Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Inshallah

Peaceful Malindi.

My trip to Malindi was so serene and beautiful. I loved every minute of it. Its like this little treasure has been tucked away miles from the hustles and bustle of city life. I loved the serenity of this small town, the friendly people, the narrow streets, its culture, and I loved that while I was in my hotel room at night, I could hear the Imam from the mosque, Almost surreal, from a distance. I took it all in.

I've shared pictures from the beautiful White Elephant Restaurant and the artist is none other than Tanzini Armando.

I arrived in Malindi at around 8pm, after driving from Mombasa. The distance from Mombasa Island to Malindi is about 1ookms, and I left Mombasa at around 6pm, unfortunately I didnt get to enjoy the beautiful scenery from Mtwapa, to Kilifi, and through Watamu that particular night, but I arrived safely in Malindi.

I found suitable accomodation on Mama Ngina Drive, I love the ocean, the view of the ocean from the villa I was staying in, is hard to describe.

Malindi is full of culture, and beautiful white sandy beaches however, I did notice that most, if not all the locals were very fluent in Italian. Apart from the locals, Malindi town is also inhabited by Italians for the most part. Which was interesting, so one should be prepared for this if its their first visit.

Stay well Malindi, I have to see you again.

Pointing fingers

So, I've just had a heated argument with someone, I think its sad to profess that you are a person of high morals and go ahead and judge people who are apparently not doing as well as you are. So in prospect, I was going to say alot of mean and unneccesary things here, but I realise this isn't the forum, hence I say a prayer to God " Dear Lord, I pray that you may give me the strength and the discernment to stay away from things that don't concern me, help me to emulate your ways, remove any impure thoughts in me, Let me be the queen you created me to be. And dear Lord, I also pray that in this life, when I find situations disturbing I pray that you may always remind me that I will always have a friend in you, and that I can always tell you anything. Thank you for being there. Help me to understand that people are different and give me the strength to deal with them as they are. For you alone are my creator and through your spirit in me I know that I'm victorious. I know this is a long prayer, more than what you are used to from me, which means that our relationship is healing. Thankyou Father, for always being there," Amen. And just like that I feel better already.

I'm making changes in my life.

I'm writing this post from my apartment in Mombasa. This town has always represented magicalness for me. Sort of surreal I must say, long walks by the beach, beautiful coastal culture and cuisine. So I am working briefly here, a lovely opportunity, I must admit. I've been here for a week , I am still looking forward to having dinner at the sea courtesy of the beautiful Tamarind dhow restaurant.

However, what I'd like to do most is visit the beautiful island of Lamu. I have heard many great things said about this town and I would like to exprience it by myself. I would like to see the beautiful scenery at night, mostly I'd like to escape it all. Normally, my life is crazy, from work to my social life and I have set out to do so many things that I haven't achieved even quarter way, for me going to Lamu is a milestone, a new beginning. Best of me by Chrisette Michelle represents what I'm going through right now. Honestly, I am just in search of the truth.

I'm doing things differently starting now. Lamu is sort of the pictures I will take to remind me or rather to commensurate this time in my life. My last inspiring read was eat pray love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I'm going to have a mini eat pray love for myself, I loved her ideas and mostly, I loved that she seeked to find her truth and she got it. You know, most people I've told about the concept of the book seem to find it absurd that she had to travel those long distances just to find the truth. I believe in the mantra ::Do what you can, where you are with what you have by Theodore Roosevelt. I will do what I can with what I have.

To my younger self

Dear Young One,

You are special, honored and loved: People love you for who you are. You dont need to pretend to be someone else, or dress in a certain way, get a certain hairstyle, to make people like you. God loves you, Your family loves you and more importantly I love you and will always love you.

Dance like no one is watching, and Laugh out loudly: I know you feel like you dont have coordination but baby girl it gets better. Be confident and just go on and dance like no one is watching. Enjoy the jokes and laugh when you can. Laughter is the best medicine and will leave you feeling better in a short while. Enjoy every moment of life that you can because dear one, this is how we survive. This is what makes us human.

Friends are important: You will make many friends in your life time, with these guys you will have some of the best most cherished moments of your life.You will laugh, cry, grow and share everything. Cherish the friendship and be a good friend to your friends. For they will be there for you when the world seems dark and bleak. They will lift you up and put a smile on your face when things seem difficult.

Guard yourself: Take care of yourself. Your body is a gift.Take care of it, nurture it. I also mean that you have to be careful where you hang out, eat healthy, do exercises, yeah I know skiving games right now seems more appropriate but trust me honey, just take care of Barbara. Take your time to love, dont be too quick to love. Before you love somebody else, practise that love by first loving yourself for how can you love someone else if you cant love yourself?

Believe in Yourself: Girl your all that, and more. and dont let anyone tell you anything different. You can be ANYTHING that you want to be, anything that you believe that you can be, You WILL be. Don't worry, because I will be with you every step of the way and I mean every step.

Believe in Intuition: You are blessed so go ahead and believe in your own intuition, If it doesnt feel right it probably isn't, wear the shoe where it fits, wear only the cap thats your size, and If you like it and you can have it, Have it... as long as you are happy.

Dont Worry be happy: It will all work out, dont you worry about anything and any time you feel discouraged, you have to hold your head up high and think positive. don't worry, You wouldn't come across anything you cant handle, I will be here for you.

Be silly, be crazy, Dance in the rain: Do not be afraid to act your age, be gentle to yourself, love yourself, love the skin your in. For life's moments are best remembered in those times when we truly lived. trust me babe, you will look back at these times and smile, so just dance and sing in the rain and dont be scared to be silly.

People will treat you how you treat yourself: I know this may seem too complex for you to understand right now, but you are smart, people will treat you how you treat yourself, You know you are a winner, so begin loving yourself, and believe that you are indeed a beautiful girl and other people including that boy whom you think doesnt notice you when you smile, he will begin to treat you as you are.

There will be sad times: When nothing will seem to make sense, when you will be betrayed by friends, when you will be hurt by people you love, I am not even going to warn you about these moments because you are so strong and you will be able to move through this, you have always been smart, you have always been intuitive, and you will overcome all these situations. and even those times when you feel like the whole world is on your shoulders, I will be here for you, I will hold your hand.

Lastly, EAT:: LOVE::PRAY. Enjoy your food and eat well, Love and Be loved and Pray all the time.

Remember that you are beautiful just the way you are, maybe this may not make sense to you right now, but in time darling it will all make sense.

I love you Little one.

PS;; This entry is dedicated to my little sister and my little self, both of whom I love dearly.

Below is a poem I came across, it has encouraged me a great deal (I hope it will do the same to you) I read it everyday so that the words are engraved in my mind:

Our Deepest fear is not that we are inadequate
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure
It is our light not our darkness that frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabolous?
Actually, who are we not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world
There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people dont feel insecure around you
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us,
Its not just in some of us, it's in everyone.
And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission todo the same.
As we are liberated from our own fears, our presence automatically liberates others.

Adapted from :- A return to love by Marianne Williamson.

All I ever really want is to inspire and be inspired.

I am loved, honored, I am special, I am success, I am blessed so who needs stress. First, I must admit though that I need to be writing more often. Some time back, writing was my emancipation, I used to go to a coffee shop and just sit down and write, yeah, some may say that I was a loner, maybe I was, but I think I was me. Recently on twitter there has been a crazy debate about the new Erykah Badu window seat video, which was grossly misinterpreted by many. However, at this point, Ms. Badu has begun this sensitisation campaign about "Groupthink". Groupthink basically means that Individual creativity, uniqueness, and independent thinking are lost in the pursuit of group cohesiveness, as are the advantages of reasonable balance in choice and thought that might normally be obtained by making decisions as a group. During groupthink, members of the group avoid promoting viewpoints outside the comfort zone of consensus thinking. (via Wikipedia). Maybe I fell a victim to this, Hey girl do you wonna go out? In my head I'm thinking 'No, I dont want to go booze myself silly.... and hate myself later on' but groupthink forces me to go for what I dont need, what doesnt inpire me, what doesnt feed my soul. There's definitely no need for groupthink. At this juncture, I feel it wise to share some of the views being shared on twitter at the moment about groupthink.

> a body of individuals with individual brains yet act with one brain.Don't think outside the box.Conformists. I.e.Idiots. (via @2mi_Soyinka)

>the individual is often alienated or thought to be crazy/weird when they are really the only 1's making progress (via @SeraPhoenix)

>it'll make those individuals seem like polka dots in a sea of squares (via @KrowdPleaseHer)

>Societal Labels (sexuality, race, national policy) R The Biggest Examples of #GroupThink. &they are our daily life (via @ConnorODay)

>#groupthink can kill an individual. it'll make you feel like you really did something wrong. (via @TEEWILLO)

>#groupthink is only negative if the mass has no higher goal or higher "self" destination (via @dysiresdeelight)

My own coined definition based on my own experiences would be leaving early from work when I really just want to stay and plan for the next day because everyone else is leaving I leave is #groupthink, Believing everything that I read and see in the media is #groupthink, Not going for poetry because y'all dont think its cool is #groupthink. I know that I am a victim to this, and I will be trying as much as possible to break free from this.


So at the end of this, I ask myself, who am I? when pulled out of the masses of people driving to work in their suits each morning? what difference have I made in this life? and even better, what legacy have I left behind?

Break free from groupthink, Be who you are, be who you are supposed to be.

ECCLESIASTES

I was relaxing on my bed after a tiresome day at work, when, I took my bible and read the book of eccelesiastes, mostly because I was trying to look for some insight, and the author of the book expresses some discontent about the meaning of life and compares it to chasing the wind, I think it is quite interesting though what caught my eye were a few verses...Ecclesiastes 5:19 ...To enjoy work and accept your lot in life is indeed a gift from God. So today, I choose to be happy, it is a declaration, I need this old train to break down. I'm taking it from the top. Then, the most recent book I read was the controversial title by James Frey- Million Little Pieces. and though I was enjoying it, I came across information that he may have been fabricating the stories, that is quite sad especially since I did draw some level of inspiration from some of his experiences, on the same breath, I recently watched a documentary about Crystal Meth, and its effects, my heart goes to all those affected, its funny how these things are just illusions, the drug is basically poison...and yet we love to do what we do right... *sigh* and while we are on the topic of documentaries I also watched the zeitgeist, which is quite informative also though I'm not sure I want to believe all that they were saying.
I love the title of my blog, from 2007 to now 2010 >>>This far has the Lord brought me<<< I'm still searching for truth:-) I mean arent we all. I may have you know that I have been writing maybe just on this particular platform but it feels so good to be back, I feel like I'm bigger, better, stronger and I'm greatful for this.
I must continue writing, it is my hearts call... I makes me calm. I must continue to write my poetry. I must, I must...

This entry is dedicated to you, you love me beyond measure, even when I dont deserve you keep adding to my cup more and more and you fill me with love. Thank you for loving me.Thankyou for being there.