The Angry Goddess…

March 11, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha13 Comments

Each day the fishermen set off to the river in search of their daily bread. It took longer and longer, and they had to go further and further for reasonable catch.

Over recent years the harvest has dwindled as the flow of the Nguru was interrupted in unnatural ways and the villagers were unhappy.

The river had many tales to tell. Once it flows past, it never came back that way again, but continued on its journey through the winding villages out to the sea.

The big companies had come with their massive artillery.

They were searching for the gems of ancient days that they believed were hidden in watery coves.

They soiled the water and killed the living things that called Nguru their home.

Simbata the River Goddess is in a rage.

They have turned her domain into a place of greed, avarice and destruction.

She planned to flow over the banks, through the tributaries and into the house’s.

It was time to speak out her displeasure.

The Daily Post prompt flow.

Heartache…Friday fiction in five sentences.

March 11, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha30 Comments

Bowed down, she sobbed in pain as his words cut through her heart and ripped it into little bits.

I am sorry, but it’s over he said.

Was it something I did she asked brokenly.

No, it’s not you. It’s just that I need some space to sort out stuff and I am just not feeling it anymore. He chose the location because he knew that she did not like confrontation and he wanted a quick way out.

The anger surged in her like a fiery ball of fire. All the wasted years of empty promises and he now decides he’s not feeling it. Well, it’s not going to be a quick sprint in the park. She rose like a maddened Tigress, picked up the vase on the table and emptied it’s watery content over his head. She gave him a resounding thwack with her bag and marched off in fury.

Life · Photographs

Finding Solitude…

March 11, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha14 Comments

Finding solitude in this bee-hive of a city, is literally akin to finding a needle in a haystack or seeing a camel trying to squeeze it’s hoof through the eye of the needle.

Well, that was my thought initially, until I started looking through thousands of photos and luckily found a few pictures that depicted solitude for today’s Photo 101 theme ‘solitude.’

I wasn’t sure that I would catch any solitary looking people today, especially with the particularly gray looking weather that we have, so I dug into my photos and found some reasonable offering.

Solitude is also not when one is all by himself, but equally a state of the mind.

A person can be in a crowd and yet feel all alone.

Quietly, enjoying his lunch break, I suppose.

Driving for miles on the desert track and all you see is sand, an occasional off-road 4 x 4 and the Sun in the distance.

This poor fella is all by himself in his enclosure. He’s as curious about me as I am about him/

I was gripped with the desire to peek and see what he was looking at when I walked past.

I like this photo of the man parked by the road side and staring at the fireworks in the distance.

I wonder what little birdie is seeing up there.

Parenting

Our progeny…

March 10, 2016March 10, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha28 Comments

As a matter of urgency,
It’s up to us to teach our progeny
The value of empathy.
It’s up to us to leave a legacy
That will help mold their destiny
To create good sense of well-being and identity
In an environment filled with harmony
We teach our children fair sense of equity
For them to stand as upright entities
Living in Truth, Love, Honour, Faith, Hope and Integrity.

The Daily Post prompt legacy.

Inspiration - Motivation · Self Help

Midnight Motivations and Musings #28

March 9, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha15 Comments

When we go into a new venture even our writing, we must always remember that we are not writing just for ourselves.

Yes, indeed it’s true that there are some personal things that we might share to ease our minds and for a myriad of other reasons, but half of the time, your story could serve as a beacon of light for someone going through their own journey.

This equally applies to so many other aspects of our lives, business, work, relationships etc.

What value are you adding where you are?

What hand of fellowship do you extend to others or are you the constantly expectant type?

It’s a proven truth, tested and tried over time, that people will stay closer to those who make them feel welcome and more at ease.

Think back on the busted friendships and broken alliances. What went wrong? Could it be traced to attitude problems? A lot of people find it difficult to look at their shortcomings fully in the face and accept their faults.

Always recollect that attitude makes a lot of difference and leaves a lot of impressions especially in real-time.

Self Help

Midnight Motivations and Musings #27

March 8, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha49 Comments

When I was much younger, I thought it was possible to please everyone.

Boy! Did I learn a lesson from the school of hard knocks!

Some didn’t like me for reasons best known to them.

Some weren’t sure how they felt about me; their thoughts swinging one way or the other like a pendulum.

Some tried to like me, but I kept falling short of their hi-falutin expectations.

Some out-rightly wanted harm to befall me and actually set about planning harm.

Now, this is the scenario in a whole lot of people’s lives and this transcends from personal to business life as well.

The sad truth is that in a given 100% of people around you, 5 % care about you. 15% Don’t give two hoots and are busy caring about themselves, the other 80% are holding their bated breath and wishing you would drop off planet Earth.

So, if you are preoccupied with the thoughts of what people would say to decide each step you have to take in your life, you need another thinking coming on.

If you are caught up in the act of people pleasing, you will probably run yourself ragged and into the ground trying to fit into every bodies expectations.

That my friend is tantamount to signing away your life.

Inspiration - Motivation · Self Help

Midnight Motivations and Musings #27…

March 7, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha22 Comments

Inaction builds nothing, ever!

Even if it seems the safe route to take at the beginning, it ends up being the route to nowhere.

The truth is that in taking a bold step, making mistakes along the way helps us to combat fear and builds our confidence, while inaction to step out fosters the terror and fear that grips our minds and paralyzes our mind and eventually erodes any confidence or zest that we may have had.

There are many routes that leads up the mountain top and we must take one to climb it. We cannot stay at the foot of the hill and dream about the view from up.

Fiction · Short Stories

The Strings Of Flame…

March 7, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha27 Comments

Eddy’s eyes strayed to the glittering guitar which hung behind the counter of the bar as he dusted.

Since he started working for Mrs. Hilley, he had wondered about it.

His eyes gleamed as he looked at it and the flaming guitar glowed brighter under his gaze.

He noticed that she touched it ever so often, dusted it with reverence and hung it back.

He had no idea what the story behind it was, but he couldn’t ask. There were rumours however, on one really knew the truth.

Since he was alone, he decided to play just a little bit. He hoped to own one some day soon.

Lost in the music the guitar’s flaming strings came alive and he failed to hear the door swing open.

Mrs. Hilley listened, tears ran down her face as he played haunting tunes.

Startled to find her watching him he hurried to hang it back but, she set two glasses of apple cider, sat him down to tell him the story of the flaming guitar.

Inklinz

In response to the FFAW photo prompt above from Pixabay.com and Priceless Joy for this enchanting story platform

Personal · Personal story · Photographs · This Is My Life

This Is My Home…personal

March 7, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha51 Comments

Home lies in the beat of my heart.

Home lies in your loving arms

Home is wherever you are

Though I wander seas afar

You’ll always be on my mind.

In my days spent on Earth, my journey through life has taken me many times in so many directions, away from the shores of bricks and mortar that we called home.

From the Eastern part of my country in my childhood days, to the Western part as a young adult, I set up home in many places, but my heart lay in my parents abode.

That was the way it was until I got married and my heart expanded to accommodate some more.

In my years of matrimony, we have perambulated quite a bit. We have moved across countries and continents; from Africa to North America to Middle East and who knows where next.

In these years, I have consistently learnt to shed myself of material knick-knacks that may not make the cut during any move.

I appreciate creature comforts like other human, my cosy bed, the living room, kitchen and dining, but over these years of sojourning, I have learnt in truth, that bricks and mortar may make a house, but home are those who lie in it.

Be it a tent under the stars

Be it a caravan on the plains

Be it a mansion in a beautiful city

My home surely lies with you.

Photo 101

That was home in the background back in Houston and the mail box. Yes, it’s a cupcake 🙂

Building cup pyramid in my kitchen – Houston

Inspiration - Motivation · Lifestyle · Self Help

Midnight Musings and Motivations #26…

March 6, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha13 Comments

Opportunities don’t run up and hug us as we traipse down the alley of nothingness.

Opportunity has to find us doing, for it to turn up and when it does turn up, do we recognize it?

It comes in many forms and a whole lot of times, it may not come wrapped in a nice box with bows and flowers.

Do we stand in the way of our own progress with all the road blocks that we inflict on our path, waiting for an opportunity that will land in our laps while we sit on the rocking chair going back and forth and gossiping about the neighbour?

Sometimes, we have to push ourselves out of the rocking chair to get where we want to go.