a cooking pot and twisted tales
Thoughts and Tales…A Lifestyle Blog with a Zing.
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Life is too short and dentition tends to fall out as we age.
So smile, while you still have them to show.
Quick interesting fact:
When people sing together in a choir, their heartbeats synchronise.
It’s always lovely to start the week and each day as much as we can with a smile and positive outlook. I find Leannenz Monday memes interesting.
Do have a fruitful and blessed week awesome people.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
It’s Christmas Day in two days, but it’s been Christmas for longer than these days in my heart. 
I am grateful for all the lovely messages of Glad Tidings floating around cyberspace.
I am grateful for all the smiling faces and happy vibes that I see all around me in my neighbourhood.
I am grateful for provision and for the time spent with my loved ones. The children are on school break and it’s a beautiful time of laughter and squabbles.
I am grateful for the ”Reason for this Season, Jesus Christ” – the center of my gravity, my peace and redemption.
Christmas is not just about the bright lights, the gifts or the plentiful eating happening all around, but about the Birth of the Messenger of Peace and Love.
Indeed, we can experience bone deep peace and joy of Christmas in our lives, even beyond this time if only we look up and try.
Remember that it is the little things that makes the difference. What are you grateful for today?
You can join Colline’s or Maria Jansson gratitude challenge platforms.
Blessed Love and Peace to You and Yours. Merry Christmas.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Recently, I had a chat with a friend and we spoke about passion. Since we had that chat, I have been mulling over bits and pieces of our conversation and chewing on the fat of things.
During our chat, she did not out-rightly deride my passion about writing and public speaking, but in her opinion, she thinks that it should be classified as a hobby, since I was not yet making pots of money from either.
In her eyes, I was not yet a serious writer because there is no World acclaimed bestseller title under my belt.
As far as she is concerned, I am writing just for the pleasure of writing. At this point I had my tongue in my cheek trying to rein myself in from saying the first thought that fleeted through my mind, which was @#$#$%$##%!
Calmly, I asked her how much pleasure she was deriving from her work?
If she was that ecstatic about it, why is it that she moans over her job every time we speak, wishing she had the funds to take a bold step away from the rat race bandwagon.
She had wished over a 1,000 times that she had the guts to pursue her desires to own an events management outfit, but like I had equally given myself the leeway of excuses in the past, she had a million reasons why she couldn’t get started in that direction.
I asked her what her plans were in the immediate, interim and long term, towards achieving her goal, but to my surprise, she had made absolutely no concrete plans in the realization of her dreams.
….And she calls me a dreamer!
Her hope is that tomorrow will come armed with all that she would require to achieve her dreams and build her castles in the passing wind.
I told her that ”Tomorrow will never come if we don’t get hold of today!”
I now cheekily told her that I am absolutely pleased with what I am doing at the moment and though I did not give her a detailed breakdown, I drew a sketchy idea of my writing prospects and aspirations which I believe will come to pass even if it delays.
In the meantime, I told her that I was willing to make certain sacrifices to achieve my dreams, since I had also learnt that some of the material expenses which we load on ourselves were absolutely unnecessary. We can live very well without some of these things for as long as is necessary.
I have heard tales and jokes of hungry artists/writers. I have heard about all the hard mental work endured for passion in return of peanuts.
…Then again, I have heard and have experienced first hand, the irrefutable, bone deep pleasure that a true writer derives from answering their call and I then realize the true meaning of the morbid African proverb which says that”we cannot because of the fear of death avoid going to war, if that war means that we get to live the life that we deserve.”
In some ways, she was right that I am not yet making anything out of my vision and dreams.
Now, it is time to write the vision, take the vision and run with it.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
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© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
If ever there is a painting that I have stared at with so much intent all my life is ”The Last Supper’‘ painted by Leonardo Da Vinci.
During my growing years, we had a framed copy of the last supper which hung at the dining area of my parents house and it was there for as long as I can remember.
I always wondered what the conversation around the table would have been like.
How had Jesus felt knowing that his betrayer was there supping with him while maintaining his camouflage as a disciple?
Would I not have promptly confronted Judas for his betrayal? Then again, I am not Christ.
The second painting is ‘‘The Crucifixion” and I couldn’t stand to look at it when I was much younger.
I could never stand the thought of such wicked, torturous and the slow death of nailing someone to the cross alive and watching them bleed drop by drop until their last breath.
As I grew older, I realized that indeed the biblical quote that ‘‘the heart of man is desperately wicked’‘ is so, so true.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
The Daily Post prompt The Artist Eye
Is there a painting or sculpture you’re drawn to? What does it say to you? Describe the experience. (Or, if art doesn’t speak to you, tell us why.)
Image courtesy: Wikipedia.org
The measurement of success varies from one individual to the other and for me, mine is measured by the amount of positive pleasure that is derived in the pursuit of my passion.
For a whole lot, their success may only be cached on how much money is lining their pockets and if that is the case, then that deep satisfaction and contentment that comes from the unquantified simple things of life will continue to remain elusive in the never-ending need to make an extra buck.
Even though it’s a fact that one must earn a living however, one’s success should not only be determined by the yardsticks of the greenback.
The past fortnight have been such bloggisatisfying time for me that I kept going to bed each night with a wide smile pasted on my face.
It first started with Ben Huberman sending me a very polite and surprising mail inviting me to participate in contributing a theme/prompt for the just concluded poetry class and believe me when I say that my heart expanded in extra warmth.
I had not planned to take the class initially, but I am so delighted that I did and yes, I feel proud to have had my prompt chosen and even if such an opportunity never arises again, this was a big bolster for me, so I am preening. Thank you.
Then Carlos a darling blogger sent me a surprise letter which brought tears to eyes and my heart expanded some more.
In no way did I know that those little words that I kept sharing with him had such meaningful impact enough to warrant taking the time to write me a special letter.
This totally reminds me of these quotes: “Encouragement is said to be the oxygen for the human spirit. Do not forget you are carrying someone’s air with you. Encourage them. Help them breathe” – anonymous.
”Make someone smile whenever you can. You never know how much of a difference you could be making in their life at that moment.”
It’s me Saraa topped my weeks sweetness with her own ration of surprise sprinkles and I continued to smile.
…And to complete my harvest of smiles, few weeks ago at the neighbourhood cafe, I met Lara, a lovely, smiley Filipino lady with whom I had a brief chat when I was busy scribbling and tapping away seriously on my laptop.
She struck a conversation asking me what I was working so intently on. I told her that it was my blog and she requested for the name, which I scribbled on a scrap of paper and gave to her.
Believe me when I say that I never thought that she would even bother. I just thought that she was being polite and that the scrap of paper would be lost even before the ink dried.
Well, I ran into her once again today and with smiles dotting her entire face she walked up to me and said Miss Jacqueline, I have been reading your blog.
You write and rhyme so well. I enjoy reading your blog in the evening. I am following you now and sent you an FB request.
I quickly checked my FB request status which has close to 200 or more requests yet to be answered *covering my face* and I accepted her request right there and then, but I simply felt like I had won some pretty penny.
We chit-chatted some more and I think I hummed back to my house or should I say tweeted back to my house in utter pleasure.
There you have it. I have seen a lot of magic and earned a lot of satisfaction this week. A good evening to you from Dubai.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
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Though we rhymed for a brief moment,
And too soon it’s time to part.
In these wonderful moments
I have met such lovely art.
Do fare well, as time passes by,
And the seasons roll on by,
For we’ll be forever rhyming,
Till we can’t rhyme no more!
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Writing 101, Day 10 – FAREWELL
“Camouflage is a game we all like to play, but our secrets are as surely revealed by what we want to seem to be as by what we conceal.” — Russell Lynes
”I am totally preening with pride.” No, it’s not a camouflage.” ”I am preening because today’s prompt for Writing 101 was humbly offered by me and accepted by Ben Huberman.”
”So I crave your indulgence while I inundate you with poetry 🙂 ”
…
I bottled it all up
Covered it with a heavy top
Saying, oh it didn’t matter
Which was simply a blatter
For the hits that I took below
Left scars that beat me hollow
Sometimes, I cry in deep sorrow
But I shake it off in hope of tomorrow.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
It’s time for a little game of poetic hide-and-seek with Day 9’s prompt, Camouflage, by the prolific @jacquelineobyikocha.
“Camouflage is a game we all like to play, but our secrets are as surely revealed by what we want to seem to be as by what we conceal.” — Russell Lynes
”I am totally preening with pride.” No, it’s not a camouflage.” ”I am preening because today’s prompt for Writing 101 was humbly offered by me and accepted by Ben Huberman.”
”So I crave your indulgence while I inundate you with poetry 🙂 ”
Crouched in the thick bushes,
Fatigue camouflaged and blended with the brushes.
Inhale, Exhale,
Inhale, Exhale,
His fingers placed on the trigger,
Steady, like that of a true sniper.
Yet his heartbeats are so loud in his ears,
They were erratic from his present fears.
Sweat dripped and glazed his eyes,
Mingled with tears of his silent goodbyes.
As his days flashed by so fast,
When the heat missile blasted past.
Beneath his camouflage of bravery,
Lay a young soul torn to shreds.
As he was laid down to rest,
On his marble stone engraved with crest,
”Here lies a brave soul at rest.”
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
It’s time for a little game of poetic hide-and-seek with Day 9’s prompt, Camouflage, by the prolific @jacquelineobyikocha.
“Camouflage is a game we all like to play, but our secrets are as surely revealed by what we want to seem to be as by what we conceal.” — Russell Lynes
”I am totally preening with pride.” No, it’s not a camouflage.” ”I am preening because today’s prompt for Writing 101 was humbly offered by me and accepted by Ben Huberman.”
”So I crave your indulgence while I inundate you with poetry 🙂 ”
I feel shame
Deep burning shame
Its cloying presence
Tries to steal my essence
It clings to my clothing
In an attempt at choking
I despise it with so much loathing
My detest so bright and blinding
That to see through these walls enshrouding
I need a mask to cover my eyes.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
It’s time for a little game of poetic hide-and-seek with Day 9’s prompt, Camouflage, by the prolific @jacquelineobyikocha.
a cooking pot and twisted tales 