Category: thoughts

thoughts, tea and action

Ian HunterLeave a comment

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 for thought

Ian Hunter2 Comments

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 no more

Ian Hunter1 Comment

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

My mental trash can burst out laughing

Ian Hunter2 Comments

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

just what I needed

Ian Hunter5 Comments

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

first responders and nurses

Ian HunterLeave a comment

its 3.45am and my mind is racing

too early to get up

too hard to go back to sleep

nobody should be awake at this hour

except first responders and nurses

my eyes will not stay closed

I slowly get accustomed to the dark

normally my hearing is not that great

but the darkness amplifies all sounds

heartbeats are a welcome reminder that I am still living

my breathing sounds like a roaring wind

the clock ticks a slow jazz drummer rhythm 

now its too bright and too noisy for sleep

I creep downstairs and make tea

hot tea tastes good but my body is awake now

my mind has stopped racing, its just numb

I look outside at the dark night

blackness is the king of this hour

heavy cloud masks the moonlight and stars

my mind slowly empties of thoughts

allowing me to talk to myself

I question who I am

why am I me and not somebody else

who put me inside this body

where will I go after my body stops working

I do not have any answers for me

I decide to stop talking to myself

leaving space for my emotions to rush in

who wants to be first

Mr. Frustration perhaps or will Mr. Angry rush in

they both hang back surprisingly

Mr. Calm enters stage left and the spotlight is on him

I take a front row seat

he tells me everything is going to be fine

just wait a while and the dawn light will come

he smiles reassuringly and then exits stage right

the curtain comes down and it all goes black again

well that show was too short and not at all enlightening

nobody should be awake at this hour

except first responders and nurses

thankfully I do not need either of them right now

I decide to go back to bed

Float days are fun

Ian Hunter4 Comments

its good to have plans

establish milestones and goals

set objectives to meet them

diligently work on tasks towards your goals

pause when you have reached a big milestone 

bathe in the glory of achievements

but only celebrate for a short while

then get back to working on tasks

however, there will be some days when you can’t seem to focus

maybe your energy level is low

or you just can’t get motivated

if you have the flexibility, give yourself a day off

declare a float day

a day to float around doing almost nothing

turn your phone off and stay off the grid for a day

let your mind float too

keep it empty of worries about things to be done

let your thoughts float freely

dream a while as you are floating

at the end of your float day, pause to review your plans

determine if they are taking you where you want to go

adjust your plans and get back on task

it’s not healthy to be running full steam ahead all the time

you can still get there with a bit of floating now and again

float days are fun

Mirror confessions

Ian Hunter3 Comments

what do you see when you look in a mirror

the same person you saw many years ago

but you looked so different back then

are you afraid to look in a mirror these days

do you just glance quickly at your appearance

avoiding eye contact

how come we all like talking selfies

sharing and saving them

but we try and avoid the mirror

of course you can alter your selfies

make your skin tone look good

but there is no post processing in a mirror

what you see is what you get

no flattery or lies, its all you just as you are

its easier for guys to avoid mirrors

well at least those who do not wear makeup

I only look in the mirror to shave in the morning

my gaze firmly fixed on my stubble

not wanting to bump into

that bleary eyed person called me

occasionally I will dare to look into my eyes

something strange always happens

I question if its really me

or just my minds version of reality

it always feels uncomfortable  

then I step aside and the image is gone

but thankfully I am still there

I do not need a mirror to prove I am still alive

or to remind me how I look

I prefer to reflect on who I am in my mind

I wonder if bearded men suffer from mirror shyness

The battle to control John’s thoughts

Ian Hunter2 Comments

John was something of a rebel in his youth, always challenging things

not blindly agreeing to everything he heard and he was constantly searching for answers

he made an effort to think for himself

holding strong views on many things but willing to listen and learn

as he got older he settled down raising a family and working hard at his job

thinking for himself became a tiring task

without realizing it, he allowed others to do his thinking for him

he only listened to one radio station and watched one TV channel

all his books went unread and he rarely listened to music anymore

John allowed others to inject their thoughts into him

broadcasting and social media became the dirty needles for his news addiction

social media closely tracked John’s browsing habits

adjusting his news feed like the pusher who mixes a cocktail of drugs for a junkie

john happily ate all the words prepared by the media dietitians

he would repeat the same digested words during conversations

his circle of friends dwindled to a few just like him

he only went to bars that had TVs tuned to his favorite channel

politicians who hijack people’s thoughts loved John and those like him

they could easily collect votes without having any real policies or credible manifestos

one day,  John collapsed at work and was rushed to the hospital

he had suffered a massive stroke and his recovery was long and slow

throughout rehab he was totally disconnected from all news media

therapy sessions slowly taught him to speak and walk again

his right side was partly paralyzed and he learned to type with his left hand

the therapist gave him writing tasks and he kept a journal of his recovery

it was exhausting to type even a short sentence at first but John persevered 

John’s mind slowly began to wake up again

he started reading books and magazines and progressed to writing short stories 

after a very long rehab period,  John went home but he did not turn on the TV

he stopped using social media but he read extensively and wrote every day 

his first book was an autobiography

John became a successful author

the politicians who hijack people’s thoughts don’t like John anymore

Sometimes its good to be lost

Ian Hunter3 Comments

Sometimes its good to be lost

In an unfamiliar place

Without a clear path back

Nobody there to guide you

Before you can find your way back

You have to first find yourself

Find your fears and worries

Find your hopes and dreams

Have some time alone with them

Challenge them to convince you to keep them

Listen carefully to their words

Identify the ones you can really trust

Decide which ones you want to carry back

Leave the others behind

Knowing they will forever be lost

Lighten your load for the return journey

The path back will be easy to find

You will enjoy every step of the way

Come back a much better person

With clearer vision and purpose

Sometimes its good to be lost