Forget Don't Fix It!!

Habari ,Muriega ,Chamge ,Nango ,Muugeni ,Bunyande ,Gutten Morgen ,Good morning/afternoon children of the Most High God? Christmas is drawing closer its actually 1week to Christmas  Blessed in deed we are to have come this far. 2015 has been a blessed year for me and for that I am indeed grateful.

Today I want us to focus on a lesson I have reflected on this afternoon. On Friday, Grace woke up and just as she usually does she went and switched the radio on. The radio helps in waking me up and making noise in the dead quite house.So anyway for some reason the frequency wasn't clear and I decided to try and fix the frequency.The frequency wouldn't budge and the speakers were failing. Could this be the dying moment for my radio? I thought to myself. But before I sang fare well be thee to my radio I  decided to check another frequency and wallah! the radio was so loud even NEMA would have charged me for noise pollution.The music in the other station was so good in fact I got to dance to some all time hits that my usual station could never play. That not withstanding I kept tuning back to my normal station and the result was same as before. So finally I decided to let it go and enjoy this new found treasure.

Which brings me to today's lesson,Forget it don't Fix it Monday.Many are the times we keep going back to our past trying to enjoy what we used to enjoy. Not seeing the good that the present has and enjoying it instead. Many are the times we waste so much time fixing the past in the hope that it will bring the same good results. Well enough is enough!

 Lets let go of our past.God is giving us new lands to plant in and the harvest is great. But if we keep going back to our past we will waste too much valuable energy and time which would be used to increase the harvest of the new land.Forget and move on don't fix what you cannot.Learn from your past and let go.

May God bless us all and help us to let go of our past and enjoy the future. May He bring healing to our land Kenya and help her people not use the past to revenge in the present.Amen.

From a Teacher to a Minister

Good morning my friends its truly a beautiful day that God has given to us. Waleopard is a trained teacher by profession and she has been brought up by a teacher too. Teachers are known to be strict with their children and well ,yes speaking, from experience mother raised me strictly. Some say i am very strict , now you know why. This means i respect teachers very much and this article doesn't mean i think less of teachers.

So anyway not too long ago i met a former colleague from a school I went for my teaching practise. Apparently he left teaching went on to be employed elsewhere and is now a minister thanks to the devolved system of government.It was great hearing the road he has travelled to be the person he is right now. Yes life has a way of presenting us with opportunities and it is those that grab it that move up the ladder. That is what i gathered from talking to my former colleague.
 
In addition I further got the insight in the truth that" usiwache mbachao kwa msala upitao"(Don't leave the toilet you used to help yourself dirty) Yes friends lets not look down on each other based on wherever someone is in the current. With dreams and visions to be improve oneself; people are able to soar higher. We all can be a different person from the person we are today. Taking and making the right choices today determines our tomorrow. Our today is our yesterday of tomorrow. It is what we are today that makes our future. So lets not be afraid to soar higher we can make a total transformation.

The former President Moi was a teacher before he became a president. I came to learn that the Late Njenga Karume started as a charcoal burner and seller. Let us respect and serve all people equally wherever we are placed to work. We do not know who they will be in the future neither do we know where our paths will cross next.

May God Bless us all.

 

 

The Shoes Lesson

Since Friday last week, I have done nothing but reflect on how precious and fragile life is. I also thought about Heroes and Heroines in my life. All these reflections have made me spend time making new discoveries and taking bold steps towards things that I have wanted to do in a long time. Let’s just say I have forthwith decided to make a heroine out of myself and friends everyday. When all is over, in this new path, I pray the life I will have lived will have a story tell through the ups and downs I had to endure to see the end. Enough with the by the way speech.

Sometimes back, we decided to travel and discover Kenya and let’s just say instead of discovering Kenya, I discovered shoes I figured the place I was visiting would be easy so I put on my open shoes. In my thinking, the place was to be all conducive and therefore no need to wear all weather shoes. Now that was my biggest undoing. The cars got stuck as there were hips of dust. This was new to me; I always thought cars get stuck in muddy places. At some point we had to get out of the vehicle for it to make it easy for the cars to make it passed the hips of dust. That was when I discovered I wore the wrong shoes. Fortunately for me a friend had a spare pair of rubber shoes which she lent me for the trip. Later that weekend, I visited another place and the open shoes were appropriate for the terrain. This weekend when taking the shoes to the cobbler I reflected on the incidence and realised there was a shoe lesson, which I want to share with you today.

We would all want to save on costs and perhaps have this perfect shoe that we can wear and be comfortable in for different places and occasions. But you see friends truth is there is no perfect shoe that fits all places and conditions. Different shoes come into use during certain times. I looked at it from the people I have in my life. It would be so easy and with less emotional stress if we could have all what we need in one person. However this isn't practically possible to get. Different people will be there for us during certain times in our life. There will be places and times that however much we may wish to proceed with them, they are not meant to go with us that road. 

The lesson for me to understand was that if I am going to be comfortable during the journey of life, I need to know who exactly to take with me. Not all shoes will be for all terrains. Same way not all people I have interacted with in my life will be with me in my life journey. Certain times will call for people to go separate ways, not because the relationship was faulty, but because we are taking different roads. Hope it does make sense to you and that God can give us all a deep understanding to know which people to take during certain stages in our lives.

Happy #WCW.

The Company called Life

Time and time again over the years God has granted me ,I have come to know that each day is a learning opportunity. Many of us don't take time to listen and give someone else time to speak and be heard. With such behaviour we are also not given the opportunity to be heard. The truth of the matter is that everyone has something to say and wants to be heard. In the company of Life any person every person qualifies for the position of CEO; but of your individual life company. Life is the only company in which we all have an opportunity to be top managers. As a top manager of any well performing company, thinking you can run the company on your own would be suicidal .At the same time thinking you can implement all ideas presented to the table is suicidal. 

In the company of life just like the other companies among us, we have to know how to prioritise activities and who will qualify to help in the running of the company. We need to identify competition and know how to eliminate it. We need to establish which mergers to form. As a top manager there will come a time when we need to lay off some staff in order to sow higher. Not everyone will be happy with the laying off but its life. There will come a time in our everyday running that we we'll need to make tough decisions. Decisions that will cause discomfort even to us. We cannot continue running our life in our comfort zones and expect to grow. We cannot continue to make the same mistake over and over again and expect different results. We need to realise that we may have the right goal but use the wrong strategy hence fail to attain our goals.

The important thing that each of us  needs to remember when running your company is ; you can either run your company into losses or profits. Regardless of where you are now realise you are in a good position to make a turn around for your company. The continuous running your company in losses is a decision that will require major turn around. If you need to take your life to better levels you'll need to ask yourself what you will need , who you will take and what you will do to ensure you get to high profit levels.

Hope you can take time to reflect on your life company to which you are the CEO with God being the executive Director. May God give us wisdom to hire the right people to work in our company of life.
 
God bless us all.

Reason for my Happiness

Sometime back a friend wrote and asked me how I am able to keep up a high spirit. She wanted to know if I ever have a dull moment in life. The shocking and surprising thing is that I didn't know that was the message I was sending out because in true sense when she was asking about my happiness I was going through the toughest moment in my life.

I will say it was the toughest because I am not looking forward to having tougher moments. The tough moments had come because I had allowed myself to care and love with attachment. See that time separating myself from those that I loved was really tough. I couldn't imagine losing a friend whom I had known for so long and who was like a sister to me. I couldn't imagine losing a friend who I had already imagined a life with. But you see that tough moment had a lesson for me and that is the lesson I need to share with you.

I realised that completeness will never come because of the moments I am able to share with my friends. I have always been complete in every sense of the world. I learnt to love freely without attachment. By this I mean understanding that each of those I love is complete in every sense of the world. They will and have always had a right to chose who they have in their life and this they can change when they so wish. 

I learnt that I should never tie my destiny with that of another. I learnt that though I may want friendship to extend to the children of my friends, that is nothing I can control. The best I can do is to pray that my children are able to find and make the right friends. I learnt that so long as something has a start it can always have an end. The only thing that has no definite start or end is God. He is the true ocean of happiness, love and peace.
No matter how much we draw from God, He never lacks in supply of love,peace and happiness. 

I also learnt that nature has a lot of things to teach me everyday. Each experience is always a lesson for me to learn. So there you are the reason for my happiness is God , learning to love without attachment and looking for a lesson for each experience I go through no matter how silly, obvious or difficult it may be.

Becoming an Expert at Something

Sometime back we had an expert of resource mobilising come to speak to a committee that had been set up to spearhead resource mobilisation at our work place to which I was a member. Over the weekend as I watched Jackie Chan series I couldn't help but marvel at the expertise of the actor. Not so long ago Kenya was privileged to have one of their daughters win an Oscar award and another ,my role model; Prof Wangari, win a Nobel Peace Prize. Many will agree with me that those who are identified as experts in certain areas are sort by many companies and offered huge amounts of compensation to entice them to join them. But were they born experts?

The answer is a big NO. They however made a decision to take the first step and worked each day on the area they are now experts in . The truth is that in life nothing comes automatically. We have to make the choice to go after that which we want. Each day we practise we become better at what we do. It is the urge to better our better that leads to us being best at what we do..We cannot continue admiring other people for what they have worked hard to be good at and just wish we can have their life. It is important to realise that no amount of wishing will make things happen for us. 

There is nothing like  automatic success. Its even said that a genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration., meaning we need to work smart to be that which we wish to be. Perhaps its time we took time to ask have I given up on my work and hence lost the chance to be an expert? If I am not taking the steps to teach myself, who will?

May we all be blessed and be given the wisdom we need to improve our day today living.

 

When There's Expansion and Contraction

From my science class back in primary school, I was taught that there are those materials that are good conductors of heat.The good conductors, will expand and contract based on the temperature they are subjected to. If you observe the electric wires in our dear motherland Kenya they conform to this theory. That is why sometimes they spark when they come together more so in the cold season. In fact human beings too are good conductors of current e.g electricity. If you don't believe me touch a live naked wire(at your own risk of course) 

In my view, Human-Life too has its varrying temperatures the key participants here being human beings. This means at different life temperatures people will expand and contract. For some during stressful situations they will contract while others will expand. Whatever the circumstance, the important thing for us to remember is that we have to adjust to the covering that fits us  during contraction or expansion in order to look neat. In addition, we need to appreciate that there are materials that will melt out when subjected to high temperatures others will break. There people who can't handle certain challenges as easy as others.

Just as the temperatures keep changing in a room so does life and human beings. We cannot continue to live in the same way we lived under different room temperatures. To be comfortable in life we must not be too rigid. We should be able to adjust to whatever situations life presents to us. We should also appreciate that different people have different levels of understanding. By so doing we live a much more comfortable and fulfilling life. 

Let us not be too rigid to life changing conditions. Let us learn to accept the change so that we can easily fit in and continue living a more fulfilled life. Think about it my friend.

May we all have wonderful evening and be blessed.

Pimple on my cheek

Its red, painful and makes one cheek appear bigger than the other. The temptation to prick it is so present within me. Touching it i can feel its much swollen from the inside. Many of us have come to know pimples as a sign for other conditions within us. I am sure we all have a clue of what they mean ranging from stress to colds to hormonal disorganisation in our system.... What the sign represents, is never a pleasant feeling.

Looking at the practical part of it in our day today life we will recognise that,there are signs everywhere to warn us of the many occurrences in our life. However we are so quick trying to eliminate the sign instead of finding strategies to deal with that which is coming. The unfortunate thing is that when we eliminate the sign before its time to be in existence is done; we are left with spots that would have avoided. The feeling is always waiting till its ready and ripe like the pimple we will be asked too many questions or perhaps have to endure the embarrassment associated with the pimple.But in actual sense the short cut of pricking the pimple actually leaves a longer lasting mark compared to the time we would need to endure the pimple ripening.

Let us take time to appreciate the signs around us. Signs are not there to be eliminated but to help us prepare for that which is coming. Even in relationships, finances these signs are always there. Its the same reason that the weather man is warning us about the El-Nino rains. There are many that will chose to ignore the warning and deal with the consequences in high magnitude. 

Think about it Friends.

Wishing us all a lovely evening ahead.

Last Seen and Double Ticks Proof

For many of us whats app came as a blessing as it made communication cheaper and faster. For others however it has been the cause of many constant fights with those that we communicate with. One particular reason is because of the "last seen on, ability. I particularly would get irritated when I write someone a message and they don't respond and when I check the last seen it shows they saw my message and chose not to reply. They actually went ahead to introduce blue ticks to show someone actually read the message and decided not to reply.

You can call me a petty person but well it would bother me and to some point draw me to conclude I am a bother or the persons concerned is being totally disrespectful. There would be times I would bring it up and there would be times I would suffer in silence. Time came and I thought I deactivate my whats app account completely. But then it wasn't everybody that had annoyed me, so deactivating wasn't an option. And there it was a solution right there, Get rid of the last seen on my whats app. That way I don't get to see when someone last came on line and supposedly ignored my chat. I am now in total peace. Oh well and with the introduction of the blue ticks, I have learnt to tolerate people with their rude behaviour.

So lets talk real life. Many are the times we come across people who constantly annoy us. Oh well and for those that perhaps share houses, the room-mate does things that piss us off. Truth be its because we choose to focus on the thing that they do wrong. Or at times have something to constantly remind us we need to pick a fight. What I am saying to us is that if we can find a way to rid our self of the constant thing that prompts us to want to pick a fight lets not hesitate. Oh well and lets face it there will be times when we shall just have to "fold our tails" and realise that all animals were once wild animals and there are those that are just meant to stay in the wild and not become domesticated. Simply put there are those of us that will never change no matter how much we want or need them to change. If you need to experience change; work on your personal change and the benefits will be quicker and more fulfilling. 

Peace has never been gotten from others it has to come from ourselves. Its an everyday journey that will require us to make continuous adjustments in order to fit.

 

The Weight of a Wet Duvet

 Last weekend was one of those weekends I decide to clean the duvet. A key factor to consider is the presence of adequate water and sunshine. I soaked it early in the morning and went to church. When I came back from church most of the dirt was out so I didn't need to use much energy.Once cleaned up it was time to hang the duvet. Unfortunately for me the clothesline couldn't hold its weight and broke. I had to rinse the duvet  again and look for a stronger clothesline that could hold the weight. I am happy to report that I succeeded in my search and the duvet dried and was neatly folded in the evening.

Today I reflected on that incidence and realised it had a lesson for me. Like the first clothesline we may not withstand the weight  of the life baggage we carry, not because we aren't good enough but because we weren't designed to carry all that weight. We break because we were not meant to carry so much weight. Only by seeking God's help can we not break. I actually later fixed the line and was able to hang some other light clothes. When the weight of life is too much ask God to lessen it for you. He is faithful to give us weights that don't break us.

 Its time to each ask, What weights am I carrying? Why can't I let it go and ask God to carry it for me? Is it really doing me any justice to continue carrying the weight over my shoulder?

Wishing us all a blessed Evening.

Matrimonial Bed

Where I come from, a girl during her wedding day is given a bed by her family. I came to learn it’s a sign to show that she no longer has a bed at her parents’ house. This therefore means she is expected to sleep at her husband’s house from then henceforth. But how special and significant is a matrimonial bed? Ever wondered why a husband and wife are expected to share a room and a bed for the rest of their lives when they get married? Kindly read on.

For a majority of us before they got married they had learned how to sleep alone and of course not care the positions they sleep in. However when you get married sleeping positions will affect another person. This is the first area a couple needs to learn to compromise on. When sleeping majority of us are in a harmless state. During such moments some will sleep very poorly placing their legs all over. Sleeping with such a person can become really uncomfortable and disturbing. Just as those with poor sleeping habits are innocent when asleep, it’s the same way marriage life can be.

Old habits die hard and it takes time to adjust. As you get used to poor sleeping positions you also learn to adjust yourself and still sleep peaceful, so is the case in marriage. Each person comes with their old habits and it takes time to adjust. However uncomfortable your spouse sleeps, the reason you went to bed was to sleep and it still comes your way. So however uncomfortable marriage gets the reason you formed your union should keep both parties going. It is the end result of marriage that determines how much one is willing to compromise. So before you enter into the matrimonial bed ask yourself if you will sleep regardless of how uncomfortable it gets to sleep in the same bed with your spouse.

May we all understand the significance and importance of a matrimonial bed.God bless us all.

Unity Undefiled.

Some years back, it was evident that we were divided along tribal lines. That time it didn't matter whether one is from this or that religion. During the terrorist attacks that have heat the country, divisions were almost to emerge among religions. During the days of our ancestors there were sharp division between genders; so much that it bread to the programs of Girl Child and Women Empowerment. Presently is the Youth Empowerment Programs. So i ask are all these divisions justified; Tribal, Age, Gender or Religious?

The reality on the ground is that we we'll always have differences among us. The laws of man and supernatural occurrences unify us. Effects of VAT may what differs and perhaps extended the drift between the poor and the rich. Underneath it all we have the same colour of blood. Its not about religion, tribe or poverty levels. We are one.

Whenever there has been blood appeal, it was for all people. Underneath it all we have the same colour of blood. Our common enemy are the vices that affect us as a country. Our enemies include Alshabab ,Corruption, Poverty, Tribalism.... not our brothers and sisters who we share common grounds. We should not allow the enemies to win. Let us all stand united and defeat our enemies. It is the only way we will win all the battles that face our motherland.I am proud to be Kenyan and I have no other land that I can confidently love calling my home. Let us remember we are all one. Let us stand united not divided.


May God bring us to find lasting solutions for the issues facing our county. To our leaders, may you be the force that unites us not divides us. We shall progress stronger and last longer moving together not divided along any divisions. 

#KenyansWeAreOne

Experienced Bus Driver

For some strange reason, well who am I kidding its not a strange reason, I wake up early but take too long to leave the house. Let's just say the art work I recently started doing on my face makes me take too long to leave the house. This means that as I walk to the stage I always hope and pray to find a bus waiting for me ,one that will not too long to fill up and a bus that will take the shortest time possible, to get to my drop-off point. Today was one of those days I was lucky to get a driver who is able to manoeuvre his way out of traffic. The manoeuvring however, came with many misses that left Double Favour tightly holding onto her seat. At some point I found myself scouting for safety because I felt as though the bus would topple over. Lets just say my seat mate had a moment to chuckle over my action. In the end , the good news is, I was at my work place in time despite the heavy traffic. Its not the first bus I have boarded and the driver roughly manoeuvred his way out of the traffic. In fact I came to learn that the buses whose drivers have mastered the art of beating traffic have very loyal customers. Its worth noting that there are old buses that have very loyal passengers and there are new buses that no passenger want to board during rush hour.  At one point the passenger  I sat next to during the turbulence told me there is nothing to worry because  the driver is experienced in his work and route so nothing bad would happen . Reflecting on the incidence this evening brought the lesson for today.

See friends, in my view and understanding about life, I am of the opinion that the sole-key driver of our life should be God. He knows the route He is going to take to get us where we need to be. In the course of our journey we shall experience turbulence's as God works towards getting us to our destination in proper time. Unlike the confident passenger who knows God knows the route very well we become jittery like me and try to hold on to the seat of the bus thinking it will give us the protection we need. But see friends our confidence to get to where we need to be shouldn't come from the bus we choose to board, it should come from the driver. When we allow God to take over our journey of life we not only get to our destination in time, we also arrive safely. Lets take time to ask God to be the driver in our life journey and not look at the condition of the bus we are using to get to our destination.

 

 

 

 

Reaction from an Action

 

Sometimes back I asked myself why I suffer? Why don't I get what I want at the time I want it to happen? I have searched to know why I don't seem to have control over things that are around me.

Well the truth is I have control of what is around me. This realization came to me through deep soul searching and serious meditation. Look at it this way. God created us as free beings and by being here on earth we were given power to build our own kingdoms. Most of the things that happen are a manifestation of our thoughts and actions. Let me explain.

People mine gold by digging deep into the ground and they never return the soil back to its original state. This develops vacuum points and well there has to be reorganization as the earth tries to fill up the empty space. People will use nuclear weapons and the same weapons will create weak points on earth and earthquakes will happen. People will pollute the air and acidic rain will fall and as it waters the plants ,we eat foods that were grown with polluted water hence the many diseases that befall us. Alternatively we feast on animals that have ingested polluted foods.

Another truth is that there are things we suffer from because of the actions of others. When people cut trees now the future generation will find a dry land. When we build houses on arable land we will reduce food supply in the future. More so if we don't find ways to replace the once arable land that we put up buildings on. Land is a scarce resource that never increases, it just gets depleted and needs to be managed and improved on through taking calculated steps. There are so many accidents happening these days. Some due to use of faulty vehicles , careless driving or poor roads or rush to make more money. Unfortunately there are those people who are caught up in the cycle of a reaction of another persons action.

This realization took me to a place where I taught myself to consciously watch the actions I pursue. This is because I may not get a reaction right away but somewhere in the future the reaction manifests itself. If each day I throw a piece of paper outside my house and there is nobody to clear it up, soon it will be a pile of cabbage. The papers will be blown by the wind and my environment will be dirty. However if I consciously choose to rightfully dispose my rubbish then my surrounding will be better. Not just now but also in the future to come. 

How about we all carefully examine our actions before pursuing them. If I am to say something to someone let me take time to examine that which I am about to tell them. I may say a hurtful thing to a person they will forever remember and when we meet in the future they will be more cautious around me.

It is said life is a circle where what goes around comes back around. The Bible clearly says what you sow so shall you reap. It also talks of using our young days well as there will be days when we will eat our young days during our old age. Effects of our past are real to us everyday. Lets be weary of our actions and they have reactions in the end. I pray we can all challenge ourselves to bring ourselves to a state of consciously being aware of our actions. 

 

The Truth about Enemies and Friends

In my own analysis I feel I know majority of my friends but don't know the number of enemies I have. I have come to know that at times enemies live among ones friends list. There have been stories of people being betrayed by those they considered their loyal friends. Friends who have been there to see you transition from one stage of life to another only to use what they have known over the years to destroy you.

 

Are those really the enemies and most dangerous enemies around us?

 

From my observation  have come to realise that for majority of people, friends are those that praise you. Those will be the people we want around us. People who massage our ego will become our friends very easily and fast. Majority are those we term as our friends are they that posses our good side. Those that make our dreams our reality.However when it comes to enemies, they are those that will not massage our ego. Most importantly, they are those that posses our inner dark selves.Majority of our enemies manifest our dark side hence the reason we avoid being around them. They are those people who make our fears a reality.

 

My overall interpretation of my observation is enemies and friends all relate to the thoughts we chose to have about a person. A thought determines the category that we place people around us and ourselves too. Enemies and friends from outside and inside are a manifestation of our thoughts. It is therefore important to ask ; what am I thinking about my neighbour? Would I be comfortable with them knowing what I think about them? What am I thinking about myself? Would I be comfortable if another person told me the things I tell or think of myself ?

 

Those are my sentiments. I hope that we can all make the discovery of having the right thoughts about ourselves our lifetime innovation to finding true happiness.

 

 

 

Striking Teachers;Unspoken Truths.

Teachers have for a long time now been the subject of discussion year in year out. I honestly don't remember the last time a year passed without teachers going on strike. Perhaps when they were mum they were busy consuming the bits that had trickled down after a strike. This has in many ways made me question, if paying the teachers is really the solution and best way to raise the status quo of the teachers in Kenya. Kindly note I am a professional trained teacher but not practising, not because of pay but for personal interests.When I openly make statements about the pay for teachers. I am consciously aware that my extended family has many teachers and I know this pay increase would do good to their own personal financial liquidity. But at what cost really? Is it really a long lasting solution?

 

My answer to the above question is a strong NO. If we pay the teachers our wage bill will increase further. Many may argue that the government should find the loopholes that Kenya loses its GDP to corruption but to seal the loopholes and pay teachers will not help in any way. We need to look for a solution that will benefit all the professionals and avoid a spiral effect. Let us look for the money holes in the government and use the money to reduce the cost of living. 

 

I vividly remember irrigation projects were to be started all over the country by the Jubilee Government. What is the progress of those projects? I also remember water was discovered in Northern Kenya, I am yet to know if the water was confirmed fit for human consumption and farming and if indeed it was; why is it taking so long to be utilized. As it is Kenya is busy using up its arable lands e.g Kiambu to put up buildings. There is nothing wrong with the development and changing land use, but its important for Kenya to secure new lands to farm so as to increase if not maintain food production in the country. I am sure if as a country we are able to increase our food production and cost of energy, the cost of living will go down.

 

It makes no sense to double my salary and the cost of Unga goes up five times due to increased taxes. Let us address the issues deeply not just look for quick top layer solutions that are not sustainable in the long run. We may argue political leaders have hefty pay but how hefty is that pay with the mindset of 'Wanjiku'? To a 'Wanjiku', a political leader is a walking money bag that should not be seen eating at a common food joint in peace. I am sure if we reduced the cost of living and worked on the mind set of the 'Wanjikus' the political leaders would find the terms of reducing their pay favourable.

Too Small For my Painting

Two years ago, I visited Uganda and had the opportunity to tour the Kabaka Mutesa palace. The place is very beautiful and has a very serene environment. It was a great feeling being around there, except for the policy of ladies not being allowed to tour the palace dressed in trousers. We had however been instructed before leaving our place of residence to carry a ' leso' to tie around the trouser. While sampling Ugandan history I came across a talented artist and purchased his art work. I love art display in the house and well the fact that the painting depicted African art made it more enticing to purchase.

The artist explained that he doesn't mount the art work because it becomes bulky and hence advocated I mount it myself. Two years on I finally thought of mounting it yesterday and settled for laminating the painting on a transparent paper. I carried the lamination paper but when I got home, the painting was longer than the lamination paper. I tried to look for a way in which the painting would fit on the lamination paper but it was just not possible. If I chose to use the same lamination paper it meant I destroy the painting. That didn't seem like a path I wanted to follow. I therefore decided to get a different material to mount the painting and it was actually a perfect fit. That experience came with a lesson for today.

See friends as humans, we come across various people with whom we look and hope we can walk together and they help us become better people of our original self. Like the lamination paper they are suited to work very well but not with everybody and being with them means one will lose a piece of their original self. The question thus arises, is it worth losing ones original self just to walk with them? Are there not another people one can walk with and not lose their original self? How effective and efficient is it to lose ones original self just to be in the company or association of another?

I therefore concluded that before allowing someone to be in my life, I will asses the orignial self I stand to lose and weigh its worth. Truth is there will always be a person that can work with our original self, we just become impatience and end up destroying ouselves. My painting is still intact and looks well mounted; lamination would have destroyed it.

 

Double Favor Waleopard in Reality :)

I may have the most unique outfits and look beautiful in everything I wear but I am not my clothes. I may have the most intellectual discussions but I am not the miss know it all. I may have the best smile but I am not my facial expression. I may have a doctorate degree but I am not my education. I may have curves at the right places but I am not my physique.

I am simple a soul that is searching for its happiness. The body that houses my soul should not be the only reason one is drawn to me. My material possession should not be the only reason one is drawn to me. My accomplishments here on earth should not be the only reason one is drawn to me. All these things are vanity and can end within a minute.

Appreciate the person, I am not what I have, had or was. Accept me as a soul not my body. Love me without attachment. Its not the big things done in a big way that matter. Its the small things done with a big heart that matter. Perfection is a level we all strive to attain but only God is perfect. I am flawed in many ways making me human. I shed tears making me vulnerable. I bleed making me mortal.

The joy of my living is knowing that with each waking day I am closer to my destiny and have an opportunity to write a new past. When I fall its not because I am a failure its so that I rise to another level. I am and live by the Grace of God. Its He that knew my coming into this world and knows my going out from this world. At the end of the journey my desire is to fulfil the purpose God sent me here on earth to accomplish. Not to be exalted by men but for God to be exalted by men through His deeds in my life. 

Now that is the true Reality of D.F.W (Double Favor Waleopard).

Money, Education, Spouse, Children ,House ?

Often I have heard a discussion about lady being late to get married. When exactly is the right time to be married and have kids? Is there really a right time to have a spouse or bear children? No-one is an exception, more so in the African setting. Truth be said there are those who got married and years on they are still trying to get a baby. At the same time there are those that are married with children who desire that house and car a single person owns. There is a jobless person wishing they could get money to feed their family. While there is a working person bored of eating alone each night.

The reality is all these things are earthly treasures. Be it a job, house, spouse, children....None of these things we are after in life we'll carry to the next life. In fact even the body we are so watchful of will be buried. The soul is the only thing that will go to the next life. However much we cling to the earthly pleasures they are just that ,earthly treasures.We need to realise that we were made a complete person through the soul.The body is just a house for the soul. Each of us desire to be happy and live in peace. Trying to find happiness in the earthly things is like trying to mix water and oil. Its about time we realised we are complete individuals and avoid postponing our happiness till this and that happens. Failure to which; we will forever be empty.

This is what should ring in our minds each time. With or without a spouse i am complete. With or without a house i am complete. With or without education i am complete. With or without the "normal "physical appearance i am complete. It is not my hands that complete me nor my job nor my gender. I was born complete and i should henceforth live and feel complete in every sense. 

Lets quit loving things or people with so much attachment because this often leads to living a miserable life. Those things are there to be used while here on earth but none of them will be carried forward when the soul departs from the body. Lets instead strive to purify our soul. I am not saying stop working hard for your family. I am saying don't put so much emphasis on worldly things and forget the person that really matters in all this . You not the body but the Soul. We can lie to everything even the body but never the soul. 

Those are my thought. Hope they made sense to you.

With Heels, Go up the Staircase.

Double favor loves heeled shoes. Probably  because she is vertically challenged, not complaining though. I alighted the bus this morning and just before I could go up the staircase to the bridge over to the other side, this man shouted from no where " Madam utapanda vipi kwa stairs?", Madam how will you go up the stairs? From where he was standing, there was no way I could go up the stairs in heels. He actually gave me way and went on to follow me to see if I could fall on the staircase. I found it offencive and at the same time funny so I decided not to answer him. When I was safely at the top, he commended me and  went on to say, I have mastered the art and known how to maintain balance. 

As I sat on my desk during lunch time , I reflected on the morning incidence and realised that it had a very important lesson for me. See time and time again we are surrounded by staircases we need to climb to get to the other side of life. When we approach the staircase, we find other people about to go up the stairs but instead of them focusing on their journey , they choose to look at how prepared we have come to go up the stairs.  Unfortunately for us, the bigger group that we meet preempts on our inadequacies, making us doubt if we really are cable of going up the stairs successfully. 

How we react to the preemption is what determines our ability to cross to the other side. Let us not allow doubting Thomas es to digress our focus. Truth is when you approach a staircase you have all that you need to get to the other side. You have already mastered the art of balancing the heels that you are wearing , staircase or no staircase. All you just need is confidence. I will not lie; that man made me wonder what happens if I fall on the staircase. I however kept reminding myself I have done it severally and these were my normal everyday shoes.

Confidently approach and go up the stairs and let those doubting Thomas es commend you when you complete the journey. Know your end product and it won't matter the faulty machines you find along the way.

Remembering Simba

 
Today morning as i was walking to work. I saw this black and white big dog. It had a striking resemblance of Simba; a long time childhood friend. It seemed to have something on its facial area that was bothering it. It reminded me of the time Simba went out and got hurt by other dogs. 

Today's dog was almost being hit by a car and i had to alert an oncoming car of the dog. I remembered how Simba would jump on me as he wagged his tail. I remembered how i nursed his wounds with herbal medicine that i had known cured wounds. 

When Simba got healed he was up and about wagging his tail in a playful manner. We would race with him and then he would jump on me. Unfortunately, one fateful morning, he came to me and was vomiting so badly. Someone had poisoned my friend and he was dying. I tried all I could, from taking my grandmother's milk, to save him but it was too late. Simba died in the afternoon and I held a burial ceremony for him. The Garden manager helped me dig a hole and I laid him to rest, said a prayer and put the soil back. It was a sad time not having my playmate. Good thing schools were opening so i left the village to go back to school.

Just like the dog today reminded me of my old friend Simba, so will memories of people who have been in our life be relived. There are painful memories that we would rather forget and there are happy moments that we wish to remember each time. Many say most of us find it easy to forget the good and remember the bad. When i saw the dog i smiled and remembered the good times with Simba and our last moment. We will have a moment to remember the good and bad . Its ok to remember both good and bad.

The difference comes when we let the past overwhelm our present in a negative way. Take a moment to remember and where you can ,focus on the good more. Simba was my great friend who kept me company when everyone went to till the land and I was left at home to adding firewood to cook the food (gocokereria githeri) 

Reliving the memory of Simba helped me remember that friends are there but they may not be there with me all my life. I should take a moment to appreciate people in my life because time will come when all I will have is a memory. Simba may have been a dog but he was a great friend to have. Perhaps once I have a place of my own I will keep another dog and name him Simba. Yes i love animals

I take this chance to appreciate you for reading ; God bless you.

The trouser doesn't fit

 

Sometimes back I decided to try out a trouser I wanted to wear the following day to work. I had gotten a new top and needed to find a matching skirt or trouser to go match it. When I wore the trouser and tried zipping it ,it couldn't. That automatically confirmed my horizontal growth. It was time to see my tailor or hit the gym or dancing class.

Today morning, when I tried the same trouser (it fits well now), I reflected on the events of the past. I thought of our expansion in life. We are not the person we were many years back. Whatever we feed on each day expands us in the positive or negative. If we feed on negative thoughts we expand backwards with impossibility in our dreams. If we feed on positive thoughts we expand forward with possibilities in our dreams. 

At the same time I also reflected on being able to return to our original self. Though we may lose our original size and dreams perhaps due to wrong mentality or bad company, its never too late to find ourselves again. It may take time and perhaps we will have tough choices and incur pain along the way but truth is its possible to regain lost glory, vision or a relationship. Where there is commitment to make it work and to learn from past mistakes, nothing is impossible.

In what direction are you expanding? Can you deal with the effects of the direction you are expanding? What will you do about your expansion? What are you willing to do to regain yourself and all that you may have lost in the past that wasn't worth losing?

Think about it my friend.

The Costly Assumption in the Waiting Room

Sometimes back I was unwell and put on medication. I was to take my medication for some time so as to take away that which was ailing me. During that time, I was a student at the university so I would visit the university students' clinic. Students day to see that particular doctor used to be Friday and he would also go to the staff clinic on Tuesday. Since my medication couldn't last me till Friday i called my doctor and asked to see him that Tuesday. I first had to go to the student clinic to request they get my file and take it to the staff clinic . They took the file out and i was asked to go to the staff clinic they would send someone with my file.

I went as advised sat down waiting for the doctor to arrive. It was one long wait as the doctor was coming an hour past the time he had asked me to be there. When he came i followed him and didn't bother to wait for the names on the files to be read out. I was so sure they had brought my file. Patients went in one after the other but my name was not being called out. When some patients complained that their file was missing, i also asked the nurse to check my file. I had waited for over 2hrs to get my medication so i stormed in. Sure enough my file wasn't there. Someone had not done their duty and made me wait in-vain. I would have been long gone had they done their work right. Lucky for me ,the doctor agreed to give me my medication without my file. And off i went to make dinner.

Today I choose to reflect on the incidence and how it applies to my real life.I looked at how many of us have been so trusting that people will do the right thing only to wait in line in vain. This mainly applies in relationship we become too trusting but the people we trust are busy not doing the things that benefit us. They make us wait in line in vain. However they really aren't to blame its our assumptions and our too trusting nature that is to blame. Our rush to get what we want without confirming our files are there is where we go wrong. We assume we know them too well. All the same all is not lost, we can save some time for ourselves.

 

Its time we storm in and do the right thing for ourselves. No waiting in line will help us. The sooner we take action the more we will be off to do other things that matter. Had i not inquired about my file i would have sat there in vain. Quit waiting and act if you are not hearing your name. Its probably because you took the wrong steps and need to correct it. Until we take action we will continue to wait in vain.

Think about it my friend.

May God bless us all and give us grace to be taking the right initial first step.

From an empty tank to an Overflow

There seems to be a water shortage at my place. I was used to having water when i get to the house and in the morning when i wake up. My tank was almost drying out. So yesterday night when i woke up and found water in the tap i connected the pipe then went back to sleep. I figured sleeping on the couch i would not sleep totally. When i woke up water was pouring out from the tank. Yap the tank had filled to the brim and was overflowing . This called for a past midnight cleaning of the house, talk of interrupted sleep.

Today morning i reflected on the events of the night. From an empty tank to an overflowing tank. In my view,some of us behave like the empty tank; the minute we start feeling we have an overflow and go causing so much damage around. From a person with no money to a person with money we develop so much pride that it causes those around us pain. We are without a partner the minute we get one that truly loves us we take them for granted. We are without jobs the minute we get a job we take the job we have for granted.....

We forget we were once an empty tank and its through a connection that we got filled.It was through emptying another tank somewhere that we got filled. We forget the journey we took and the people that were with us on our way up. We forget that soon water will be drawn from the tank and we will need a refill.

Lets be careful not to take those around us for granted. Think about it my friends. They say it takes years to build a house but a day to bring it down.

May we all have a beautiful day as we reflect on the emptiness we once had that has now been filled. Have we forgotten our journey up?

Get into the Dance Floor

Grace has always wanted to learn how to dance salsa. Fortunately or unfortunately the time to actualize my desire seemed to evade me. That was until recently when a friend hooked me up with a trainer. I went for the introductory lessons and wanted to learn more. I was given a break down of the cost and settled on a communal class training. I figured its a pocket friendly deal and well an opportunity to meet and make new friends. The class happens every Sun another more convenient reason to settle for it.

In these classes they have theme after parties and well yesterday's was African attire. I had a two hours training then sat for the after party. That was when the real dancing began. First it began with some dance moves then followed the communal dancing. Now that was when i felt like a wet blanket. The people dancing seemed to know how to do the moves so well that i just sat and watched them wondering why i was there. As i was talking to myself a gentleman approached me and asked me why i wasn't dancing. I went on to tell him i was a first timer and didn't know the moves. This gentleman had been in the classes too and had seen the steps we had been taught. He looked at me and gave me a questioning smile of , So?

He wondered how sitting down was helping me practice what i had learned. According to him its through practicing with those that seemed to be experts that i will become an expert. Not entering the dance floor would only make me feel like an outsider. What he said made sense. Shockingly on the dance floor, i got to dance with people who guided me and made me feel comfortable even when i messed up. They reminded me that they too came as learners before they were able to move as they did.

Today morning i reflected on the events of yesterday evening to real life. I thought of the many times we know what we want but fail to get into the field to actualize our desires. We chose to play safe on the bench; watching feeling sorry for ourselves while admiring those that have what we want. We forget that everything has a starting point. We forget that by practicing we become better. Be it in relationship, career, self improvement, investment, education....

So i ask, How long are you going to sit and watch without getting into the field of learning? If not you to go after that which you desire to learn who will? Think about it my friend.

Walepoard got better in the field and even dreamed she was dancing like a pro. I plan to keep dancing till i learn. So lets go dancing into our desires by getting into the learning field.

May God bless us all and grant us the courage to get onto the dance floor.

Bulbs Expiry Date

When i was moving to the place i am currently living i carried with me the bulbs i was using. Talk of salvaging what i could. The only thing i did not want to carry were those small insects  (cockroaches, spiders and ants) . I remember feeling very courageous after i managed to kill one huge spider without screaming for help. Yes that would have surely awoken the whole neighbourhood. They would have come with pangas  and rungus to my rescue. Hahaha! can you imagine the scene- people in their pajamas only to come and find it was a spider making me scream? :) Well what do you expect i am of the eve's kind and we are allowed to scream at small insects. :P 

 

Back to the bulbs. I fixed them in the four rooms: toilet, bedroom, kitchen and sitting room. One by one they have been switching off at different times. Last night was the kitchen bulb just as i was preparing to make dinner. I tried switching on and off but the bulb just wouldn't light. Its time of service had come to an end and it was not coming back to service. I replaced the old with the new now the kitchen is the brightest room in the house.

 

Which brings me to our day to day application. Like bulbs humans have an expiry date. It is that time when our services here on earth come to a halt. The question which remains is will we have served The Master well. The bulb was made to provide light and its time of service is limited. We too have a limited time here on earth. 

 

We were made to light up the earth. However most of us spend their time hiding our light forgetting we have limited time. We don't light the lives of those around us, those that matter most.... We spend time looking at our dark past that we cannot go back to. I carried my old bulbs to light up my new house.

 

No matter how the bulbs may have been of service at the old place it was time to move on to a new home. Same as humans when our time of service at a place comes to an end we move on to a new place and we provide light. But some of us keep looking back instead of focusing on brightening the place we currently are. Its time to let go of your past place of service and provide light into the new place God has positioned us. Think about it my friend.

 

What is this past you keep holding on to? How is it blocking you? What happens when your expiry date comes and you cannot light the room any more? If not you to light up your life who then will?

 

Lord Almighty thank You for creating us to light the earth. Father, we acknowledge that our time here on earth is limited. May we not allow our past life hold us from our present life. May we be of service to You Lord. In Your Holy name we pray and believe. Amen.