Sleep: A Luxury

It’s been a while that I've written on the blog. That’s the problem when work intercedes to interrupt your dialogue with your blog and your readers. The last couple of days have been hectic to say the least. It would be an understatement to say that I was swamped with assignments left, right and centre. However, now that I’m back (for the moment), let’s see what we can do about it.

The assignments I mentioned above, well, they haven’t been affording me any sleep lately. Earlier, I used to sleep late as a choice, as part of my lifestyle. But lately, it’s become more of a compulsion and I can’t pretend to like it. Although a necessity, sleep has come to become more of a luxury to me and the same thing got me thinking of how I’m not the only one who can’t afford this luxury. There are many more; many more who either don’t have the means or those who have too much of them to get the blessed commodity of relaxed bliss. For example:

Students

These people are those who get no sleep and no appreciation for that either. With a ridiculous grading system in place, these people work their backsides off day and night in the hope that they will manage to either get into another top institute or get a good pay out of their hard work. Others just hope to scrape through a curriculum which makes no sense to them whatsoever.

The Homeless

These are the people out on the streets. These are people who are considered the back-end of society and the trash of the cultured and civilized world. These people attempt to sleep under the light of the moon and myriad stars, exposed to the elements of nature. They hope that somebody, one day they might just find a place to rest their heads on and a covering to shield them from the snow and rain.

Orphans

Mere children who have lost their parents due to any of the hundred reasons available. These kids try to find sleep in alleys and if they are a wee bit lucky, in foster homes and orphanages. But it is hard to imagine them getting any sleep with what they've been through. Memories haunt them. If they have none, the void haunts them. They don’t sleep at night, they cry.

Athletes

Players, racers, riders and fliers; they must not get sleep either. In this cut throat world of competitive sports, it must be imperative to remain at the height of one’s performance at all costs. If not, then they immediately get replaced. There is no place for those who do not perform. I don’t imagine they get much sleep before a game, thinking about strategies and analyzing weaknesses, of others and their own.

Security Forces

People who serve their nations with their lives must hardly get any sleep at all. Danger, or the expectation of the same must constantly keep their minds on alert about the slightest sounds. By that calculation, they must never sleep, only rest.

Rich Folks

I often wonder how it would be to become so fantastically rich that I could even have a gold commode in my diamond encrusted bathroom. But that aside, I don’t imagine that these rich folks would also be getting much sleep. Tension must surely ruin their days and nights. Robbery, murder and bankruptcy must surely be working their way into their million dollar heads. Poor rich people.

And so, it is quite apparent that even though one might casually talk about sleep, it is a precious commodity that can only be had by a few lucky people. Others just have to make do with pretense of the same. Oh blessed sleep, when will you knock upon my door?