the members of a family who lived across from the church we attended. The father sang in the choir I directed - a funny and friendly fellow who kept all choir members in constant stitches throughout all rehearsals. I became friends with his eldest - a woman, and, subsequently, came to be a part of a "coffee group" that met on a regular basis, alternating weekly at each others' homes. Except for me, all of the other women had children.....again, why that particular fact is germane remains a mystery to me, but at the time of my sleep-loss night, it was very important. My mind worked feverishly to recall as many details as possible, including the interior of the homes we met in, the detail of the other women's faces, their husbands' names and occupation, even the bread/muffin recipes we shared and ate. When the morning sun arose, I realized I was successful in roaming through the filing cabinet of my mind....at the expense of a great deal of sleep.
I remain fascinated by the road my mind took that night and, perhaps more importantly, why. Why did my subconscious grab onto to a person - the man in my old choir - and then continue to pursue every fact I could reprise? Try hard as I might, throughout that night, I could not deter mind away from the pursuit of old factoids. I tried counting backwards from one hundred - to no avail. Then I decided to try counting backward from two hundred, but that was too long and I'd lose my place, only to have my mind return to what I now think of as fact-fishing. I attempted to envision white, plump sheep jumping over a fence in an idyllic country setting - to no avail.
Perhaps my mind is telling me it needs new food. Maybe a creative class, a rigorous class, a new challenge? Is this my mind's way of letting me know I need to feed it? But, feed it with what? Perhaps all of my fact-fishing was triggered by my recent, and still on-going, Insanity Project? Whatever.......as teens - and some adults - would whine, the result was and is the same. Fact-fishing, particularly at night, results in one tired and grumpy person, who gets out of bed in a fog, genuinely confused as to why she needed to mental research in the night.
It is three days since my night-research foray and I'm still feeling its effects. I think that strong coffee could be in order. Oh, please, Capt. SO, start the grind-and-brew!
Ancora imparo
