Even Bees Sleep

There’s a bee hive tucked into the space between my bedroom window and where the screen should be (the screen fell out long ago). My boyfriend at the time suggested that I open up the window and knock the hive out but I refused. Despite the fact that it occasionally gets stifling hot in the room, I haven’t opened the window all summer long.

At first, it was because I was afraid of being stung. Then, one morning as I opened my blinds, I saw that the bees were sleeping…clinging immobile to the hive. I’d never seen bees sleep before.

According to the Brookfield Farm Bees & Honey blog, a bee’s sleeping pattern has to do with their age.

“Young bees tend to sleep inside cells in the center of the hive. Older bees tend to sleep on the outer edges of the hive. The locations make sense: Young bees […] are walking and working in the heart of the hive. Older bees […] tend to sleep outside the cluster…this is speculation but the location would provide for a bit a peace from the hustle and bustle of the hive. “

This got me thinking. When we’re younger–and in love–we jump right “into the hive” (so to speak). We work hard, we crave chaos, and occasionally we get stung. But as we get older and wiser, we change. We move outside and hang cautiously along the periphery of love in order to avoid drama and heartbreak. Only the young ones have the energy for that, we tell ourselves.

So is it better to live inside or outside of the hive? Do we get what we want inside or outside of love? It’s a personal preference…but after living on the outside, I’m taking what I’ve learned and I’m going back in.