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When The Brain Throws Its Own Private Party


That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him.  It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. “What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?” the king asked. “Nothing has been done for him,” his attendants answered. (Esther 6:1-3) 

          I can relate to poor King Xerxes. I yawn, my brain calls for the bouncer to throw me out, so it can lock up, and the clock tells me it’s time to go to bed. I put everything away, turn out the light, crawl into bed and… I’m wide awake. My mind is racing a hundred miles an hour trying to figure out (in last night’s case) a quilting pattern that will somehow represent the nine surviving (until recently) jidekers (schools/libraries.) It’s not a difficult pattern, but which color goes with which jideker? Is there a symbol that I can try to find in a fabric, etc. The king’s solution is probably better than mine. If I got up and read for five minutes, or wrote for five minutes in my journal, I’d probably fall right to sleep. I just let the mind that kicked me out have its own private party for a couple hours and take a nap or two the next day when I’m supposed to be working.
           Xerxes calls on his staff to come read to him of the glories of his past deeds. “Once upon a time… some insignificant, regular guy named Mordecai discovered a plot to assassinate the king. He reported it, and the ensuing investigation saved the king’s life. The end.” 
          “Wait…wait… you missed a part. What happened to the ‘happily ever after’? I mean, yes, I have lived happily ever after, but what about Mordecai?”
          “What about Mordecai?”
          “Well, did I, I don’t know, pay off his school loans? His mortgage? Did I give him a job? Did I invite him to a party? Did I even send him a worthless thank you note?” (Clerk’s translation: did you, did anyone?)
         Clerk reads associated memos. “Um, no.”
          “Well, we’ve got to do something!”
          The clerk thinks, “We? How about going to sleep?”
          Three more reasons why it’s good to journal. It helps when you can’t sleep, it reminds you of your shortcomings and your goals, and it gives you ideas.

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