Random Musings. . .by Kui Gathua

  “ The ties that bind us are sometimes impossible to explain. They connect us, even after it seems like the ties should be broken. Some bonds defy distance, and time, and logic. Because some ties are simply . . . meant to be. “ ~ M.G. Happy New Month! It is the last month of the year 2023. 91.51% of the year is spent. As you walk toward the finish line of this year, may the remaining 30 days of your year be spent productively, reflectively, and gratefully. A story is told about a father whose son asked him, “Dad, what is a successful life?” Contemplating the question, the father asked his son to take a walk with him. The father carried a kite on his way out. They got to a field near their home and the father set up the kite and sent it up. As he flew the kite, the son was carefully watching him. After some time, the son said, “Dad, the kite cannot go higher because of the string. Can we cut it off and let the kite go higher?” The father broke the string and they both...

  “ Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter. ” ~ Mark Twain “ Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough. ” ~ Oprah Winfrey Yesterday was Thanksgiving day in the USA. Tomorrow will mark the start of another trip around the sun for me. And in the middle of the joy, I will be attending a final send-off today. C’est la vie. To celebrate my birthday, I will be hiking with 2 friends, reacquainting myself with a trail I loved the first time around. As I hike, I will be thinking about all the things I am grateful for at 2 scores and six years. I am grateful for another year, for good health, for family and friends, and for my cats – Bailey and Bernie. I am grateful for a relationship with a loving God and for answered prayers – the yes, the no, and the wait. I am grateful for who I am becoming, regretting not who I have been because it has played a part ...

  “ From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that we are here for the sake of each other – above all for those upon whose smile and well-being our own happiness depends, and also for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labors of my fellow men, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received. ” ~ Albert Einstein This week I am reading ‘Ordering Your Private World’ by Gordon MacDonald (2003). In the first chapter of the book, he has a paragraph that reads: “ But there is this private world in every one of us. A world that may be as infinite in size as we perceive our public worlds to be. But often the private world – like the depths of the ocean – remains unexplored, full of surprises, ambushes, emotions, and dreams .” The Private World he’s talkin...