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.

The Smelly New Truck

Yesterday was one of those days I am caught up in the jam. It can be a nasty experience especially when you rushing to go somewhere. So anyway along the way I encountered an awful smell and thought someone must have spoilt the air in the bus I was travelling in. I reached out to open the window but instead of the smell reducing it became more pronounced. That is when I noticed the new truck ahead of us. It was carrying waste and the nasty smell was emanating from the waste the truck was carrying. It was hard to believe that such a clean truck could carry such smelly garbage and that formed my lesson for today.

See friends we all want to look good and will use our money to have that good outside look. We are often successful in our new look and are the envy of those that come across us. Unfortunately the deep reality is our outward appearance is deceitful  because we carrying so much waste inside us that releases bad smells. Most of us walk around looking all good on the outside but are rotting on the inside. We need to come to the realisation that the things we carry inside us will either water down the outward nature or make it better.

There are those that have nothing to show outwardly but they are able to leave so much positivity wherever they go . While there are those that have so much outwardly but carry too much waste hence affecting the overall image.

Today let's seek to know and understand that which we are carrying inside us. Improving outside appearance without emphasis on the inside is all vanity. Lets seek to answer; what is the real overall smell i am releasing?



 P.s The Truck Protrayed isn't the one talked about in this article.

The Mango Farmer

I recently discovered farming as a side hussle. The first trial didn't go so well but I was grateful for the lesson. It is a venture I had always wanted to explore and I am glad to have dared take that path. In my farming experience I wanted the fast maturing crops of three months maximum and ventured into melon farming. I got into a partnership where I was to provide capital while my partner provided labor. Capital meant all expenses involving money were on my shoulder. There would be tough times when he would call asking for money to spray pesticides and I would get so mad more so because I didn't understand why spraying was necessary every week. But my partner knew why it was necessary and persisted.

His work at the farm was to tender for the crops. Now that was three months and it felt like a life time. Today I remembered that experience and I wondered what a mango farmer goes through before they can start reaping from the mango trees. See unlike me who went through the struggle for a short period of time and made one harvest, his takes time to grow and tender but gives him a life long harvest. This whole picture gave me a lesson i want to share with you.

See most of us are melon farmers. We want to reap fast and go on our way. We want quick kills, we have lost the will to tender and care and have a life long harvest from that which we tender for. The reason most relationships are not working today is because we rush everything and forget that if we want to be together for a life time we shall need to be patient and watch over the seed till a time it can produce fruits. During the time the seed of our relationship is growing, we shall need to prune the leaves , add manure and once in a while weed out the weeds.

Don't expect to harvest big from the seeds of your relationship if you are not spending time tendering the seeds as they grow. Remember if no pruning is done the extra branches choke up all the nutrients and the tree eventually has no extra nutrients to produce enough fruits. Continued storage of wrong doings by your spouse only sucks out the good in your relationship. Lets take time to weed out bad things in the relationship to ensure we have enough to appreciate around us.

Cockroaches in the Cup

Every morning when I get to the office I ensure I boil water and put in a flask to drink as I work. Its a habit I have been doing for a lond period now. Today morning was no different, except for the fact that sink had visitors(roaches) and not the small kind. There were huge cockroaches in my cup. I almost puked and threw away the cup. Actually they were in my favorite cup. It was disgusting to think i would use the cup again. I remembered my boss once saying though the cups are washed he had to rinse with hot water before using them. Something I thought was extreme till I saw the visitors in my cup today.

Perhaps they have been walking inside the cup and I use the cup soon after. Eiuu!! So I made a decision to pour out the roaches wash the cup with soapy hot water and rinse it with hot water. Actually I will from now hence forth do that. I blame the fumugation that happened in the adjacent office that didn't happen in ours. So the roaches moved to a home that isn't a death bed. Next fumugation our office isn't missing out . Throwing the cup was the easy thing to do but how would that solve the issue at hand. And that brought the lesson for today.

See there will be times when unwanted visitors and uncomfortable situations will invade our territory. Misunderstandings will arise in our relationships. We have a choice to abardon the projects we are undertaking or work through the misunderstanding or remove the unwanted visitors and proceed to enjoy the fruits of our relationships or projects. Yes some things are disgusting to pour out and continue as if nothing happened but how does throwing it all away help? How many things will we throw in our life just because unwanted visitors invaded our territory?

Lets make an informed decision before we chose to take the easy way out or abandon a project we set ourselves to take.

It Hurts To start Again!!

With the sudden change in size I had three choices; get comfortable with new size , work out to my original size(I felt it was too small btw) or tone up to a size between my original and new size. Well i chose the latter. True to it i was determined to lose a few kgs as i tone up on  a few areas I felt needed adjusting. Well i was doing well when I started and was focused to meet my target. Lucky for me I even got company to soldier me on in the journey. Unfortunately my company relocated and I got slowed down in the process and getting back on track seemed a big nightmare.

To add salt to injury I got comfortable and barely exercised, surprisingly I lost weight without exercising. All was going well until I weighed myself last week and noticed I had added a kilo. Not a pleasant sight btw. And that revelation made me notice how easily i was tiring over a short distance walk. And so I started the journey to tonning again on Mon. Yesterday all of me was aching. I dreaded taking the stairs, today is no different. The pain is real but i can't stop because I know why i have embarked on this journey again. And there comes the lesson for the day.

See every time we have to stop and start again it will hurt. Each time a relationship goes sour and one has to start dating a fresh its going to hurt. Each time one loses their savings in a business gone sour and they have to start saving again its going to hurt. The good thing about each new start is, its different from the last start. Each closure means a start with experience. There is nothing wrong with making a brand new start to have a different ending. The wrong is continuing to stay in unpleasant situations just because one is afraid it will hurt starting all over again.

Always rem the bulb inventor didn't fail 1000times He made 1000 steps towards discovering the bulb.

Pulls from All Angles; Eventually breaks

The way things have been going in terms of high cost of living all over its become a need to have an extra source of income. The only way to make that extra source of income a reality is to put money aside from the available source of income. Thereafter the savings are used to make extra money for oneslf. Well at least that is what I decided to do and ventured into farming. The reason I ventured into it was because its an activity i have always wanted to undertake. Secondly, is growing need in the country to increase food production as a way to bring cost of living down. My farm produce  is geared towards improving the taste of foods available in the market and providing a balanced meal for all.

Before i went into farming, my picture was that its a smooth road to undertake. It was only when I got into action that I realised there are numerous things I need and should never have overlooked in the first place. Most importantly being the manpower to use to farm. I entered into a convinient arragement but it wasn't until recently that I realised that this arrangement involved more people. Most importantly that those involved had a bigger influence on my man power than myself. To cut the story short my employee was taking orders from other persons and not respecting my instructions. The first time it happened I decided to ignore it and gave him another chance to regain himself. I went into losses but like any new business the beginning is never smooth sailing, I told myself. When the second planting began and the same mistake happened all over again,  I knew there and then I was dealing with the wrong manpower. Its difficult to work with a person getting instrustions from two sides. There was no way i was going to allow myself to keep making losses that could be avoided. And with that came my lesson.

In life we are bound to get involved with persons at various levels. When we get involved normally, there are things we hope to achieve with them or from them. But see the reality of the matter is when third parties are allowed without the consent of one  to make alterations, mistrust ensues. It becomes a case of breach of trust. Forthwith business is difficult to proceed and well aborting that ship always is the right thing to do . No ship can reach its destination with two captains steering it in different angles. One captain needs to be overall.They say to make a gain one must be ready to lose but well when the losses can be stopped, stop them.

 

Waleopard exposes her claws.

Lately I have been boarding the bus to work and schemingly the touts have been over charging us. So today I board the matatu and the tout says a fare higher than the normal fare. And pap! my carnivores side pops out. Kwanini tunalipa mia, tushuke sisi wote! Why are we being overcharged? Let's all alight! I rally all passengers out and the other conductors that man the stage ask why we alighted. I ask why we are being charged 100 and it's 80 normal fare. He says ,"ingieni gari ni 80" ( enter the bus the fare is 80) That 20bob is equal to my apple dah! We board the bus and are charged normal fare.


This got me thinking to the lesson of the day. Most of the times we are oppressed by others (REALLY OTHERS?) Is it because they have a great advantage over us? The answer is no! It's because we stamp that oppression by not voicing out what is right. If we are going to bring the change we want we must be ready to voice it out. Let's not accept ill treatment while silently complaining, voice it out. It doesn't matter the few numbers if we stand up we shall have our way.

These politicians take us for a ride. Standing up pushes them to do the right thing. Case example Langata rd primary school. In relationships don't stomach ill treatment and suffer inside, voice it out.

Have a Waleopard claws Wednesday. lol

Detour from the Jam

I live a long Thika road in Nairobi City. Like many I thought the construction of the super highway would translate to no jam along that route. Shock on me, guess it has everything to do with car loan so the cars have greatly increased on the road. Hmm or it could be that the current generation focuses on liabilities more than assets. That is a story for another day. Or perhaps E-commerce has everything to do with the increase of cars as more people can go online and import cars on their own.... Hmm someone needs to come up with an economic problem in this and come up with possible explanations.... wink emoticon  

Back to the story line. I am still using public means and its during peak hours that I love being in a public vehicle. The reason is because the bus drivers use different routes trying to beat the jam. Most of the times the calculations they make are perfect and we save on time. Today however the detour seemed to have been discovered by more people and there was jam on the route. This meant the driver had to go back or find another route, he chose the latter and left others in the jam. He was actually the only public driver on the road. I enjoyed the tour and well, we did manage to save some bit of time. And with that comes the lesson of the day.

See life is a journey that we all are traveling. However unlike the real everyday journies that we decide to take with a definite route and a well defined path, life has no defined path. This therefore means that if we decide to follow others we will all clog up waiting for the way to clear. However if we decide to venture into unknown zones, we will get to our destination perhaps earlier than others. That isn't to say that the path we chose to follow alone will be the easy one, it is our focus, confidence and determination that will ensure we get to where we want to go and be.

When our bus driver decided to change his route and not wait in line he knew he wanted to beat the jam. It is his conviction and willingness to take a CALCULATED RISK that ensured I got to work early despite the jam. In the same way,when I began writing this article it was with a conviction there is a lesson and well it did come out in the end. Never be afraid to venture in unknown zones. Most people that make it never follow what everyone else is doing.