poetmcgonagall said: “….you must get up at an incredibly early hour, given the time difference.”

me:  Thanks for your remarks about my early rising. It made me think a bit about my habits.
No, I’m not an early riser – I hadn’t gone to bed yet. I tend to go through several days of sleeping a lot and then a day or two of not much. In the summer I tend to work more and sleep less.

Another interesting note about people who work at night: several years ago I heard  an interview on public radio with either a monk or someone who had done a study of night-dwellers.

In it they talked about the monks’ habits of praying/chanting in the wee hours of the night. It seems that at that hour, there was a better, more clear connection with the cosmos. How wonderful! and something that I’ve found to be true, re: my own connection with the muse. I don’t necessarily make a point of it or recommend it.

However, neither do I try too hard to resist the calling, if it happens at that hour. I’ve learned to trust myself. Particularly as my blogging has begun to blossom into something that gives me real spiritual sustenance.

I take note of my level of excitement and concentration. If I’m becoming too excited, then I may not heed the call, if it will interfere with a period when I really need sleep. If I’m well rested and don’t have too many pressing demands the next day, I may proceed.

And if I’ve been working for hours on something, then consequences be damned – I will try to finish it before quitting. I feel that it’s important to sustain the level of thought. I think it makes for more integrated, better writing.

If it’s an email I may give it a period of gestation to see if I want to send it, as is; change it; set it aside; or honor my own clarity, beliefs and expressive impulse by following through and sending it. If it’s something on my blog, I will usually just post it.

With thanks to my friend poetmcgonagall!

check out his blog “Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay” here

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