A quick thought

Last night I was looking for something to read before bed.  I looked over my bookshelf, looking for something that would be comforting and put me to sleep quickly. Perhaps something I had read before, and enjoyed.  
As I looked over the variety of books, something happened that happens nearly every time I go to my bookshelf: I see some educational book that I know I should read.  I see some somber poetic authors that I should be enriching myself with. While I do enjoy educational books and somber poetry, I had the intent and initial intuition of reading something light and comforting before bed. It’s clear I was wrestling with the part of me that is suspicious of my need.  Did I fear that some light reading would dull my mind or lessen my intelligence? I ended up just staring and thumbing through a few books until I got tired and went to bed.
This got me to thinking today about the way we distrust positive feedback that we get from the world and even ourselves.  There is this unspoken belief that intelligence leans toward pessimism. In reality, the smartest thing I could have done in that moment would be to pick up a trusted old book that I knew would make me sleepy and be done with it! I certainly don’t need to cram new information into my brain at all hours.. besides, that is not an efficient way to retain knowledge anyways!  
Sometimes the smartest thing you can do accept and honor your needs even if they seem small… even when they seem corny… even when you wished they looked smarter.