My brain operates simultaneously in two ways. The most regular, and prosaic, is the constant hum of unimportant traffic budging and knocking clumsily through my thoughts. It’s like the Arc de Triomphe – little purpose if you know any other route, and not particularly effective as a means of intersecting other paths.

The second is irregular, and comes in fits and starts, rather like a kangarooing car on a cold morning. They are not lightbulb moments, and neither are they especially enlightening. But, as and when they do happen, I ought to show them the courtesy of allowing their brief fluttering of life to have space to breathe. Yesterday’s mild electric shock of a thought was the balance between consumption and production; I realised how much I draw in, and how little I put out. In essence, I am intellectually and culturally parasitic. Gaining knowledge through whatever means is rarely frowned upon, but what is the use of consuming others’ output without returning the favour?

But, I always seem to strike the iron as it has cooled, and squander these chance encounters with fleeting thoughts. Given that this latest is a direct representation of my failings to produce, perhaps 2011 is the opportunity to look upon this as an opportunity and turn thought into action.