Yesterday I wrote the following on my Facebook – “bit worried that I may have lived here too long – when I opened the bedroom curtains this morning, looked down into the neighbours yard and thought “Blimey that’s a fine specimen of a cock!” as their rooster strutted after the hens. Fairly sure I never used to think things like that!” 
 
This comment caused sniggers from my friends worldwide from Pembrokeshire to Minnesota.

I now hesitate to publish what I thought this morning as I watered the flowers outside the gate and the neighbour cheerily dragged some livestock out of her garden and set off for the mountain. 

“That’s a pretty goat!”  I thought as a caramel coloured kid skipped by following her mother, pausing only to bat long eyelashes at me. 

Following up on that thought has led many a lonely man to ruin methinks!

I am pretty sure that I used to just think normal thoughts like – “I must have a Mulberry handbag.” and “Shall I have Indian take away or Chinese for dinner” and “Will it rain?” and now I am admiring goats and noticing the plumage of cocks.

Living here the thought patterns change, the values move, the things you admire are different from the things you once thought you really wanted.

I notice the little things more.  If I turn my head now I can see the woodpecker busy on the tree by the mosque, I can hear the wood pigeons in the forest and if, this evening, the humming bird hawk moth doesn’t make his usual appearance I will notice.

I’m not saying I have gone back to nature, spurning the so called conveniences of modern life and the commercialism of home – hell sometimes I could kill for a Chinese takeaway.  No, its just I have room in my head for other thoughts now and time to see the little things that can make me happy enough. 

And if I sometimes still get the yen for a Mulberry handbag I’ll remember that I have one, two thousand miles away, gathering dust in a cupboard, and here I have goats skipping in the sunshine, making me smile right now.
posted 13-05-2010