“Be in love with your life, every minute of it” Jack Kerouac
I have really struggled with this piece. All week-long I was waiting for some inspiration, a word or phrase or something to spark enough interest to enable me to write for the week. Nada! Continue reading
“Invisible threads are the strongest ties.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
One recent evening, I sat at a table at the Tamarind restaurant, overlooking the beautiful creek that surrounds, Mombasa Island. At night the sight is magical. The entire island comes to life with twinkling lights. The creek is as calm as a sheet. If one did not know better they may think the water is a frozen sheet of ice, however we are in Mombasa, in Kenya, the equator etc, so frozen water? Not at all likely, it was very still though, like glass, a mirror for the glistening island of Mombasa, breathtaking! Continue reading
“My soul is not contained within the limits of my body; my body is contained within the limitlessness of my soul” Jim Carey
When I was a little girl, I lived amongst boys, so much so that I thought I was a boy. I climbed trees, and generally ran rampant, well as much as my grandmother would allow me. Later on I grew into womanhood and the real fun begun. Truth be told, I have never really been a girly girl, even in University, I opted to sleep an extra half hour rather than join my friends in the bathroom preening and putting on make-up before class. Continue reading
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. John F. Kennedy
Gratitude: according to definition, this is the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. The origin of the word is Latin Gratus which means to be pleasing, thankful. Interestingly enough in my little research I discovered that the word has been used less and less through the years from 1800’s to 2010. What does that mean, are we less grateful now, or do we just use other words to describe the same thing? Go figure.
I break down the word to great and attitude, though as shown above this is not the true meaning of the word, I think to have gratitude, one must have a great attitude so it is fitting right? My understanding of the word is to be thankful of one’s situation and plight, to pay attention to what you are and have and not to dwell on what you lack.
This brings to mind a saying I heard a lot while growing up “keeping up with the Joneses”, meaning always striving to be more or better than your neighbour. Unfortunately this is the way that many of us are choosing to live today; some of us are so busy competing with the neighbour, attempting to acquire what the neighbour has, living the life that our neighbour lives, that we lose sight of who we truly are and what we already have. I don’t believe that it is possible to be happy in a life of “keeping up” because the Jones’s make their decisions based on their own values, what they love, what they are capable of, whilst those “keeping up” are there making the decisions so as not to be left behind and seem less than the Jones’s. The choices made; to buy a new car, acquire a new house or take a vacation are not truly governed by your own internal desires and choice, therefore after you have acquired all that enables you to believe you are equal or even superior to the Jones’s you will find that you will not enjoy it. You are left empty trying to live someone else’s life and attempting to attain someone else’s dreams; completely unfulfilling to you. Bringing me to wonder, when you are so busy “keeping up with the Joneses” who is living your life? Fulfilling your destiny? What a sad state of existence.
Having gratitude is about accepting your situation and being thankful for all that you have, this does not mean complacency nor is it to encourage you to wallow in mediocrity, no, it is in my opinion more about looking around you, taking stock of who you are and what have accomplished and appreciating that. No matter how little it is, consider it a step towards fulfilling your destiny. It should serve as encouragement for you to forge ahead, irrespective of challenges you face. This is your springboard to the next level. Once you appreciate what you have in the present, then you can make plans to achieve more and better in the future. This should not be motivated by competition with neighbours or by others perception of how you choose to live your life. It should be done in keeping with your individual values and drive. Always follow your passions towards your destiny; ensure those passions are in sync with your psyche and feel good in your soul.
Gratitude means we can achieve all the blessings bestowed upon each of us, another step to happiness. We all have reasons to be grateful and we should embrace those reasons so as to attract more towards us. If we do not know how to appreciate what we have, do we really know who we are and where we are going?
Speaking to my almost teen daughter the other night, we were talking about blogging, she has finally decided that my blog, might be good enough for her to invest a few minutes reading what I have written; that is the articles that her and I have not co-authored. Continue reading
“Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Attend un peu! (French) Subiri! (Kiswahili) Stick a pin! (Jamaican patois) All meaning …….. You got it, WAIT! Un momento por favor! (Spanish). You name a language, and there is a phrase for; hold your horses! Come slow! Chill and ultimately…. Be patient! Continue reading
“Remember…..
1. Whoever comes are the right people
2. Whatever happens is the only thing that could have.
3. Whenever it starts is the right time
4. When it’s over, it’s over.”
Author Unknown
It is my belief that certain people come into our lives at the right time and for a particular purpose, after which they either stay because the message is indefinite and their continuous process inspires us forward, or they complete their task, and having done their bidding, they leave. Continue reading
Ever Tried. Ever Failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail Again. Fail Better! Samuel Beckett
It’s been a while, a long while; I guess this is what is called taking a hiatus from writing. I am not sure what brought it on, but there it was, I stopped writing regularly and posting in the blog, and looking back I think it is a shame. I used to enjoy the dialogue with friends old and new from around the world, friends who would read the blog on a weekly basis and comment. I felt honored words I wrote would inspire people and make them feel good. Then it all stopped, the drive I felt to write remained but to write for the public domain did not. Not until now. Continue reading
Smile, breathe and go slowly! Thich Nhat Hanh
I play squash three mornings a week, when I am in Mombasa. I love the game of squash; it is very varied and gives a great cardio work out. It is also very competitive and I like competition.
“To get to know a woman
don’t look inside her heart,
just rummage through her handbag
the perfect place to start!
Handbags, whether large or small
tell our secrets, one and all.”
Excerpt from a poem HANDBAGS by Elijah A. Terry
This morning I was preparing my handbag on my way to work, every day I carry a handbag to work, I carry a handbag to go shopping, actually every time I leave the house, I carry my handbag with me. Even when I am going for my early morning squash session, I leave my handbag in the car, in case I need something in it, in the three minutes it takes to drive from my house to the squash court. Normally, I just pick a handbag that suits what I am wearing (to the best of my ability, I am not exactly a fashionista). I then absent-mindedly switch the contents from the handbag I used previously to the one I will be using. I carry roughly the same things every day.