The Forgotten Perks and Annoyances of Discipline

I've always had this sort of romantic notion of waking early in the morn before the sunrise every day. I would wake before dark, then venture on to a walk to hear the birds chirping, sing praises to my saviour, have devotions, return home to journal and breakfast, then off to my daily duties. Every time I see films I have this yearning to wake up early in the morn and begin such a ritual. There is truly nothing like the fresh feeling of morning air as the sun's rays touch the earth for the first time in 12 hours. And I love it once I've experienced it.

Days are so much longer with so much more to be done in them. One can be so much more proactive. But then, when one is so unused to the excess time, you find yourself wondering how a person could actually spend 3 hours in conversation, or 2 in reading, or 2 in housework. You feel yourself stretched. And yearn for there to be much less time so you can actually go to bed. And therefore a new trend starts. The staying up all night and sleeping in til 1. There's something, I can't quite explain what it is, but there is most certainly something about going to sleep late. You can truly never be as refreshed with 8 hours sleep when you go to bed at 3 am as when you do at 9 pm.

And that brings us to another point. When one awakens at 5 in the morning, that person must either be extremely amazing to get through a day without much sleep at all, or they must go to bed around 8 or 9. In this day and age, how is such a life possible or bearable? One's social life would die in a week.

But, perhaps we could take a lesson from our dear friends, the Spanish. Their social world does not awaken until the late evening, yet they are up with the dawn. How is this possible? Simple. Naps throughout the day. What an incredible concept. And, oh, how it could revolutionize the western world. But, alas, our days are not constructed to withstand such a lifestyle.

In the past few years I have strayed towards the staying up all night and sleeping all day mentality. I'm a night person. I absolutely love the night. And when I wake early in the morning for the sun rise, I'm once more sleepy by 10 or 11. I do not like the amount of work I get done in my current lifestyle. But the mere concept of rising so early literally pains me. What solution does a poor child like me have? I want the night, but also the motion and puritan work ethic of the morning. I want my cake, and damn well would like to eat it too.

What's a girl to do? Well, I'm thinking of moving to Spain. Or, at least importing that culture here.