a cooking pot and twisted tales
Thoughts and Tales…A Lifestyle Blog with a Zing.
Each day, you choose the beats of life that you’ll dance to.
Make each dancing step a good one, since each new day is the first day of the rest of your life.
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
Always laugh when you can. It’s cheap medicine. George Gordon Byron
The writers quote Wednesday’s prompt for this week is laughter and I looked up that lovely quote above.
I love laughing. In my opinion, robust laughter is like a song to the ears that the soul dances to. I like being around people who have a good sense of humour and can make me laugh and who equally laugh at themselves. They don’t nitpick and take offence easily. Staying around grouches can be bone wearing and grey. At some point, we would all die, but while we are alive let’s live it with laughter on our lips.
Sometimes, especially during the weekends, I deliberately go on YouTube to look up comedians and enjoy a good half hour of silliness 🙂
When we moved here, I was initially taken aback by the number of serious, stoic faces that dotted the horizon. I even wrote a poem about it which languished in my draft. Some looked outrightly like people who had sucked on sour lemons as if it would hurt them to smile while some wore a grimace like they had a bad case of gas.
Over time, I started distinguishing them by their nationalities and realised that some of the tightness of the faces are due to upbringing and religion. Of robbing the minds of reasons to be joyful and to see a fellow human in suspicion or disdain.
Some reminded me of the staunch hard-nosed Church deaconesses whose lips are perpetually pursed in criticism. Some religious tenets sap some humans of the joy of living. Their belief that your hard faced stoic stance shows you as a serious Muslim or Christain or whatever, is so wrong. Laughter or smiling is beautiful.
No one expects anyone to go around looking like a clown, but life can be taken seriously without looking morbid about it.
Since we are all going to die anyway, I think I would look better with a smile on my face as I sign off on the last day in mirth.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Ted was bored, angry and tired. He hated his job, the drudgery and his boss.
Every morning, he would get all dressed up, knotted in stitches by the strictures of his tie, suit and briefcase, yet he trudged along, a pack of analgesic and pepto-bismol tucked away in his bag. He would have gone through a bit of them before the day was over.
He knew that he couldn’t continue like this in such a dull job. He had told himself this for the past ten years, yet he was too lethargic and scared to sit up and do something.
Lost in thoughts over his quandary, his movements were spare and automated as he walked down his usual route to catch the bus.
He stepped into the pedestrian crossing, just a few seconds too early. He had failed to see the flashing change of the lights and the truck that trundled down at high speed.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Image credit: Pixabay
![1459417777747[1]](https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/14594177777471.jpg)
Ever since I made up my mind to let go of dwelling on non-essentials that didn’t further my existence and probably only contributed to making a miserable day, I found more peace.
Ever since I chose to make conscious, deliberate efforts to apply positive affirmations and frame of mind to my days, it only got better.
Yes, it is possible to live a purpose-driven life.
Yes, happiness is a deliberate choice.
Yes, each day can be as best as we can make it all things being equal.
Of course there are things that are out of our control, like nature and other people’s actions, but we run our own workshop of our minds and home.
Indeed, there are days that are a bit off, but, I’ve observed that once you get into the habit of positive thoughts and living, such moods and days barely last because your mind fights to switch to the frame that works best for it.
Your days are as good as you make them. Be happy not by trying to convince others, but by being yourself and the best that you can be.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Nothing catches my interest like ordinary people going about their normal life.
Over time, I have taken so many photos of others.
I find humans of all walks of life beautiful and fascinating
Some have inspired stories in my head and some have roused curiosity to want to know more, but there’s so much you can get to know 🙂
![1459146477944[1]](https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/14591464779441.jpg)
![1456985856032[1]](https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/14569858560321.jpg)
Harmony can hardly be arrived at when we have constant internal turmoils stemming from grudges borne over something.
A whole lot of times grudges stem from expectations placed on someone and when it’s not met, we become resentful and store that in a corner of our minds and hearts. Even when we say that we’ve forgiven the person, we keep a long list of records of all the shortfalls.
If we minimized our expectations from others to almost nothing, that way we leave room for pleasant surprises and also save ourselves that feeling of being let down.
An instance is our personal relationships. A lot of relationships fail because we go into it with a long list of dos, don’ts and infernal expectations.
They are not GOD, but fallible humans!
This virtually applies to everything that we do. For instance you might have a nasty boss. Zero your mind down to the fact that he/she has issues that they are dealing with and they possibly don’t know how to be different.
Once your mind has accepted their contrary prickly nature, you go about your business as effectively as you can without letting the acid of annoyance and grudge build up inside you. Getting into differences with such people will only hurt you more, because the likelihood is that they may not understand, don’t care or are insensitive to your feelings.
Remember that you cannot change other people, but you can change yourself. Who knows, your balanced sense of self and disposition might actually serve as a source of inspiration for such people.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
BE FREE
May I live
Unafraid to breathe
Free from a choke-hold
That becomes a stronghold
May I live
Unafraid to live
Clinging to my expectations
With feral desperation
May I share space
Unafraid of being encased
Free from condemnation of race
That becomes a strong base
Purple, White, Olive, Black and every hue within
May I share space
Knowing that we are first a human race
…And all blood are red in this place.
May I speak of belief
Unafraid and in relief
Free from contentious eyes of disbelief
That becomes thresholds of grief
May I wear my mask of belief
Understanding that to achieve
Peace would be a welcome reprieve
…Which we must seek to retrieve.
May I love you
Unafraid to be bound to you
Free from censors of broken whispers
That becomes harbingers of cold shivers
May I love freely my love
Unafraid to expose my naked bust
Knowing that in you lies my trust
Encased in the warm embrace of your love.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Life is not lived
On a black and white palette
For there are lots of shades
As well as tints of gray
Life is not a mad dash
Done in a big rush
For with such quick flash
You’ll combust into ash
Life is a sweet saunter with swag
Of swinging Calypso in beautiful sashes
And making bold, colourful splashes.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
The Daily Post prompt Mad Libs.
I was parked behind the big bus when this prompt came in an hour ago, so we chose the word ‘Splash.’
![1461563050993[1]](https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/14615630509931.jpg)
a cooking pot and twisted tales 