MONDAY FORTUNE COOKIE 7/9/12

Don't stop dreaming, otherwise sleep will get awfully boring.

SNARKY RESPONSE: Actually, I think this one carries its own snark. Starting out all affirmation-like and then twisting back on you like that? And to show how synchronistic this post is to other areas of my life, check out my Facebook Author page (Denise Golinowski/Author) and the pic I shared on Sunday, July 8^th. Has to make you smile.

Don't stop dreaming, otherwise sleep will get awfully boring.

Dreaming is an integral part of the sleep experience, even if you don't remember them. Often you may wish you didn't because the sleeping mind is very different from the waking mind.

This brings to mind…dream journals. How do you like that segue?

Show of hands, who has a dream journal? Okay, you really didn't have to raise your hand. I can't see you. However, I'm betting a lot of folks have begun one. Beginning Writers are often advised to keep a notebook and pen by the bed for capturing those sudden flashes of inspiration. What a handy suggestion. How often have you had a brilliant idea just as you were drifting into or out of sleep and promised yourself you'd remember it later only to have it completely evaporate? No, don't raise your hands.

Stack of Shame

Now, be completely honest—how many of you actually kept that dream journal for more than a few weeks? You know—you go out and buy a really nice notebook, something appropriate for containing such creative concepts. Yeah, and a nice pen, something that feels nice in your hand and puts a nice solid line on a page. Then, it's all "wake right up and jot down a note or two" for a few weeks. Then, you dwindle down to a few mornings a week and then maybe once a week until your pen rolls off the nightstand and the notebook disappears under your current "to be read" stack. And I know we ALL have one of those! So, eventually, you have a collection of pretty notebooks with about a dozen pages of scribbles in each one.

And, let's face it, they are scribbles, right? I mean, you're supposed to put pen to paper as soon as you wake up. Come on! You just woke up! Who has perfect penmanship right out of a dead sleep? You can barely open your eyes and that annoying snooze button just won't take its morning beating in silence. And it's hard to form a coherent sentence, much less succinctly describe that Dali-esque landscape with the green cows and knitting mice. Besides, all those drooping trees and melting wax mountains are really disturbing when you commit them to paper. What did you eat before you went to bed last night?

No, seriously, I am in awe of the folks who keep a regular journal, no matter the frequency or intent. To be that diligent and consistent is to be admired. Just someone kick me if I ever mention wanting to start one myself. Kick me and point out that stack of notebooks collecting dust beside my nightstand.