(A serendipitous occasion for inspiration…in the dark.)

Red Bull. Rockstar. Cigarettes. Donuts?

Whatever your poison, most have methods to keep the eyes awake and midnight oil burning. Pulling an extensive all-nighter is a refined art…a sleepless series of nights is not unheard of for procrastinators. Even the best planners run into occasional overtime hours to make the project presentation more powerful.

And yet the creative flame is never out. The Declaration of Independence was written by candlelight. The Star-Spangled Banner was composed by the light of cannon bombardments, flashing in the night.

Okay, true, these patriotic examples stir more political discussion than lessons on nighttime diligence. But the quiet of night can harness the imagination in a way a timeframe coasted in daylight cannot begin to inspire.

Cell phones go quiet. Email boxes stay empty. Roommates, neighbors, children (or parents, for the financial fortunate) go to sleep. The stillness instills an energy, or a point of view, that shines better in the dark.

So Jefferson may not have had Red Bull, but he appreciated his inspiration, his effort, and most importantly: urgency. Sample this: "We are weighed down, every moment, by the conception and the sensation of Time. And there are but two means of escaping and forgetting this nightmare: pleasure and work. Pleasure consumes us. Work strengthens us. Let us choose." Charles Baudelaire, French poet, 1821-1867.

The time I ended this piece: 2:25 AM. Enough said. Blaise Morita, French first name, 1978-?