The weather in Miami is getting warmer each day
Almost the end of snowbird season
In ten days we will fly north
For another summer season on the eastern shore
Why did this past winter fly by so quickly?
Will the approaching summer be over in a flash too?
Why does time go faster as you get older?
Dream it
Think it
Recognize it
Visualize it
Nurture it
Admire it
Record it
Guard it
Shape it
Grow it
Test it
Modify it
Improve it
Test it
Adore it
Realize it
Make it
Live it
Love it
Share it
He wanted his imagination to run free
Have it entertain him and surprise him
But it just sat there lifeless
Behaving like a loyal soldier
Waiting for his commands
Not the freedom fighting rebel he wanted
He felt cheated
He decided to ignore his imagination
He went back to logical thinking
Considered that perhaps there was no such thing as imagination
We all control our thoughts as if we are movie directors inside our minds
Our stream of consciousness is influenced by our surroundings
And by all the things we witnessed in the past
He questioned if it was truly possible to have an original creative thought
He felt he was just regurgitating the thoughts he gleamed from others
As he wrestled with those ideas he became deeply depressed
He decided to stop thinking altogether
Deny any thoughts the opportunity to depress him further
His mind went blank
All went quiet for a brief moment
Until he could hear a distinct knocking on a door
Deep inside the back of his mind
He reached back to open it
There stood his imagination dressed in full paramilitary freedom fighter gear
There was a brief silence before his imagination spoke to him
Now you are going to get the imagination you always wanted
He tried to slam the door shut
But it was too late
His imagination was too fast for him and slipped inside
All hell broke loose inside his mind
His imagination was running riot
Sometimes our thoughts can be overwhelming
We are bombarded with information from so many sources
There are pressures from work, family, finances and unfinished tasks lining up
Its hard to focus on one thing when other thoughts keep rushing in
Fortunately I was taught a relaxation technique more than thirty years ago
It involves deep breathing and focussing on a specific image
I have used it often to de-stress my mind and body
At first it took a lot of concentration to get it to work at all
But now I can do it at will by just thinking about it
And my random thoughts dare not step in then
They line up outside my mind patiently waiting
I have found it to be a great way to solve a problem or make a difficult decision
Especially when I have been wrestling with one for a long while
Once I banish those thoughts for a while they seem to solve themselves
I only let them back in if they bring a solution with them
Are you in charge of your thoughts or do they rule you?
Pour a glass of wine
Play your favorite music
Close your eyes
Listen
Lose yourself for a while
Turn off the music
Go to a very quiet room
Listen
Listen very hard
Politely ask your thoughts to be quiet
Listen
Ignore those persistent thoughts and they will go away
Breathe
Close your eyes
Listen
Hold your breath
Listen to your heart beating
Say thanks to your heart
Breathe again
Let your thoughts back in slowly
Listen
Reject all the negative thoughts
Embrace the positive thoughts
Pour yourself another glass of wine
Enjoy
Repeat daily
the sun is not long up
I step outside
the cool air is sweet
early morning stillness
heavy dew on the ground
the bay is flat calm
no breeze yet
everything is quiet
folks having their Saturday morning lie in
even the birds are still sleeping
its my time alone
I am not really alone though
I have my thoughts with me today
they got lost for a while
trapped in a Covid brain fog
I could hear their distant muffled voices
but could not make out their words
it was not a pleasant experience
especially when combined with fatigue
hopefully that fog has permanently lifted
I missed my thoughts a lot
we have great conversations
sometimes the occasional argument
today we are chatting calmly
I am wondering what to do on this glorious day
my thoughts jump in with ideas
interesting places to go
fun things to do
good friends to see
getting some long postponed tasks done
paying it forward activities
being nice to others
I agree with all my thought’s suggestions
they are so much wiser than me
its going to be a good day
a thoughtful day
I really appreciate my thoughts
we shall check in on each other
throughout the day
now its time for tea and action
Food
Thoughts
Food for thought
Thought for food
For thought food
For the love of food
For the food of love
Love of the food thoughts
Thinking about the food you love
Thinking about the love you feed with food
Feeding your thoughts about your lover and food
Knowing that your food will be loved forever in your thoughts
Forever thinking of your lover feeding your loving food thoughts
Your thoughts of love can be everlasting just like your appetite for food
If you don’t eat you get hungry for food but you can still love somebody
If you stop loving you might lose your appetite for for food without feeling hungry
If you and your lover share the same love of food then you will never go hungry for food or love
I wonder how different it would have been today
if I had made different choices all those years ago
I wonder if I would I be living in the same place today
I wonder if my situation would be much different
I wonder if the world would be exactly the same
I can remember wondering back then
wondering if I was making the right decisions
wondering if I would have regrets
wondering how my future would be
wondering if I would be happy and secure
wondering if I would be healthy
wondering if I would ever find love again
wondering how the world might be
I am now wondering why I wonder so much
it soaks up too much time and energy
it is surely time to give up all this wondering stuff
leave it to the universe
let fate decide my fate
take my chances and roll with it
wondering is for wondering wanderers
pondering is for pontificators
worrying is for worriers
life is here to be lived
people are here to be loved
health is here to be treasured
security is here to be acknowledged
happiness is here to be enjoyed
doing it is for the doers
no more wondering
just live it
It seems like everybody is on a diet
Or planning to be on a diet
Every other TV commercial is for a diet program or diet product
Supermarket shelves stacked with low cal this and low carb that
I was enjoying a nice dinner party
Until the dinner table conversations were hijacked by dieters
We fast for 16 hours every day
I never eat meat
I have been vegan for decades
Oh we stopped eating carbs years ago
They are so bad for you said the lady next to me
Pointing to the roast potato on my fork
I nodded but ate it anyway
It tasted so good
I could hear the potato whispering to me
Ignore that dumb potato hating woman next to you
Just eat me and enjoy
I ate more potatoes
I smiled at the potato hater
She looked way too thin and wrinkly
I bet her shelves are full of diet books
Nothing tasty ever comes out of her kitchen
She is on a crusade to get everyone to join her diet cult
Well I am sorry lady but I am not signing up
I enjoy eating and drinking a lot more than dieting
She keeps droning on and on about dieting so I stop listening
I let my mind wander
I decided to invent my own form of dieting
You can eat and drink anything you want
At any time of day or night as you please
But your mind is on a strict diet
You are only allowed to think nice thoughts
No negative thinking allowed whatsoever
Sure you can hear people say negative things
But their words are not allowed to stay in your head
Those words go straight into your mental trash can
You can certainly look at dieting commercials
Knowing that it all goes into your mental trash can
With time your memory banks become exclusively positive
Even your imagination is consistently happy and playful
I must write a book about all this
It will be a best seller for sure
In the meantime I decide to go back to the dinner table conversation
The lady next to me is still jabbering away about her diet
I watch all her spoken words fall in my mental trash can
I decide to put more roast potatoes on my plate
There is still one left in the dish so I offer it to her with a cheeky monkey grin
She is stunned into a jaw dropping silence
My mental trash can burst out laughing
I woke up at 5am with a terrible dry mouth
fortunately I had a glass of water on the nightstand
instant relief once my mouth was rehydrated
just what I needed
my mind was wide awake now
I crept downstairs to the kitchen
made myself a cup of hot green tea
just what I needed
it was pitch black outside
everything was quiet
the perfect time for some creative writing
just what I needed
I sat down at my computer
emptied my mind and let my imagination run free
the words flowed freely onto the screen
just what I needed
a few hours later dawn began to break
I stepped outside to watch the sunrise
the birds sang as the sun crept over the horizon
just what I needed
I checked the tire pressures on my bike
clipped in a couple of water bottles
set off for a 30 mile ride
just what I needed
I came home refreshed and invigorated
but somewhat grimy
I stepped into a hot steamy shower
just what I needed
it was still only 10.30am
I planned to achieve a whole lot more during the day
my first task was a short meditation session
just what I needed
At the end of a busy and very productive day
I paused to reflect on the miracle of life
I poured a glass of wine
just what I needed
I wondered if the wine was the cause of my early morning dry mouth
not willing to give up drinking wine in the evenings
I took a glass of water to bed
just what I needed
Cheeky Monkey Poetry 