Tag: Aging

My Thinking Corner

Tuesdays Trickles – My thinking Corner

jacquelineobyikocha14 Comments

Every Tuesday, I share snippets of thoughts that I call ‘My Thinking Corner.’

I would like to invite you to participate. The challenge is quite simple. You can check this link for more details.

picsart_09-20-08-11-011

When we were young we were full of ambition, dreams, and drive, but when we get to a certain age there’s the tendency to let go of our deep desires, which gives way to the need to just get along with living and paying the bills. We unconsciously tell our minds that we are too old to pursue certain dreams.

This creates a chasm of dissatisfaction deep inside anyone who has found themselves in such a position and it just never goes away no matter how much effort is made to mask such desires.

When we realize that our destiny lies in our hands through our thinking; when we realize that so long as we still inhabit our bodies and notwithstanding the fact that we grow older, that as long as we’re mentally, physically and spiritually able, we can still pursue some of those dreams that gave us bright eyes and lit up our hearts.

I’ve seen people obtain degrees in their old age, change careers or start a business late in life. Never stop dreaming. Never stop pursuing your dreams.

Deb sends in inspiring words of wisdom. Take a peek 🙂

Jacqueline

out-of-the-silent-breath 2

Advertisement
The Daily Post

When I am Fifty…

jacquelineobyikocha57 Comments

When I was twenty, I thought thirty was old,
then I became thirty and it wasn’t so bad.
Lo Presto! Forty came calling and looks good on me,
that now I realize fifty isn’t old at all.

I realized that age flies and are only numbers when you count,
‘cos these numbers don’t depict the essence of who you are
and the miles you’ve walked in life.

I’ll embrace fifty when it does come round
with grace and a lot of gratitude
for to age is a blessing
that many don’t live to see.

Fifty, The Daily Post

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

out-of-the-silent-breath 2

Gratitude

Mixed Feelings… personal

jacquelineobyikocha41 Comments

Often, getting older can be viewed with a mixed feeling of excitement and dismay. For the younger person, they feel that they are getting closer to independence while the older person sometimes wishes time could slow down a notch.Birthday_cake[1]

Having two of my favourite men (husband and one of my boys) celebrate their birthdays this week is a lot to be thankful for, asides from all the sweet consumptions that accompanies birthday celebrations, I am reminded of the countless blessings that my life has been decorated with. We are well. We have shelter and food. We have hope. We have a bright future. That is more than enough.

My son is fast galloping into a grown man and these days when I look at his tall, 6ft plus big frame, I remember my cute, itty-bitty baby boy with a head full of hair and shiny eyes. A boy who clung to me as a lifeline and laughed at my little jokes and play with him. Now he has his own ideas and jokes, independent in many ways and we are going through teenage ups and downs which I must confess baffles me at times.

Sometimes, the song “wish we could turn back time to the good old days,” hums in my head but I realize also that I wouldn’t have it any different than I do right now. Would I want my child to remain forever a child and not grow older? NO! This is the cycle of life and I am grateful to be a partaker as well as the parent of this beautiful child.

There are times I ask myself where time ran off to when I look at my darling Himself and realize that we’ve been married now for two months shy of 16 years and I realize that I’ve been awesomely blessed even when I didn’t know it. We are all aging with grace and maturing like fine wine and I am thankful 🙂

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

P.S: There are several gratitude/thankful platforms in the blogosphere that you can tune into and get your ithankful going on. I can’t express in words the enormity of Joy and fulfilment that comes from having a heart of gratitude. Please check out Maria’s blog, Colline’s blog and Bernadette’s for thankful/gratitude challenges.

InLinkz

Below is my first just published Poetry Book “Out of the silent breath” which is available on Amazon and Smashwords.

When you buy my book, you support me in an invaluable manner.

Stars, Five Stars, Logo, Icon, Symbol, Five, Rating

‘A Richly Layered and Passionate Read.’ Jan Cliff

Out of the silent breath

If you enjoy my works, you can fuel my creativity with a cup of coffee or a slice of cake😉

Everyday People

Learn – Every day beautiful people 79

jacquelineobyikocha8 Comments

“The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice.” Brian Herbert

Learning[1]

At whatever age we find ourselves, we must continue to learn. Growing older does not equate to not living life as full and as enriched as you possibly can as long as your faculties and health are still functioning, in other words, as long as you are alive.

Keep LEARNING!

Below is my first just published Poetry Book “Out of the silent breath” which is available on Amazon and Smashwords.

When you buy my book, you support me in an invaluable manner.

Stars, Five Stars, Logo, Icon, Symbol, Five, Rating

Wonderful, evocative poetry by a talented writer. Left me hungry for more. Jacqueline can write! Linda Bethea

Out of the silent breath

If you enjoy my works and would like to do so, you can fuel my creativity with a slice of cake or coffee😉

Everyday People

Aging…Every day beautiful people #65

jacquelineobyikocha13 Comments

“Aging is not lost youth, but a new stage of opportunity and strength.” Betty Friedan

“Age is no barrier. It’s a limitation you put on your mind.” Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Aging[1] Aging_1[1]

As you get older, you become a classic and viewed with respect. It’s inevitable that we all go through this process (hopefully) and it’s a blessing to live long.

Let’s remain young at heart even when our body ages in other places:-)

Below is my first just published Poetry Book “Out of the silent breath” which is available on Amazon and Smashwords.

When you buy my book, you support me in an invaluable manner.

Stars, Five Stars, Logo, Icon, Symbol, Five, Rating

From the very first poem, “Dreams,” this book captivates with passionate and perceptive words. Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha captures a broad expanse of the human experience in this book of richly layered poems.

Out of the silent breath

Featured Blogs

Featured Posts # 70…Share Your Post Links.

jacquelineobyikocha

1456149614808[1]

‘PLEASE KEEP SENDING IN THE LINKS.’ 

Today’s featured blogs posts are:

My private ballerina: a total piece of fine writing. I felt so satisfied reading this and this is my comment:

OOOh! This is beautiful. I totally love it. I wonder if she knows your thoughts?

Naptural beauty: A sweet post from Michelle. Nothing like being you and doing what’s best for you 🙂

Back in the day: an inspiring, thought-provoking, positive vibes-laden post.

Disrupt aging, bringing back sexy: when a lady is rocking her 50’s and bringing her sexy back, it’s WOW! Two thumbs up La Diva Deborah 😉

Please do step in and show some love.

‘Do you want more eyes on your words?’

Well then, add your LINK INTO THIS LOOP.

P.S. Comments are disabled here to keep the loop tidy. Any comments or link you want to send can be added through the link in the post.

Thank you for your understanding and regards.

‘We create a cohesive community when we come together.’

Below is my first just published Poetry Book “Out of the silent breath” which is available on Amazon and Smashwords.

When you buy my book, you support me in an invaluable manner.

Stars, Five Stars, Logo, Icon, Symbol, Five, Rating

She is amazing at describing love and life in her poems. She creates such beautiful images with her words. Truly, she is a talented writer and I’m so excited to have her poetry book and to continue reading through it.

Out of the silent breath

Memes · Midnight motivation and musings · Musings

Midnight Motivation and Musings 73

jacquelineobyikocha24 Comments

1461728289100[1]

At no age does the learning of the mind stop except the strictures that we place on ourselves.

Most times the term being set in our ways that we loosely use is actually a self-imposed and nice way of saying, I don’t want to be bothered to change.

For as long as we can keep our minds open to assimilate knowledge, our inner core is rejuvenated, constantly growing and the perspectives of our horizons remains broad.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

Writing

Ah Ha! Now we are talking my language…Streams of consciousness Saturday.

jacquelineobyikocha11 Comments

Ha! When I saw Linda’s prompt for today’s streams of consciousness, I burst into laughter. I wondered how she picked such a random exclamation.

Most of you who  have read my blog would have seen this exclamation littering the horizon of my words from time to time like in these posts:I must have been born exclaiming, Nothing to be tricked about, Fruits of a hustle, Mama Put. I can assure you that there are several more 😉

I actually try to tame my usage of the ha’s and o’s on the tip of my tongue even though it does get the better of me sometimes.SoCS badge 2015

It’s the Nigerianness in me. Even if I live to be 120 years and maybe a resident in Nunavut, I am sure that ha, o  and hey, will feature in my writing as well as speech.

Back home, we exclaim a lot especially when we speak in pidgin language. Our sentences are emphasized with o, a, ha and hey! It’s literally impossible for us to do without our high-pitched punctuated exclamations. Haba! That simply takes away the flavour in the expression.

How can I tell you the depth of my askance or surprise if I don’t say ha? 😉

For instance, we use ha to express things such as:

Ha! Indeed, Really?

Ha! You don’t say.

Ha! Wonderful

Ha ba! What is it?

Now I am speaking pidgin in my head as I write and in conclusion, ‘make I finish quick, quick waka comot for hia. E get place wey I won go buy market – let me finish quickly and go out. I need to go shopping somewhere.’

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

 

 

Humor - Bellyful of laughter · Life · Uncategorized

The Uninvited Guest…

jacquelineobyikocha42 Comments

Aging is an annoying house guest

Who is forever engaged in a quest

He visits without prior behest

And stays put beside you in your arm rest

He has a way of getting your address

Even if you move places so he can’t keep abreast

An inevitable visitor who seeks to divest

All youthful zest even if you do protest

He arrives with a large travel chest

Filled with lots of odious screen tests

Doing his darned best to keep you under house arrest.

By the time he leaves, there’s nothing left but eternal rest.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

The Daily Post Prompt inevitable.

Challenges · Hope · The Great Book Of Lists · Travel · Weave that Dream

Desires of Mine…The Big Book Of Lists

jacquelineobyikocha25 Comments

For Laduchessederat’s  great big book of lists  challenge for this week, some of the things that I presently wish for, might be daydreams, but, I so love daydreaming.

I wish that I could breeze through editing my manuscript so that I can move on to the next stage. Editing is not as much fun as writing the rough manuscript.

I wish I could get better toe-hold of my health/weight. I know that I can do better than I am doing right now.

For no specific reasons, these two cities have been on my mind: Vancouver and San Francisco. They have always sounded very posh to my ears and out of the long list of places that I would love to visit, thoughts of these two are dangling in my head.

I wish that I would be able to start my authors blog soon, but then again, that is tied to number 1.

I wish to put my short stories together, dust them up and publish them. *Sigh* There is so much to do.

I wish that I could continue with my piano lessons, but over here in Dubai, things tend to cost an arm and a leg, so I can’t afford that right now :/

I am holding my cap out for a Mediterranean cruise or a repeat tour of Europe by train.

My wish for each day of 2016, is to remain at peace within myself and give the best of myself for each day in achieving my goals.

This thought is rather a far-fetched thought, but a wish that seats deeply in my heart. Sometimes, I am scared at the rapid rate of my children’s growth and other than taking as many photos as possible, as well as trying to appreciate my time with them as much as I can, I wish there is a way to encapsulate these memories, so that even when I am very old, I will remember. If you have an idea how, please do share 🙂

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha