Random Musings. . .by Kui Gathua

  “ What comes, when it comes, will be what it is. ” ~ Alberto Caeiro An old Chinese fable has it that a poor old farmer had a beautiful white horse. It was a thing of beauty and he was much envied for it. He had turned away many offers to sell the horse countering that it was a friend, not a possession to him so he could not sell it. One day, he woke up to find the stable empty and the horse missing! His neighbors laughed and told him he had courted the misfortune by not agreeing to sell the horse and get out of his poverty. The old man replied, “It is neither good nor bad, it simply is what it is, for we can never know the whole story.” Fifteen days later, the stallion returned to the village, leading a pack of twelve wild horses. And the villagers were back at it exclaiming how fortunate the farmer was because he could now train the wild horses, sell them and make a fortune. The old farmer once again replied, “It is neither good nor bad, it simply is what it is, for we can...

  “ Almost everything will work if you unplug it for a few minutes . . . including you. ” ~ Anne Lamott I discovered the concept of getting away in my twenties. It is how I fell in love with the city of Kisumu. A low budget weekend getaway to Kisumu would recharge me for months. All it entailed was a night bus ticket on Easy Coach – a slow bus to Kisumu taking off from Nairobi at 9pm and arriving in Kisumu anytime between 4 and 5am. Breakfast at some early or all-night eatery (I will forever miss Kimwa Annex with their greasy fried eggs). A visit to the museum and snake park, a walk around town, lunch at the lakeside, a boat ride and sunset at Dunga Beach before making my way back to Easy Coach for a ticket back to Nairobi in the night bus departing Kisumu at 9pm. I’d be in Nairobi before anyone knew I’d left, recharged, energized and none the poorer. Eventually my getting away included longer trips, in and outside Kenya, and numerous trips to climb mountains and hills all over...

  "If you must look back, do so forgivingly. If you will look forward, do so prayerfully. But the wisest course would be to be present in the present gratefully. ” ~ Maya Angelou My 2022 reading list includes a read through of all of Maya Angelou’s works in my collection. She was an American poet, writer and civil rights activist who lived on this plane for 86 years and departed 8 years ago. I discovered her works starting with the first of her 7-part autobiography and fell in love with both her content as well as her style. This week I was going through ‘Wouldn’t Take Nothing For My Journey Now’ (1993) and found some gems I’d love to share with you and hope you ponder on as you go about your week. On Passports to Understanding. . . “I encourage travel to as many destinations as possible for the sake of education as well as pleasure. Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry and die, it can introduce the idea that if w...

  “ There is no failure except in no longer trying. ” ~ Elbert Hubbard I discovered “Think And Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill in my 20s and continue to read or listen to the book at least once a year ever since. One of the stories he tells in the book came back to me this week and I thought to share it with you. During the gold-rush in the USA, a man left home to go try his luck in Colorado and after a few weeks of digging, he discovered one of the richest mines in Colorado. He went back home, raised some money for the machinery he needed and got back with his nephew to start work. The first few cars of ore were sent to the smelter and the returns proved they had one of the richest mines in the area. Big profits were in sight and the excitement was palpable. Then! The vein of ore disappeared! They drilled on and on but nothing came up. Dejected, they decided to quit. And since they still had debts to pay, they sold the machinery to a junk man and took a train home. The junk ...