October 19, 2021

Here’s my new favorite Hemingway quote: “I love sleep. My life has a tendency to fall apart when I’m awake, you know?”

I had a brief period in my 20s, probably after I had read “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”, when I tried to sleep only 4-5 hours a night in order to maximize my output, efficiency, and engagement with the world. Fortunately, I didn’t have enough discipline to carry out this stupid idea.

Sleep, when we are lucky enough to enjoy it, is a nightly Sabbath, a total trust in God, a surrender of the agency we hold so dear. (Granted, dreams are another matter, but just put that aside for the moment.) 

The psalmist says, “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” (Psalm 4:8)

Sleep well!

“O heavenly Father, you give your children sleep for the refreshing of soul and body: Grant me this gift, I pray; keep me in that perfect peace which you have promised to those whose minds are fixed on you; and give me such a sense of your presence, that in the hours of silence I may enjoy the blessed assurance of your love; through Jesus Christ our Savior.  Amen.” (For Sleep – BCP)