Another Sleepless Sunday Morning

     This morning I woke up again at 5:15.  What is it with  me?  When I have all the time in the world, I can't sleep.  And when I have no time, all I want to do is sleep. Guaranteed, I'll be sleeping during Father Peter's sermon this morning, and just when I realize it, I'll open my eyes, and he'll be looking right at me! 

     Busted.

     Now, I know that there are positively more productive things one can do at this hour.  Some people read.  They read The Bible, finish a great biography, run and get the paper.  Some cook.  They start with fresh baked muffins, make Sunday gravy, brew up a pot of coffee.  And others pray.  They pray to the gods of physical fitness.  Joggers, bikers and yoga gurus throw on their trusty pair of sneakers and work up a good sweat before starting the day.

     Sean is golfing. Lucky him.

     These are great options.  And I believe that the secret to success is through the choices that we make.  Everything we do is a choice.  Everything!  Absolutely EVERYTHING.  Think about it.  We make simple choices:  Should I have a burger or a salad?  We make more challenging choices:  Should I fire that girl or give her one more chance?  And then there are the life-altering choices:  Listen to my heart and marry this person, or heed the warnings of virtually everyone I know and let this one go.

     Take the right fork and you're sittin' pretty.  Take the left one, and, well, all bets are off. This is not to say that peaks and valleys won't pop up now and then.  Life can be a mighty long journey, paved with a whole mess of bumps along the road.  Still, when I look at the big picture, it's CHOICE that gets me over, under, and through all those bumps.

     So I chose the computer this morning.  I found postings from 2 hours ago! People are actually up at 3:15am? I'm thinkin' they just got home from a night out with friends or maybe a date.  Gosh I want to be up at 3:15.  And I want to be sleeping right now!  I want to be like the masses, resting my mind so that I can wake up fresh and free from the inevitable bags under my eyes.

     And then, there are the thoughts.  In my case, it's thoughts gone wild. Like tornados, they spin out of my control, and over coffee I am in an abyss.  A flip flop of worries and wishes.  It  is a curse, I tell you.  A flaw in my gene pool. And the next thing I know I'm changing the shower curtain, burning the toast, and having an argument with someone in my head.  And it's only 5:45!

     I'm going out for a run.