Sleep Is Where It All Starts | from The Glass Age Diary | FEB 3 2024

Mar 10, 2024

And just like that… everything was fine again.

All because I slept for twelve hours last night.

I struggle with sleep here. Part of it is the time difference, we are nine hours ahead of the UK and so I’ll often be up late engaged in zoom calls. That stuff is going well thankfully, and I’m pleased to have some exciting gigs in place to return to (hope you can come!) but some days finding the balance is hard.
Sleep is where it all starts isn’t it, where we recharge, refuel, re-imagine. I observe my dreams and respect this realm deeply. Many of my lyrics have landed safely in my dreams.
On the train, a man with grey hair in his 60s, with a formal tailored suit – has a Winnie the Pooh key ring dangling from his rucksack.
And why shouldn’t he?

Cartoon characters dangling from key fobs is a common site for folks of all ages and occupations. I feel like theJapanese people’s relationship with characters is entirely different to mine. Observe any packed train carriage at rush hour and you’ll find the majority of adults are reading manga on their glass screens. I guess it’s been accepted as a valid art form here, and of equal worth to more traditional text based literature. I actually don’t know, but it’s interesting to note and the Winnie the Pooh soft toy spoke to me.

People tend to wear backpacks on their chest, not their back. This is an extremely trusting society with a low crime rate – when I go to the bathroom in this cafe I leave my laptop out at my table. So the bag on the front thing is not for security, and a friend here told me it’s so the bag takes up less space! They’re being considerate to fellow travelers and avoiding barging into one another. With 40 million people in the metropolis of Tokyo, space is finite.
Later in the evening, walking home from swimming class, Taiga and his friend stop at a shop for a snack. I follow them into the newsagent and I’m surprised to hear “Foam Home” from the Steve Gadd band playing out in store. The Japanese appreciation of jazz is interesting. If you’ve read nearly any work by author Haruki Murakami, then you probably have a sense that Japan has taken well to jazz music. Instrumental, experimental jazz can be heard in supermarkets and convenience stores alike, music that would likely only surface within the walls of members clubs or student halls in the UK.
Come 9:04pm I still feel normal, positive even. I really need an extraordinary amount of sleep, I guess I just need to accept this, and make a note in my little book of big insights.
There’s a beauty to be found in acceptance isn’t there?
Thanks for reading, sleep well.