Sitting

My Uber driver Jacky picked me up at 4:06 AM this morning. I landed in Denver at 8:30 AM mountain time.

I didn’t get my full 8 hours of beauty rest last night. With each passing year, it seems sleep deficits affect me more and more.

But I’ve discovered a trick: if I merely sit on the plane - no music, no podcasts, no books, no movies, no nothing, just sit there - when I land I feel refreshed. I don’t yawn, nor do I get the urge to collapse in the nearest corner. Stimulating my brain with music or podcasts or books must wear me out.

Sitting 35,000 feet up in a metal tube is one of the last refuges of solitude. I’ve enjoyed recently leaning into that quietness.

I try to sit and do nothing except stare out the window. I might doze in and out. But mostly I just stare out the window. I did it this morning and I’m feeling pretty alert, despite a short night’s sleep.