Tag Archives: blessings

Perspective

Posted on by
2

“One moment the world is as it is. The next, it is something entirely different. something it has never been before.” Anne Rice, Pandora

Sitting in the patio, at home in the coast. I am surrounded by beautiful gardens full of palm trees, tropical flowers and 30 degrees (Celsius) weather.   I feel blessed, spending quality time with my Angel, listening to music and loving life.  All of this while I work remotely, in this case from the safety of home.

I am settling into quarantine far better than I thought I would. 7 of 14 days of self-quarantine, life has never been so sweet.  I am healthy.  My angel is here in quarantine with me she is the reason for it.  She just returned home from Costa Rica! 

Sadly, the world is in crisis right now with the Covid-19 situation affecting most countries in the world.  Things are dire in many parts of the world, with people losing loved ones, people fighting for their lives. More people are losing their livelihoods. Businesses are shutting down, and most of the worlds’ economies are in a downward spiral.  

Then there is the fear of this virus that is raging through the world.  Forcing nation after nation to shut down, no end in sight.  Knowing, that too that when we get a handle on the virus, we will feel the repercussions of it for years to come.  

What is happening is happening and nothing I can do will stop it or make it go away.  I am concerned, yet grateful. Having a roof over my head, food to eat, and a secure job through this ongoing global pandemic is not something I am taking for granted. 

I will do my part by staying home during quarantine. When the period will ends, continue to maintain social distance. I will do all that has been prescribed, so as not to infect or get infected.  

Let us all be hopeful for a better tomorrow. In the meantime pay attention to what is happening in nature. Look for the silver lining these dark times.

  • The canals of Venice clearing and returning to blue, fish and other water animals returning,
  • the pollution levels in China dropping as a result of the overall confinement of people due to the virus.   
  • I am also sure that parks like Maasai Mara will have a reprieve of the constant year-round human traffic.  
  • the time spent in traffic in cities full of smog emitted by the fuels we burn in our cars.
  • The hours we spend commuting to and from work. Precious hours to spend quality time with families who are home with us now

The world is resetting it seems, and I believe we are getting a second chance to remember what is important; family, quality of life.  The environment seems to be better for the break we are giving it.  A part of me secretly wants the restrictions to continue a little longer. Selfishly I want even more time with my Angel.

Whilst at home, we give mother earth a chance to recover somewhat.  Things may seem dire right now. Depending on the perspective we use to view our current experiences, we can see a lot of good that is coming out of this, not very good situation.

Connect A-head!

Posted on by
1

“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 →

I am a Tomboy!

Posted on by
Reply

“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 →

Keeping up with the Joneses

Posted on by
1

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?