IN SAINSBURY'S CAR PARK

Paul phoned me last night while I was in Sainsbury's car park.

I spend a lot of time in Sainsbury's car park, when I work it out. About 70% of it is spent with me scratching my head, wondering where I left my car.

During the other 20-30%, I  drive round a few times, trying to figure out which space I can actually fit into.

Should I reverse into this one? Should I drive into that one? Will the oncoming car think I'm an idiot for swinging in at that angle? Will the other driver (from the other direction) get impatient and start tooting? Will I get hot under the collar trying to avoid scraping that people-carrier on one side or the shiny Porsche on the other? And why can't people park inside the lines?

These are all valid questions which my mind flicks through in the half-second of decision.

I drive round a lot, and sometimes several times over.

When I'm not trying to park or locate my car, I'm sitting in it, usually at night, and usually thinking about life.

And that's exactly what I was doing yesterday, when Paul phoned me after work.

"Oh no, don't worry," I said, "I'm just in Sainsbury's car park."

We chatted for a while. He was on his way up the A34, I was trying to work out the best thing to do with my evening.

Decisions are hard aren't they? I'm still having dizzy spells - little moments when the blood swooshes around my head and the world spins like a top. They don't help with the decision-making process.

I wonder what would happen if, rather than agonising over a decision, I just did the very first thing that came into my head. If my brain were operating in departments, I'd cut-out the middle-man with all his neural paperwork, and just do whatever pops into the in-tray of the Situation Analysis Room.

Before I go fully 'Inside Out' though, I should point out that I do know that this has the potential to be a really terrible idea. Some filters (don't jump, don't say that, oh think about it before you mention it) are quite essential to my well-being and frankly, the brainiacs in the Situation Analysis Room have no idea.

What's more, I'm trying to live my life by the finest filter of all, the words of the Bible. Let's be honest, it tells me that left to its own devices, my heart (the real me) would get up to all kinds of dangerous mischief I'd regret later on. I kind of need that filter.

But beyond that, what might happen? What risks would I thoughtlessly take and win? What gambles are out there to be rolled or avoided?

I arranged to meet up with Paul and then we ended the call in the same way we always do, with a cheers and a bye.

The stars twinkled cheerfully above the Sainsbury's logo, and the warm, bright lights glimmered beneath it in the real world.

Life is a bit like zooming round the car park, figuring out what the best parking space might be. Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you don't. Sometimes you have to be an Olympic gymnast to contort yourself out of your car, sometimes you can fling wide the door and leap out with the joys of Spring.

What you probably ought not to do though, is spend hours indecisively racing around wondering where to park when you could be inside doing what you went there for.

I smiled to myself and started the engine.