Jot down the first thing that comes to your mind.

My immediate first thought when I read this prompt, was ‘I have no idea what I’m thinking’. I read this prompt soon after I woke up. My mind was caught in between conscious processes, and laboured, alarm-driven awakening. Consequently I was on autopilot until that first, vital dose of caffeine. When I revisited this prompt I realised I could spin a post out of this, and here we are.

I often consider men to be creatures of instinct. I for one certainly function on instinct when I first wake up (or maybe the process of getting dressed and having breakfast is muscle memory?). I don’t think, I do. My pleasures, especially at this time, are simple. The warmth of the bed, the comfort of my pillow, the snuggle with the wife… it’s uncomplicated, like me! My mind can sometimes lack a ‘first thought’, and indeed several thoughts over a prolonged period.

I’ve often read how women are baffled by a man’s ability to have nothing going on in the grey matter. Somehow, some of us can indeed switch off our minds and sit there, without a single notion troubling us. In my case, some intrusive or embarrassing memory (to be fair, sometimes a welcome or humorous memory too) will eventually leak into my brain, but for a time, I can be completely automatic, so to speak.

It’s certainly the case first thing in the morning!