Random Musings. . .by Kui Gathua

  Recently, I came across a Facebook post that was a repost by one of my connections. It was a mental health awareness post and it read as follows: “The human spirit holds the key to beauty and wonder. But sometimes things fall dark and quiet and become empty; like an echo in a lifeless room. Sometimes the human spirit embodies hope. We find new life in dead places and see the joy that can be found in overcoming misfortune. But sometimes hope feels far and distant. Sometimes you can’t seem to grab onto the rope hanging out in front of you, no matter how hard you try and how desperately you reach. And that’s okay.” ~ Madina Wa Chege That dark, quiet, and empty place where nothing lives is what I call a ‘dark night of the soul.’ Eckhart Tolle defines it as the collapse of one’s perceived meaning in life. It is characterized by a deep sense of meaninglessness and is close to what is conventionally called ‘depression’. It may be triggered by the death of a close person for exa...

  “ Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy. ” ~ Proverbs 27:6 NLT This week I reflect on friendship, anger and rash actions. Out of the handful of people that form my inner circle, I am forever grateful that I am probably the most rash of them all. I am a learner of patience and that learning has come with great character development, but painful as that process has been, I do not regret where it has brought me. People are fallible and for that reason, we will always rub each other the wrong way from time to time. However, if the friendship is valued, there is a desperate need to pull back, reflect and re-engage before you make rash judgement and lose a precious relationship. We don’t always know everything, or understand every reason why another person acts in a particular way. Patience is a great virtue where friendships are concerned. Paulo Coelho tells it beautifully in the following story of Genghis Khan and His Falcon: One morning, ...

  An old grandfather was teaching his grandson about life: “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil–he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you–and inside every other person, too.” The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf will win?” The grandfather simply replied, “The one you feed.”  This is a story from the Cherokee tradition. It speaks of the good and bad within each of us and the balance we need to maintain between both if we are to be functional human beings. The whole point of the story is not to feed one and starve the other, but to keep both at peace because bo...