Random Musings. . .by Kui Gathua

  “As he thinks, so he is; as he continues to think, so he remains.” ~ James Allen  This week, God eavesdropped on my thoughts, twice. And acted on them, and I noticed! It got me thinking (again) what exactly do I think about, and are my thoughts really private? [And No, I'm not mad at Him for that.] Much has been written, said and thought about our thoughts. James Allen’s little book ‘As A Man Thinketh’ has been a big influence for me since I read it many years ago. Its message is that the path of my life follows the thoughts I engage and entertain. ‘Thoughts become things’ was another idea that’s stuck; it came from The Secret. This was scarier as well as enticing. Basically, I do think my way to whatever I get, good or bad. Back to this past week: was it really eavesdropping? I think not. Psalms 94:11 says “The Lord knows the thoughts of mankind; they are futile.” [CSB] Does this mean we give up thinking? Can you? The average person has about 48.6 thoughts per m...

  On the road to Moyale, Kenya “Problems call forth our courage and our wisdom; indeed, they create our courage and wisdom.” ~ M. Scott Peck  One of the podcasts I listened to this week was titled “Struggle is Necessary”. In nature, struggle is all around us as we watch the pupa struggle out of a cocoon, not as the caterpillar that went in, but as a beautiful butterfly. Or a seed recently planted into the ground, as the cotyledon bursts through the seed coat and out to the surface of the ground. Struggle in nature is part of the music of life. Why then do we as humans live in perpetual avoidance of struggle? In a way, we are made more able to handle future struggles because of the little hard choices we make daily. Waking up at 5 am in the morning or getting a workout done first thing in the morning is not easy or fun. But the payoffs are enormous, or ‘The 5 am Club’ by Robin Sharma would not be such a bestseller. Wim Hof has been able to hack his immune system using practi...

“It’s better to have a partner than go it alone. Share the work, share the wealth. And if one falls down, the other helps; but if there’s no one to help, tough!” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 The Message Are you trying to do life all alone? Do you have that anchor person you can go to when everything is falling apart and they can speak a word or hold your hand or offer an ear?  This past week I found myself in a fix that I could not wriggle myself out of. What’d you know? A friend was going through the same conundrum. They called me first, I listened, and then I owned up to suffering the same predicament. The next thing we had to figure out was how to get each other and ourselves out of the funk we were in. That’s what I call the “ so what now ?” phase. This is where your reset practices come into play. What do you do when you find yourself in a jam? Watch TV all day? Sleep like a cat (23-hours a day!!)? Load up on junk food and binge till you drop? Or the classic drown your sorrows...

“The mirror is a powerful tool because it forces you to deal with yourself on a deeper level.” ~ Mickalene Thomas When was the last time you studied your reflection in the mirror? What did you really see? I'm not talking about the cursory glance we take in the morning as we brush our teeth or as we apply makeup and glam up for the day. What I have in mind is a soul searching look into the depth of your soul through your eyes.  In Can’t Hurt Me, David Goggins writes: “I didn’t like who I saw starring back.” He had just got a letter from school saying unless his grades and attendance improved, he was not going to graduate. And if he didn’t graduate, he’d have to forget about the US Army career he really wanted to pursue. His conversation with the man in the mirror was the beginning of his realization that his future was up to him. He got himself where he was and he had to take himself to his ideal. Today, David is a retired Navy Seal, an ultra marathon runner and public speaker...