Random Musings. . .by Kui Gathua

  “ Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make makes you. Choose wisely. ” ~ Roy T. Bennett Every single day, we make millions of choices, consciously or unconsciously. Aware or unaware of the power contained in those choices, and the power we give away or wield when we make a choice. Everything we do, think, feel, and experience is a function of choice. Sometimes, however, we find ourselves stuck in analysis paralysis. In this place, fear takes over, consumes us, and makes us unable to make clear, conscious, empowered choices. Confidence is replaced by a feeling of powerlessness. We need to develop inner wisdom that enables us to confront our fears and make choices that align with our authentic selves. This can only happen as you learn to trust yourself and the choices you have made in the past. Small decisions have to be made with commitment and in line with one’s...

  “ You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance. ” ~ Kahlil Gibran There once lived an old man who was a carpenter. One day, he was building some crates for clothes that his church was sending to an orphanage in China. After completing the work, on his way home, he reached into his pocket to find his glasses and realized he could not find them. He tried to remember where he could have left them, but he realized that the glasses may have slipped out of his pocket unnoticed and fallen into one of the crates he had nailed shut and sent out! His brand-new glasses were heading for China! The old man had spent $20 to buy those glasses that very morning and the thought of buying another pair upset him. He didn’t have much money to spare, and in frustration, he said, “It’s not fair God! I have been faithful in giving of my time and money to your work and now this?” Several months later, the...

“ Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other. ” ~ Abraham Lincoln It’s an American pop-rock band that I don’t know much about except that their song ‘I’m on Top of the World’ was playing on repeat for an hour last Sunday at my house. I’ve been learning Spanish on the Duolingo App on and off since 2018. I recently renewed my commitment to finishing the course and I really outdid myself this past week. My only blight is that despite being in the top league for 45+ weeks, I have never topped the weekly rankings. I have been in the top 3 eight times and some weeks I’ve kept my place by the skin of my teeth, but I’ve always fallen short of putting in the work to get to the top. Not last week. I finally decided to practice what I preach and I went for it. David Goggins was speaking in my mind as I raked in points, failed some units, picked myself up, and tried again. I could smell the boats I was carrying, I heard the cries of the souls I w...

  " Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. ” ~ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I have a Yahoo Mail account where most of my recurring emails are classified in folders. Among those folders, some are up to date, and others I haven’t opened in a while. This week I opened one such folder and decided to clear all 120 unread emails by opening and reading each one. Good decision, because it gave me the idea for this week’s musings!   Sometimes we procrastinate on beginning a new project simply because it is so large that it scares the heck out of us. A quick glance at my folders had me thinking ‘What’s the point?’ It is easy to despair and give up when the size of the task looks gigantic and insurmountable. But there is a way out if you break it into really small manageable action steps. There may be 120 unread emails but I can read 10 of them in the next 10 minutes.   Every crochet blanket or latch hook rug projec...