Random Musings. . .by Kui Gathua

Today am expecting a delivery of 5 books that I have anticipated since I made the order. These will go 5-ways into getting me closer to my "100-books-a-year" target for 2010. I start school in January and for the next 3 years may not be able to read as much as I'd want to  so I will relish every book I get to read this year and by December 31st, the target has to be met, come shine or shine! The following are quotes I collected about books, reading and all things lovely. Good as it is to inherit a library, it is better to collect one.  ~Augustine Birrell, Obiter Dicta , "Book Buying" Let your bookcases and your shelves be your gardens and your pleasure-grounds.  Pluck the fruit that grows therein, gather the roses, the spices, and the myrrh.  ~Judah Ibn Tibbon Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.  ~Richard Steele, Tatler , 1710 That place that does contain My books, the best companions, is to me A glorious court, where hourly I conve...

Today, I begin a new life. Today, my days add up to another year of my existence. Today, I welcome a new beginning. I come into this year with more and less baggage than I did the last. Less by the shedding of old fears, neuroses and habits. More from the weight of expanded expectations. Many have contributed to my journey this past year. Some I will not go without into the next. Others I gladly leave behind as I move on. There is more to learn. There is more to give. There is more to achieve. I choose to face the future with anticipation, rather than apprehension. I will multiply my value a hundred fold. Henceforth, only for guidance will I pray. Guidance so that I may acquire ability equal to my opportunities. Ability to hunt with words and prosper with love. Ability to remain humble through obstacles and failures. Courage to laugh at my misgivings. Sufficient days to reach my goals. Discipline in the habit of trying and trying again....

It is here. And it comes down unexpectedly almost always. Just as am preparing to leave the house in the morning. Or the office at 5pm. Today I woke before the rain. Then it woke up and beat me to the outside. It is mainly grey now, but the blue still keeps peaking out once in a while. There is another grey-ness in here. This one comes with a salty rain in 2 streams only. It needs no umbrella, just a hankie, or none. Ever had to live through it? Smile in spite of it? Usually, if the sun shines through a shower, A rainbow comes through too. Today I will smile and create a rainbow, in spite of the falling rain.

I will greet this day with love in my heart. I will make love my greatest weapon and none on whom I call can defend against its force. I will love the sun for it warms my bones; yet I will love the rain for it cleanses my spirit. I will love the light for it shows me the way; yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars. I will welcome happiness for it enlarges my heart; yet I will endure sadness for it opens my soul. I will acknowledge rewards for they are my due; yet I will welcome obstacles for they are my challenge. I will greet this day with love in my heart. Always will I dig for reasons to applaud; never will I scratch for excuses to gossip. When I am tempted to criticize I will bite on my tongue; when I am moved to praise I will shout from the roofs. Is it not so that birds, the wind, the sea and all nature speaks with the music of praise for their creator? Cannot I speak with the same music to his children? I will greet this day with lo...

Today, power means to be in control for me. The events of the day have reminded me that I can not change the past, but NOW is completely in my control, in my power; clay in the potter's hand to mould as I desire. It is easy to wax philosophical, even lyrical, when I'm sitting here typing away. It is a different thing to be faced with a situation where I feel wronged and deserving of understanding, comfort, pity. Meanwhile, time waits for no man. January turns into December. 1990 becomes 2010. And I still stand here, feeling worse than when it all begun. Having either achieved to attain all the pity I desired or, none but scorn and more misunderstanding. Why is it so hard for us to see that chance that time presents for us to take matters into our hands, be in control finally, and turn the tide of events and circumstances in our favor. Once and for all. Is the enormity of the responsibility such that it over-shadows the reward we could have in satisfaction at hav...

We all come in different shapes and sizes. We all have different strengths and weaknesses. What's right for one person may not be right for another. There are things that are important to me, that you don't care about at all! And sometimes your behavior doesn't make any sense to me. But I want for us to understand each other, and communicate well, because we live together in the same world. I know I can't expect you to want the same things that I want. We are not the same person, so we will not always see things the same way. I have my own thoughts and my own ideas, that may or may not fit into your vision of who I should be. By learning more about my own personality, and about other personality types, I can come to a better understanding of my strengths and weaknesses. I can improve my interpersonal relationships, realign my expectations towards others, and gain a better self-knowledge that will help me define and achieve goals. Want to take my trip? www.p...