Acquainted with sleep

Sleep is a funny old thing, especially whilst travelling. I've found it becomes less of an ordinary veiled part of life and more of an entity. To me, it feels like sleep has detached itself and is walking invisibly side by side with me, constantly communicating and there for making me unavoidably aware of it.

Never before have I been so acquainted with sleep, I feel like I should name it to ensure I'm not being rude or maybe it has a name already? Throughout my life I haven't ever really had sleep troubles, only at extreme times of stress have I been made aware that my sleep is looming over me. I've been lucky to just go through life with sleep simply participating in my life, quietly and simply, only ever turning up when most needed. Of late however, sleep is right there and at all hours, persistently whispering in my ear and I tell you, it's getting old.

Where have the days gone that I would awake easily and happily and be released from sleeps clutches without trouble? Where have the nights gone that I would fall in to bed and slowly let sleep surround me and consume me? 

Sleep is with me all day and night, pulling me down and down until I have no energy to fight it. It whispers to me as I go to the store. It follows me like a shadow as I spend a day out in the South East Asian sun. It smothers me any time I sit for too long. And why? Why has it decided to become my stalker, to follow me everywhere?

Because..... travelling is tiring.

Because, I'm tired.

At times I want sleep to reveal itself in a form so that I could hit it or simply glare at it, make it go away. However, there are times I feel its comfort, the anger towards it ebbs away and I find I lean on it like an old friend. Never before has it been such a serious part of my life, it was always essential but never serious. It tells me everything I will ever need to know. It tells me when I need to eat, to drink and especially when I'm sick. It did this before but never in such a profound way. Maybe it's been trying to communicate like this for years and found I just wasn't listening, so had to make me listen. Maybe it saw how exhausting my life was coming and decided to take my hand and lead me to the end of this journey. Whatever it's motives, I'm glad it's here but if you are listening sleep, I have a message.

Times almost up.