Random Musings. . .by Kui Gathua

  “ Sometimes crying or laughing are the only options left, and laughing feels better right now. ” ~ Veronica Roth Once upon a time in China, there lived three old monks. No one knew their names because they never revealed them to anyone; they were simply known as the three laughing monks. They traveled together and did nothing else but laugh. They would enter a village or town, stand in the center of its main square and start laughing. As the town’s people or passers-by watched them, they would be unable to resist and join them. Eventually, the whole village or town would be laughing and at this point, mission accomplished, the old monks would move on to the next village. Their laughter was their only prayer and teaching as they never spoke to anybody. They were loved and respected all over China. So they traveled and laughed for many years, spreading joy and happiness throughout China. One day, while in a village in the Northern province, one of the monks died. Shocked, p...

  “ A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. ” ~ Lao Tzu As I write this blog post, it is late, almost midnight. Last night I almost didn’t sleep. However, I just completed a project that had a hard deadline. It was not at all the project’s fault; I put it off too long and then time ran out. The run to get it done had me thinking about perseverance and what it takes to stay the course until something is done. At the start point, it looks like the whole world of work is ahead of you, then one by one each task or section on the list gets done and dusted and soon it looks like the end is near. However, some of us give up mid-way or just after the start, or even, so close to finishing! What thoughts go through the mind of a person in the process? Those are very specific to the person, but they can be guided to ensure you either succeed or fail. The project I just completed was a creative project that had some pattern reading that required concentration at th...

  “Familiarity with any great thing removes our awe of it.” ~ L. Frank Baum It is a uniquely Kenyan expression. Used in a variety of ways but generally where words fail the user, it comes to the rescue. And this week I had the perfect opportunity to feel it. I decided to catch up on my reading goal by breezing through some fiction and audio-books that have been on my TBR pile for a while. In one of them, a story told in passing left me in deep reflection on my attitudes and I must admit, some of them need replacement, others mending. The story ended with the saying “familiarity breeds contempt” and I decided to look up the dictionary meaning of the word, just for fun. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as the act of despising; lack of respect or reverence for something or someone; or willful disobedience. Familiarity is a state of close relationship. This story was largely about how familiar closeness in one character eventually led to their disdain of the other...