There are days when you know someone is exhausted. You can see the tiredness in the way they walk, stand, and hold themselves. Even more obviously, you can see it in their eyes. When it gets to the edge, there is a bone tiredness that is infectious. As I sat in a meeting, a friend sitting next to me was bone tired. As the meeting progressed, his yawns became my yawns. I caught myself dosing off, struggling to stay awake, and having a hard time keeping my focus.
At one point, marked by a loud noise, there was a turning point in the meeting. It was as if there had been an intervention! Suddenly, I was wide awake, focused, and in the moment. As the turning point continued, I found myself whispering a psalm under my breath; “I’m ready, God, so ready, ready from head to toe. Ready to sing, ready to raise a God-song.” (Psalm 108.1)
As I think of the moment where everything turned, I find myself wanting to repeat the experience. If there is a chance, I knew it will include the following.
Surrounding one’s self with individuals that are sleeping is a great way to invite sleep into one’s heart. There is a wonderfully calming influence naturally passed from the sleeper to any and everyone around him. If one wants to be alert and awake, my advice is to find different company.
Breaking influence links is not easy. Sometimes one needs an external event or action to be the force. Accepting and using the aides that are available made a difference.
If one wants to be in a different place, one needs to do something! In this case, breaking the cycle was the first step, stepping into the present, focused and attentive was the second.
It would have been easy to embrace the invitation to sleep. As it was, I was part of a special meeting to mark a journey’s beginning. I came into the meeting tired. I left the meeting energized and excited. I also left carrying lifetime memories within me.
