Life · Musings

No lazy mornings for me…

The school year is almost done over here, and I am left with so much mixed feelings. I am thankful for the fact that I will get some downtime to relax and rejuvenate as well as pursue my personal interests and passion. I most definitely won’t miss the early morning rush, though I still plan to wake up early and start my day with early morning walks and some work on personal projects. So, instead of lazy mornings during the holidays, I will fit in power naps and binge-watching movies during the day.

Some of my mixed feelings come from existential crisis of asking myself ‘is this it?’ ‘Are there other things that I should be doing instead of being confined within the margins of just getting by?’ ‘What next?’

Over the years, I have dabbled into so many things, my career trajectory has changed over and over again and except for the years before getting married and having children, I realize that most of my choices thus far have bordered on having a job and living in a survival mode of work, pay bills, repeat again and again, and to say the least, I am disenfranchised with living in such manner. My life is meant to be lived beyond mere existence and having near and dear one’s battle to save their lives from terminal illness has only highlighted this quandary for me.

I am praying that these forthcoming days of vacation will not only be tranquil, but they will also allow me time for deep reflection to gain more clarity. I may not know the direction of the future that lies before me, but I know that God knows and as He keeps my heart with Him, He will grant me uncommon understanding and vision.

Musings

Not on the books…

Yeah, I have been sitting for a while, waiting for this thunderbolt of passion to hit me; waiting for a groundbreaking sense of urgency to drive my fingers to zeal and relentless pursuit.

But, ding-dong, it’s never going to happen. Months and years have passed by and that thunderbolt is still somewhere doing bench press and is probably worn out from too many reps.

I laugh at you without mirth. Dahling, no passion, no zeal, no zest, no thunderbolt of any sort is heading your way if you don’t find the latent passion that lies within.

This is my little voice calling me to order. I am tired of listening to you say things like, when this happens and when that happens and if only things weren’t so and so, then I would have been doing all those wonderful things that I want to do.

In full tirade, my little voice got louder and sterner. It just never works that way. It’s not in the books and never has been. Life doesn’t happen in a linear fashion and the ducks are never simply ever going to all be in a row. One of the ducks must want to fluff their wings and cluck away. Something will always go not as planned, so, the question my lady is… how long are you going to wait for passion to kindle itself? Why don’t you start with the embers within? Who knows, you might start a raging burn.

Inspiration - Motivation · mental health · Musings

Give it Time.

Photo by energepic.com on Pexels.com

Right about now, there could be things in your life that you’re sorely disappointed and unhappy about. Things that are delayed. Things that don’t seem fair. Things that fell apart. Things that hurt. Numerous things…

You have done everything as right as you think you can do them, yet the results are not adding up. You simply don’t understand why things cannot be different for you especially when you look at your contemporaries who appear to have it better.

Listen up, don’t give up hope on your life and yourself. The alternative to giving up hope is too despairing to think about.

Just like time moves forward, keep pushing forward albeit ensure that your race is run with God.
One day for sure, you will look back with understanding and say “now it makes sense.”

Some of these things had to happen. They had to say no; the person had to leave, Judas had to betray Christ, Joseph’s brothers had to throw him nnto the pit; that door needed to be shut; the storm had to pass through etc.

As life is not a linear journey, things often go wrong, before they go right. Even when it doesn’t make sense, God’s hands are ordering your steps, and all things will turn out for your good.

Give it time.

Musings

Tuesday Thoughts…

Photo by Yan Krukau on Pexels.com

 

I am on a short break and having a lazy morning. Last night, I had planned on having an early night so that I would wake up with the early bird and go for a walk – getting an early start on my day, but because I was up late nattering away with a friend who had called at night, I went to bed later than planned and my morning didn’t start off as I had wanted. 

I could have easily ended the convo, but she was in such a chatty and cheerful mood that I chose to extend the chit-chat. When I woke up this morning, the sun’s rays were already licking my windowpanes that the early morning walk was dead on arrival. 

I reshuffled my itinerary – pushing my walk to the later hours of sundown and sat down to attend to other things and to take a measure of my thoughts. I realized I wasn’t feeling so chipper maybe due to sleeping late and whatever but quickly decided that I didn’t want my mood to go south and get funkier. 

Instead of mulling over the fact that my itinerary was impacted and a bit askew, I quickly responded to a couple of emails/proposals that if all goes as well as it should, the expected response will definitely put a smile on my face. 

As I measured my thoughts, I reinforced these perspectives:

My focus throughout this year is to hold the reins of my thoughts in control as much as is humanly possible, to dwell more on the positives and to quit magnifying the negatives.

My focus is to remind myself of and to appreciate the bridges that I’ve crossed and not the paths where I fell.

My focus is to remind myself that sometimes, a late-night chit-chat adds more flavour to life than an early morning rise and that an evening walk might even pan out better today. 

My focus is to be grateful for friends who find time to spend with you, for moments of gratifying laughter and meaningful chit-chats ‘cos as life’s stress mounts, such moments get further far and few in-between. 

My focus throughout this year is to keep my energy flow in a high-vibrational frequency so as that my thinking, and feelings are aligned with positivity, love, compassion, and overall well-being. As such, I attract positive experiences and people into my life, and this includes my online experiences. 

I eschew all forms of negativity that reduces my frequency and will avoid people who harbour such as they only emit negative emotions and energy, which can lower one’s vibrational frequency. They may have a pessimistic outlook on life, engage in negative habits, and spread negativity to others. Their low vibration affects your spiritual energy which is associated with negative emotions such as persistent feeling of sadness or anger, sluggish thinking, constant fatigue, apathy etc. 

On a closing note, whilst partaking in online interactions, avoid those pages that only offer toxic, negative, distressing, gender-biased, dehumanizing posts. Those people are miserable and looking for company. They have nothing better to offer. Be wise ‘cos bad company corrupts good manners. 

 

mental health · Musings

Is IT still ‘Happy New Year?’

Photo by Anna Tarazevich on Pexels.com

Hello there,

Is it still okay to say Happy New Year, given that the barrage of eventful incidents around the world already makes the year feel prematurely hectic?
Nonetheless, I would still like to wish a Happy New Year to you and your loved ones. I hope you had a fairly decent Christmas and New Year holidays?
Personally, I had a good one, and I am thankful for that. The tail-end of December 2024 saw several fatal plane crashes and 2025 began with the mayhem of a terrorist attack on New Year’s Eve.
I am not sure I will ever understand how any human becomes so evil-minded that they construe despicable ways to harm others needlessly. Severe mental ill-health aside, it takes another level of twisted mind and depravity for anyone desire and to meticulously plan on how to carry out certain nefarious acts.
The total disregard for the sanctity of human life in today’s world makes one wonder. What manner of diabolical pleasure drives such people? How did they become like this? So many questions swirl in my head and leaves me feeling sad at times that such people exist alongside those who simply want to live their lives happily and peacefully.

I sincerely pray that the rest of the year brings better tidings and brighter days for every single one of us and that the year 2025 is indeed a happy and prosperous one. My condolences to the families affected by these tragedies and may the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.

Musings · This Is My Life

Mulling over things.

Don’t get me wrong, I am most certainly grateful about the gift of my life. I am happy to see each light of the day and to know that I have been blessed with another lovely opportunity to be in the land of the living.

Yet, there are days I wake up to how old I am, and I wonder how time ran so fast. Sometimes, I feel like I am still at the cusp of starting life ‘cos life begins after your 40’s after all, but my creaking joints tell the real truth of the matter and seeing obituaries of people you grew up with or once knew makes you realize that from the moment you were born, every day takes you closer to the grave.

I hate to sound morbid, but the fact is that none of us will get out of here alive, even the vampires had to die to continue to live in the dark. It’s just that my senses have become heightened to the fact that we don’t have all the time in the world especially since one of the persons I love most in the world has been diagnosed with Cancer.

I wonder how it is possible to feel numb and hypersensitive at the same time? I wonder why I feel as though all the past years of my life were lived with eyes half open and simply trying to tick the right boxes.

The human experience is common to us all and yet unique in our individual experiences. I may never be able to rewind the clock of the past and relive things with eyes fully open, but it has dawned on me that living intentionally and purposefully takes more than having a to-do list that is completed at the end of the day. Time to realign.

Blogging · mental health · Musings · Poetry/Poems

In My Head…

Photo by Rafael Guajardo on Pexels.com

 

He whispers.

planting ugly seeds

of despair,

 

a cacophony

from the messenger

 seeking to take refuge

 

in my head.

 

I whisper back,

not today, Satan!

never ever!

 

My whisper, more like a roar,

reverberates in my soul,

leaving shivers running from my tippy toes.

 

to my head.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

Musings

Something To Say…

Photo by Kerde Severin on Pexels.com

So, the summer vacay is almost over, and we will be back to the bustle of school run, fees, homework, projects and what have you in no time. Time is so fleeting. Just a couple of weeks ago, I had made an ambitious list of all the things that I planned to do during the summer break, alas, here I am, nary a thing done except vegetating, creating my posts on TikTok and FB, reading a novel in a lackadaisical manner, entertaining the legion of characters that co-habit my mind space and scrolling the fields of social media. 

I had anticipated that the time out will bring solitude and grant me the opportunity to hear myself think, but the solitary moments that I had were barely silent to say the least. I found myself constantly fidgeting with one thing or the other, reaching for my phone ever so often and imbibing in mindless scrolling that magically steals one’s time. Thankfully, I have been disciplined enough to get in my daily walks, improve my form and indulge in much needed self-care which is never enough.

One thing I can tell you freely is that discipline is a daily task. It doesn’t come easy in the least, even when we have our best intentions lined up. I can tell you for free that social media is the thief of time, devised to grab your attention and keep your eyes glued to the screen. I can also tell you that on social platforms, I gained a lot of valuable insight which I may never have had the chance to do otherwise, so, it’s not all downers.

The absolute truth is that we now live in two worlds, the physical and the virtual and we must learn how to navigate both worlds intentionally to our benefits. 

Hope you are having a lovely day today. 

Check me out on TikTok

kindness · Life · mental health · Musings

DON’T BRING WREATHS WHEN I AM DEAD…

You may not be able to make all the difference, but the little that you do can make a lot of difference.”

Photo by Javon Swaby on Pexels.com

Why do we have to wait for someone to die before we let them know how much we appreciate them and how much they mean to us. Why do we have to wait for someone in our lives to die in the midst of their struggles before we realize that maybe there’s something we could have done to make their lives a little bit better, even if what we can do is only in small measures.

A lot of times we shy away from helping others because we are so caught up the quicksand or miry bog of our own issues and life’s challenges that we lose patience with anyone else who comes to us with their problems. We love success stories but never the messy journey that led to the success, and sadly, if someone is not a ‘success’ based on parameters set by society, they often get lost and forgotten in the midst of a crowd.

In this week alone, I have come across posts of people’s passing – known and unknown – some were under very pathetic circumstances and caved under the weight of their struggles.

You don’t have to do so much to make a difference in someone’s life today. Let those you care about know how much you do care about them. Buy them flowers whilst they still live and not a bogus wreath to place on their tombstone or shallow grave when they are no longer there.

Musings · Writing

Welcome to my brainbox…

Photo by meo on Pexels.com

You are starved. Famished for words to satisfy your hunger. Mishmash, mumbo-jumbo, incoherent and sensible words tumble around.

A meaningless mess of words that I don’t know what to do with, all attempting to fall out in no sequence whatsoever.

A search for thoughts. Scratching the surface of the mind, several impressions leading to rabbit holes; where Alice in Wonderland is waiting for a visit, where the wizard’s cauldron bubbles with mischief, where sanity beckons to peace, where desire meets passion, where laziness meets the propensity to procrastinate, where nothing becomes something and something becomes everything. Where…

Welcome to my brainbox. Where fun stuff and nonsense often happens.