FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN.

Tick, tock, tick, tock that is the sound of the clock ticking away. Sweat glistering on your forehead, as you anxiously wait to hear the good or bad news or is it the news that will decide your fate (I don't know). Fingers tapping anxiously on the table, feet constantly shaking, a bewildered look on your glum face & there you are sitting down wondering what is going to happen next. Such is the reality that we immerse ourselves into once we become uncertain of what life holds for us in its tight vice like grip.  

"Fear is an emotion in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight)". 

Fear is one of the most powerful forces that comes in second after love (which is the most dreaded feeling that overwhelms & renders one lacking in all sensibility). I do have fear & am pretty sure that you also have your own fear just like there are skeletons in your closet. Well then, now that we are all fearful of one thing or the other, let us begin.

"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear & the oldest and strongest kind of fear is the fear of the unknown".

The feeling of having fear keeps one focused mostly on the past, failures, regrets, weaknesses or just plain worried about the future. If we can acknowledge our fear, we can realize that we are overcomes & it is just our hesitation and the question of "what if" that holds us back. I have come to realize that if you want to catch your dream, you have to drop your fears. 

True fear will stifle your thinking & actions. It tends to create indecisiveness within us that results in stagnation. I have seen many give up on a dream job just because the interview  didn't go well (So what! Pick yourself up, dust yourself off & look life straight in the face & tell it hits like a girl). We (myself included) all have a tendency to procrastinate indefinitely rather than risk failure. Know this lost opportunities cause erosion of confidence & the downward spiral of events in ones life.

THE GRUMBLER.

I have just realized that of late, I have been complaining way too much & this was just pointed out to me by a fellow colleague just the other day.  She stated that not one single day has ever gone by without me say, "am stressed". Let me tell you if it reaches a place where those around you notice your consistent grumbling you need to put a lid on it. 

Am not saying you keep mum about that which ails you but rather find a more suitable way of expressing your frustrations enacted by life. That being so, I chose that instead of every time letting loose my tongue about how unfair this life is, why not count my blessings. Come to think of it, I do have quite a good number of blessings that God has been so gracious to reward me with. 

I have the gift of life (a good number of people are lost in this journey of life), I have good health (there are those on life support machines), I have a roof over my head (I do know of street families sleeping in the cold), I have clothes to warm me (others are just walking about in tattered rugs), I have food to eat (knowing there are those who struggle even to get that single meal of the day).......... e.t.c. 

By the way don't sit there looking all holy & thou at me with that pointy finger of yours, am quite sure you have had moments you unleashed your woes, claiming that they have worn you out & that you are sick and tired. It is human to let loose a torrent of complaints here & there, but how come we always forget to appreciate the little that we have.

It seems being an ingrate is like our customary way of life. Shackled to the grumbler nation anthem, raising our fists up in the air like the brotherhood oppressed by the colonial powers. Our cries of the unjust way life has enveloped us in a choke hold, draining all life from our lungs as we struggle to take in a whiff of the fresh air of freedom from our problems as we like to point out.

Anyway to each his own, if you want to see change you better be the change you desire. In all my existence what I have come to realize is that, "what you confess you profess". That being the case in point, I have decided to dedicate each day been grateful for what the good Lord has blessed me with, you may endeavour to do like wise if you so wish.

I AM BLESSED AND HIGHLY FAVOURED!

This is indeed going to be quite a week of sorts, the heavenly clouds have opened up like the tomb of Tutankhamun & it has begun to drizzle but am presuming that is a sign that the rains will be upon us soon enough. It is fulfilling to be of good cheer on a day like this when the weather is just right, not too cold not too hot.

Well it seems, we should start counting our blessings as is meant to be instead of grumbling about all that is not right in our lives. I am just saying, each Monday morning you will hear one person or the other complain "aargh is it Monday again, I wish the weekend could have extended just a little bit". How we wish that there could be a day between Saturday & Sunday, but anyway, "if wishes were horses beggars will ride".

Fear not for Easter will soon be with us & you will get to enjoy that extended weekend that you relish so much. Although It may seem that time flies, it never travels faster than one day. Each day is a new opportunity to live your life to the fullest. In each waking day, you will find scores of blessings & opportunities fro positive change. Do not let your today be stolen by the unchangeable past of the indefinite future! Today is a new day!

"Reflect upon your present blessings of which every man has many, not on our past misfortunes, of which all men have some".

Life is not all about receiving every time, it is more of a combination of being thankful for what you have as blessings & sharing those blessings with others who need just a little fraction of what you have. For gratitude lifts our eyes off the things we lack so that we might see the blessings we possess.

"May we be strengthened with the understanding that being blessed does not meant that we shall always be spared all the disappointments & difficulties of life. May your days be many & your troubles few, may all God's blessings descend upon you, may peace be within you, may your heart be strong & may you find what you are seeking wherever you roam".

IT IS NOT OVER UNTIL I WIN.

During the hard times, you must have faith. Hard times are not meant to to stay, but they have come to pass. "No matter how bad it is, no matter how bad it gets, you are going to make it". You must have patience & engage in consistent action in all that you do to sustain yourself on this life. You are the determining factor in making it in this life & easy is not an option. 

Frank Sinatra is quoted as having said, "the best revenge is massive success". We tend not to live our dreams because we have fear, making us get stuck in a certain stage in life. Fear kills dreams, it can age you, it can hold you back & leave you in a hypnotic state. It is an illusion in our mind, "fear is false evidence appearing real". 

Go into action with your dream, most people don't get out of the arena of life, because they don't want to fight back. If only we could put God first in all that we do, we will never come in second. You should tell yourself each day, "I am blessed and highly favoured". Even if life knocks you down, jump back up & say, "it is not over until I win". In life you either two kinds mentality one being eyesight or mind-sight.

When one is having eyesight, it means judging things around you on what you see & mind-sight is how you interprate what you have seen. Through mind-sight you can determine how your world will look like, either as that of a whimp or of a champion. The thing about life is that it changes, sometimes you are up, sometimes you are down & sometimes anything can happen, during those down moments when you are knocked down that is when you build on it or you can let it destroy you. 

Your mind is your battle field & your thoughts are your weapon. People usually tell you what you are meant to do but not how you are meant to do it. Don't ever let anyone tell you can't do something, if you have a dream you have got to protect it. 

A QUEST BEYOND MY COMFORT ZONE.

Am so lost in this little quagmire of mine, caught up in the twists & turns in the afterlife of adulthood. Stretched out like an elastic band, feeling every nerve & fibre of my being growing weary by the minute. How can I stomach so much & still be standing here in awe of all the wonders of creation? Is it not that I have the privilege of living only live once, knowing there is no rewind button on the remote of time!

How time flies by without hesitation nor wasting a moment to glance at the wreckage left in its wake. How we wonder & get perplexed by the tiniest of things that rock our boats in the stormy sea. Looking at the massive waves striking against the side of our vessel, watching & waiting, hoping for the best expecting the worst, knowing that soon we shall capsize.

If only tit for tat was a fair game, instead of the merry go round that it truly is. We would have taken a step into the bright & colourful future which always seems so distant in the rugged horizon. Woe unto us & our short sighted nature we fail to see the glorious bounty that awaits us on the other side of of the island hidden like a lost treasure.

It may be true that no man is an island but to each his own. For if you want to land on the moon you better aim for the stars. We are but one body, if only as one voice we could lift each other up high on our shoulders instead of grinding each other with our feet. Do not let the small comforts be your hindrance to the  greater good that lies ahead in your path.

ON YOUR MARK,GET SET,GO!

"The truth shall set you free" those words are echoed every now & then with the hope that we shall adhere to their significant meaning. Yet we denounce it some many times like Peter who denied all knowledge of knowing Jesus. How we hide behind the web of lies that protect us from the reality that, whether we like it or not, the dark abyss we hide our dark secrets shall be illuminated by the brightness of the hard truth.

The very gift of life, gives each & every one of us the greatest opportunity to live & the chance to rise above any situation that may come our way, with a hopeful attitude you can overcome any struggle, even if it feels like as if it is heavy boulder weighing heavily on your shoulders. If & when you are able to overcome an obstacle no matter its magnitude, the glory and joy of achieving such a fate will be tremendous.

"When all seems hopeless and all has gone silent. that is destiny turning down the music, so that all may hear our response to life's great storms, giving our response the chance to echo throughout eternity with the level of greatness it deserves"

As an individual you are responsible for what happens in your future, no matter what has happened in the past. As long as we are bound by the past, we are not free to respond to the needs & aspirations of those in the present. For you are the definer of the path on which your fate shall lie. You may deem it fit to live a lie each & every day of your life, but mind you soon & very soon the truth shall be unveiled like the "changamka na bundles mwitu".

The thing about today is not being the best but rather being better than you were yesterday. We fall yes! Countless times, ooh yes! But that does not mean that we are meant to lie on the ground immobilized because the woes & deceit in our lives have taken over. No! We are meant to dust ourselves, accept that we are at fault & get back on our two feet. For if you can look up, you can get up & never give up.