HOORAH!

I think a hug, is a comforter in times of turmoil as life keeps on approaching like a boxer’s punch. Left, right, left, right, left, right, there goes your state of mind shifting from side to side in utter confusion. You get caught up in the whirlwind of growing up & each time you take a step forward, a wall of nothingness appears to block your destination. 

The heart aches in pure agonizing pain as there stab wounds in your back go deeper & deeper as the knives are driven in by your so called family/friend/partner. You wonder to yourself, am I just now a dust bin to take in all manner of trash. A fire buys within from the very pits of the abyss. You are in disbelief, as all that you ever wanted is to live a good life, filled with happiness, inner peace & gratefulness.

Everywhere that you turn, you are faced with the same smiles which hide a sinister motive aimed at burning you to the ground like the London Bridge. Is this all there is to life, or am I meant for more greatness than this, you may ask yourself? The ticking of the clock in the corner, gets your heart beating faster & faster, as you are unsettled to the new reality that nothing is as it seems.

Did you know that the phrase “blood is thicker than water” in full is “the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb”, now you do. It means that the chosen bonds are more significant than one’s ties to family or relatives. Did you also know that the tongue is the deadliest weapon that has ever existed in the world? If you look at historical warfare &/or battles were mostly started because someone said something (but you can correct me on this).

You deem yourself a worthy human, but is it really though? How do you treat those who are around you? Do you make them the next topic of discussion in your closed door meet ups or social media gossip? Or do you paint them as the wreckers of lives? Or do you deem them a piece of art, to be appreciated in quietness? Or do you deem them, as the long lost friend/brother/sister you never had?

Whichever it is that tickles your fancy, you ought to check on yourself as we live in a self-serving life where it is free for all? At times, we may revert to our default setting in which we go to survival mode. Mostly commonly referred to as “survival for the fittest”. Anyway, you ought to remember that each day that you are able to witness another sunrise, you are blessed & highly favoured.

It is said that the best of things are not the easiest to get. It takes one, to put in the effort or make a sacrifice or two or three, of some sort to attain such heights. From the iconic animation of the Lion King movie which aired in the 90s, this one scene caught me off guard:

Rafiki: what was that? The weather very peculiar:

Simba: don’t you think that it looks like the winds are changing?

Rafiki: change is good, but it is not easy.

Simba: I know what I have to do, but going back means I will have to face my past. I have been running from it for so long.

Rafiki: (hits Simba on the head with a stick)

Simba: what was that for?

Rafiki: It does not matter, it is in the past.

Simba: yeah, but it still hurts.

Rafiki: oh yes, the past can hurt, but the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it.

Life is never supposed to be easy. Life is a test, life is a trial & trials are never easy.  So, why are we expecting so much ease from life, It is a journey, which is full of obstacles & problems, but by the end of the day if we choose not to give up is what defines us. We are living in a beautiful life, that we always complain about but someone somewhere is dreaming of living the life that we are complaining about. So, whatever you have in your life, all the miseries & sorrows, just embrace it with all your heart & soul. Always remember that you are blessed, you have so much to be grateful for & gratitude is the key. The person who is not bitter is a person is always grateful for what he/she has. So be grateful for what you have & you will always end up having more.

“Once a Man was asked, ‘what did you gain by regularly praying to God?’ The man replied, ‘nothing but let me tell you what I lost, anger, ego, greed, depressions, insecurity & fear of death’. Sometimes, the answer to our prayers is not gaining but losing, which is ultimately is the gain”.

Let us take a moment to talk to Abba Father, our Creator.

“Dear heavenly Father, I come before you today humbly & with gratitude in my heart. You are the Alpha & the Omega, the beginning & the end, you are my creator, my sustainer & my redeemer. I thank you for the gift of life & for the countless, blessings you have bestowed upon me. Please forgive me for my shortcomings & any ways that I have fallen short of your perfect will. Lord, I surrender my worries, my fears & anxieties to you. Grant me your peace that surpasses all understing, fill me with your Holy Spirit that I may walk in your ways & be guided by your wisdom. Father, I seek your direction & guidance in every aspect of my life. Open my eyes to see your will & give me the courage & strength to follow it faithfully. Help me to love others as you have loved me & to serve them with a humble heart. Thank you for your constant presence & the assurance of your unfailing love. I trust in your promises & I place my hope in your alone. May your will be done in my life, for your glory & the expansion of your kingdom in Jesus name I pray. Amen!”

A BIRD WORTH!

It seems with the way new year resolutions happen, you promise to do this or that & lo & behold they fade away like a bad dream. I thought I would pen my thoughts on this canvas as has been tradition, but the beating life was giving me, had be on the run like a refugee fleeing war, to go & regroup & strategize. 

Well, here I am, having resurfaced like the smooth withdrawing of Excalibur from the rock, back at the call to do right by you. Don’t worry, I won’t disappear again on you like smoke, rather I will sting like bee & fly like a butterfly with the hardcore truth of the reality of life. 

Who said that life is fair? Globally everyone is feeling a pinch in their pockets as the belt is being tightened day by day, so you are not alone.

“As long as you keep making excuses, you prevent yourself from getting out of the situation you’re in”.

Anyway, the earth is for living & we shall live, this myth that since we are in a time of trying to milk water from a stone nothing shall come out of it, is all in the mind. If you look around you (just take a peep), what do you see? Are you still breathing? Are you still able to move from one place to another with your feet? 

Do you have people or even a person who cares about you? Do you have food on your table? Clothes on your back? Well, you are more blessed than others & you are highly favoured.

"Life is too short to worry about what people who exist in a free app in your phone think of you".

We take for granted the little blessings that we have & grumble & complain of what we lack without first appreciating what is before or around us. You better live & let live, otherwise the burdens of this world will bring you down to your knees like an anchor. I do understand that we are all or most of us are in survival mode, don’t fret you are not alone. 

This life is for living & make do with what is before us, taking in that fresh breath of air to fill our lungs with new hope like the rising sun in the morning. I am privileged to get to take part in a social activity dubbed “running” that brings people of all ‘walks/runs’ of life together for a common cause, as we let loose in nature & the environs. 

You should see the faces of people in the beginning of a run all jolly & excited, give it a few minutes later & people are finishing & their faces are contorted looking like as if one has eaten a slice of lemon thinking it is an orange slice. Such are the moments one gets to treasure, as you interact with others, converse as you run along in the windy trails catching up on the week that has been.

"Sometimes you have to put everything to the side just to take care of yourself. Don’t be afraid to say no when it’s necessary".

I am crumbling like a brittle cookie, chipping away bit by bit wondering how I am going to stick to the very end of my journey. On the inside, I am screaming my lungs out, while on the outside on my face is plastered with a sunny smile stretching from ear to ear. How the tables have turned as the aging processing progresses. 

Some think it becomes easier with the increase of the age digits, with little realization of the full extent of the carefully laid out trap dubbed adulthood. Years pass by like the bullet train, once you are a mere child, then you come to be a teenager full of life, then puff like smoke you are in the first phase of adulting. 

If you are blessed enough, you go through the stage of companionship with the title of either husband or wife or partner, then further down the line you enter parenthood where you become a father or mother & the stages keep on going & becoming quite something & ‘adventurous”.

"Always pay attention to who is present and genuinely involved in your life at your hardest times"

By a show of hands (I am serious about this), who can claim he/she has never faulted in anything? You are the perfect person, mistakes are not part of you & that it is unlawful to accuse you of such. No hands up! I wonder why? You are free to share, as am getting to learn that sharing is caring. 

We are not all cut from the same cloth, we are like the coat of many colors, pieced together to become one. What we decide to do after the mistake or mistakes in our lives, is what matters. Many of us get stuck once a wrong is done & become affixed by the mere thoughts of “what have I just done?” At this moment, you become shackled to the wrong already done, frozen in the time loop of disaster instead of looking for a way out of the mess. 

We are all human & are prune to such endings, it is what we do afterwards that matters. You may someone who you may deem as a confidant, share with them what is going on. Once you say what is troubling you, maybe you will feel better but it is better than bottling it all up. We don’t get depressed, stressed, anxious, fatigued for no reason as there is something that is a cause of this.

All in all, let us pray:

Our dear everlasting Father up in heaven, thank you for the very gift of life. Lord Jesus, I come to you seeking your light in my darkness. I have fallen short of your expectation but I know that you are a God of second chances. Guide me ooh Lord in your ways that I may live a life worthy of you. I am but a child who has fallen & is seeking my way back to you. Jehovah Jireh, thank you for all you have done for me, without my knowing. I am not strong on my own as the world folds around me, let your hand be my guide. Lord you have given me the breath in my lungs, the use of my limbs, the food I eat & more than I can count. I pray in Jesus holy name, Amen!!!

 

STEPPING!

Well, here we go again! Did you make any New Year resolutions? Did you start the year by saying never again, will I? You are not alone, you are one amongst the many who have made such feeble attempts to do sudden turn arounds that have had quite interesting results. Don’t worry, you don’t have to feel bad about it, we are all growing to understand how to pull through. “

Never introduce yourself to a lifestyle that you can’t afford and never adopt a lifestyle that depends on someone else’s money”. 

As you traverse this universe, remember that your choices lead to the life that you live. I want to have it all, no matter the costs. It is said that you need to be careful of what you wish for, you may just get it. We are so quick to utter words, without putting much thought into what the end results might be. 

An example, “I want this kind of life”, “I want that person”, I want to have it all”, “I want to be the greatest” & so forth. Do you know the weight that comes with such words & what it takes to achieve such a state? It is only the wearer of a shoe who knows where it pinches. 

Time is your currency, everything is temporary & you will never regret the time you spent with the people you love”. 

In this current times, nothing is as is. People are using every means necessary to get to the top. The aspect of having any form of morals has been thrown out of the window, ran over several times & kerosene poured on it & a fire lit. It is easier said than done & I can assure you, go ask anyone who has genuinely made it, what it took them to reach where they are. 

You would be flabbergasted & dumbfounded by all the moving pieces that were involved in rising to their current status quo. Thus, it is prudent to understand that each morning as you wake up to another sunrise, soaking in the warmth of the day & visualizing how you are going to conquer your day that your first thought(s) & words will have an impact on your day to some extent. 

“Your words are seeds, your words have got power, what you say you produce”. 

In the words of Les Brown, he says when you get up each day, go to a mirror & tell yourself, “I am blessed & highly favoured”. What you listen to as you take on what lays ahead, will determined as to how you feel, this is inclusive of the fact that you have free will. Check yourself & see what is the first thing that you do when you get out of bed or do you just wake up to face the day. 

Well for me I start my day with getting God involved in it. I tell Him, how grateful I am that He has made me see yet another day, how wonderful it is that He woke me up from slumber otherwise I would have gone to the siesta of no return, then I tell Him to guide me in my day in whichever way it goes & that He is to be in control.

Now it seems like a long stretch to put my day in another’s hands but that is just my poison & each of us has their own. It is vital to always remember, we all have free will whereby, you can either choose to do something or not as the decision lies with you (except in the times of modern slavery). 

"Be careful what you throw away, because good things come in small packages”. 

The outcome of your growth in life will be determined by what & who you surround yourself with. If you are into always having negativity that is what shall follow you. If you are into the immoral, that is what shall be in your shadow. If you are into giving, then that is what shall follow you. If you are into positive vibes that is what you shall attract. However, be careful not to just go whichever direction that you are thrown, lacking a firm ground/stand. 

Even the mast of a ship, keeps the sails in check. It is upright to ensure that the gust of wind are captured at the opportune time to go in the desired direction. If someone or someone’s are the ones who keep on telling you what to do or controlling your every move, you better check yourself, otherwise you will be like a zombie who just goes wherever he/she is told.

“Did you ever realize that when you were the worst version of yourself, you had the most friends, it seemed like everybody wanted you around when you were putting the needs of others before your own needs. Then when you start to put yourself first, your circle became smaller and smaller but you realize that is okay, because God begins to put the right people in your life, the people that love you for you. You understand that not everybody that started with you, can go with you and that is just the reality of the situation”. 

If I cut you with a blade, will you not bleed red blood? If I deny you a drink of water, will you not be thirsty? If I deny you food, will you not be hungry? If I hit you, will you not feel pain? This being the reality, one ought to remember that you are not an island. It will not cost you a shilling or a dime, to check on one another. We are so caught up on how our year is going to look like that we have forgotten that there are others who have not being so privileged to see the light of day. 

Somebody woke up with a surprise knock on their door, only to be greeted with a freshly printed notice to vacate. Others woke up, scratched their heads having no food to eat but just droplets of water to survive on. Others woke up to news that they no longer had a gainful employment. Others woke up, to find out their beloved one(s) are no longer in this realm. It is your choice to make a difference, whether or not you will be there for others. 

"Remember one thing, through every dark night there’s a bright day after that, so no matter how hard it gets, stick your chest out, keep your head up and handle it”. 

This world we are in, we are just passengers travelling by to our final destination & along the way we shall face & meet many things that may or may not make sense, thus we ought to remember there is no permanency in life. 

“Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for today. Thank you for your continued blessings and grace. Lord Jesus, help me to trust you more, help me to trust your plan for my life. Help me to stop worrying about what may or may not happen with the future, because I know it is in your hands. In Jesus name, I pray amen!”.