Tag: My thoughts

Blogging · Philosophy of Life

This life…

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Life is an interwoven maze of our experiences. Days blur into each other creating our past, present, future and indeed, life is truly what we make of it.

The past is done and gone. A mere recollection that serves, hopefully, as a compass and guide in our present. A memory bank of moments lived which we sometimes relive in nostalgia or regret. The past we can never return to nor regain no matter how hard we try or how much we want it.

The present is what we live and inhabit and the culmination of our presents make our past, which is why our presence in our present deeply counts. This is where the key to our happiness lies. Staying fully present and living our best moments in the now – no matter how mundane our day may seem – so that when we look back on our recollections – which we tend to ruminate on – we will have fonder thoughts and reasons to smile and not sigh nor wince in regret.

The future is an illusion of time that we do not have. The future is infinite. We postpone everything to an imagined future when all we truly have is ‘NOW’ This is the bane of most of our lives: waiting, postponing, planning! When we truly get to understand that

Live all aspects of your present time as well as you can. Give everyday that you receive the best of you and life will reward you in the same coin.

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Life

The power of the present…

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collection of retro wall clocks in antique store
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There’s a lot of power in living in the now. but a whole lot of times we are so focused on the past; reliving events that have come and gone, living in the regret land of ‘I wish’ I should have, I could have, I would have… which is a sheer waste of our limited time and energy. We can never regain the past as it is more or less a memory trace and the more we sit in the past, the more we lose the power of being fully present and enjoying the ‘now’ that we have.

Again, a lot of times we spend enormous time and energy planning and projecting for a future and a tomorrow that we don’t have in hand whilst at the same time losing steam and failing to ensure that we are living our best lives moment by moment.

When we know better we do better. Wishing that I had understood this concept earlier on in my life is moot and praying for a period in time that can never be regained.

The truth is that time is an illusion and all we truly have is this present moment that we been blessed with. If we channel our energy into staying present by making the best of our moments, taking charge of our day by focusing on the things that concern us such as our health (spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, financial…) our finances, our relationships, our careers/jobs/business then we put in ourselves in better standing and will no longer keep looking back in regret or looking forward to an anticipated better future because we are dissatisfied with the present.

I hope your day is going well and as planned. Bless you.

@beyondexisting.j

The Time Factor #fyp #fypシ #inspiration #beyondexisting #quotes #time #value

♬ I’M FEELING LUCKY – Ellen Once Again

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Stream of Consciousness Saturday.

When Will It Be?…

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When the children resume school in two weeks, my hustle and rat race triples! Phew! I am already sweating mentally at the thought because no matter how much I try to make things work in auto control, there are many days when the wheels of my auto shuffle go wonky.

When the Summer holiday was approaching, we anticipated endless weeks of fun and relaxation (for the children at least), now the weeks have flown by so fast leaving chubbier cheeked children and their mama behind to deal with the consequences of our happy indulgences. No complaints from me. I’ve learnt that when you eat the cake, be happy with the memory and quit worrying about the calories.

I haven’t made much progress with all my work-in-progress in the past weeks, but that’s okay. I refuse to feel guilty for spending time with my family – I’m being productive in other angles. When the time comes, I will continue with zest and hopefully enough inspiration to get my third/fourth books done.

Let me make a confession to you, there are days that I wake up and wonder to myself if I am truly a writer or a pretender to the throne of writing. Is there a time when I’ll feel that my writing is good enough beyond passable?

I know that most times, I’m especially hard on myself when I have floundering thoughts on how to break through the invisible walls of this chosen path of mine.

When will that breakthrough be? Does anyone know when?

Jacqueline

Thank you, Linda, for the prompt ‘when.’ I don’t know how you do it, but your prompts always play into what’s going on in my mind.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday.

Unseen Ceilings… Stream of Consciousness Saturday

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They say that the sky is the limit
well, that’s a half-truth
‘cos they will place unseen glass ceilings
to keep you tightly sealed in.

They’ll watch with keen interest
to see how you can push through,
to see if you’ve got the gumption
to put cracks in that ceiling

I say that putting cracks is not enough;
and I know it won’t be easy,
but if you take the sealing off your mind
you can bring that ceiling crashing down.

When I saw the prompt for today’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday ‘sealing/ceiling,’ many things came to my mind.

I wanted to write my thoughts about glass ceilings and its effect on women, but it would have become an essay, ‘cos I have a lot to say on this subject. I’ll, however, leave off delving into it right now and save it for the day that I’m ready for a war of sexes.

Jacqueline

Family

Dressing Up For The First Time.

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Of course, I knew that she would grow up, I watched her do so right under my eyes’ but I didn’t expect it so soon. I can still remember our toddling days with amazing clarity.

Jewelry, Parenting, Family, Dressing Up

Yet, nothing really prepares you for the teenage years and seeing your baby girl all dressed up, sparkling in a teenage fashion dinner dress topped off with beautiful inexpensive fashion jewelry has a way of bringing a lump to your throat.

My rough and tumble tomboy has turned into a princess. The old gives way to the young and the circle of life continues.

We chose a simple off-shoulder blue-black ball gown that is not overwhelming and the fashion jewelry of shiny stones and sterling silver.

Quick tips for choosing jewellery.

Keep it simple. Don’t go over the top looking for prestigious names.

Silver is in and has a way of blending with anything.

Check the mark and look for products marked sterling silver, which is 92.5 percent silver. Avoid Nickel and German silver. They don’t really have silver in them and some tend to irritate the skin especially if they are not hypoallergenic.

Enjoy the shopping experience. Find laughter and fun. These are memories that would last a lifetime.

P.S. I chose not to put her full photo.

A Click A Day

Message from an unexpected place – A Click A Day

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During my walkabout, I came across this shop with the cute, funny looking guys. Their fixed smile made me smile, then I looked up at the board hanging on the door, which reads;

Believe you can and you are halfway there.

That simple quote settled in my mind.

It was like a confirmation. I felt I was meant to see that message because I had been tussling with some thoughts and doubting myself.

The owner probably put it up just as an aesthetic piece – or maybe those words mean something to him/her too, but I felt as though it was meant especially for me. Have you had such experience?

 

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Stay tuned for our blog party tomorrow Saturday 29th – Sunday 30th. It’s a Blog-o-ween! 🙂

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Stream of Consciousness Saturday.

Coined Words of A Writer – Streams of Consciousness Saturday.

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‘When you give a beggar a coin, you buy him a meal for the day.’ I guess this saying would have been applicable in the past. Gone are the days when a coin could fetch you something worthwhile. Now a beggar needs as many coins as he can get to buy anything to eat.socsbadge2016-17

I remember my growing up days when my eyes grew round and shone like new coins or should I say kobo’s in expectation of earning a coin from running errands for a number of uncles and aunties who sent us down to the neighbourhood store to buy an item for them.

That coin represented a yummy goody-goody chewy chocolate stick or a handful of Chat bonbons.

Unfortunately, as I grow older the value in coins also drops with age – except if it’s a gold coin – but I still love the jingle of coins and I guess my love for them has translated into my growing coin collection from different parts of the World.

I don’t collect them with the expectations that they will suddenly grow in value overnight – though that’s a possibility, who knows? The value I receive is more of the emotional and intrinsic value that most keepsakes give us.

Something else that I love to collect are words, in the form of books or as my own thoughts and to think of it, if I am to receive a coin for all the words that I string together I would have a storehouse filled with bags of coins, coincidentally, as a writer our words which happen to be in abundance don’t fetch as much coin as we would like.

To be a writer is a painstaking work borne out of love for words and I guess I just have to settle with coining words that enrich my soul and possibly others’ as well. After all said and done, words are priceless and do carry a lot of weight.

I had no idea where I was going with the prompt word ‘Coin’ for SoCS, I just followed my rambling train of thought. Thank you, Linda 🙂

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

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My Thinking Corner

Tuesdays Trickles – My Thinking Corner.

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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.

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  • Wishing that you have a different life is simply channeling negative energy into your psyche and that manifests in your life in many conscious and subtle ways that you may not even be aware of.
  • This is the only opportunity that you get, therefore your priority should be to make the best of it.

We all have things that we failed to get right or ways that our life could have been better if we had made certain choices in the past; well, the truth is that we didn’t make those choices; the truth is that this is the point where we are. Do we continue to look back and whine in our heads, or do we forge ahead, making better choices as we go, knowing that we are getting older and each day that slips by is gone for good?

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

P.S. We’ll be having our monthly blog party 1st – 2nd of October. I’ll keep you posted.

Mundane Monday

The Fallen Leaf – Mundane Monday

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Mundane Monday Challenge is created to find beauty in almost everything.

The challenge is simple. Find beauty in everyday mundane things, capture the beauty and upload the photographs.

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When I sat on the park bench,

she floated to the ground

right before my feet.

♠

I felt like stepping on her,

to feel the crinkle of the dry fallen leaf

under my bare toes.

♠

Seeing her difference,

I paused and took note;

my mind saying, let her be.

♠

Don’t squash her into the ground,

allow her to live her dreams ,

even if they be for another day or two.

♠

For all, I may know, 

she’s been dying to lie down,

tired of hanging on limbs 

that made her sway up and down.

♠

Just let her be;

said my mind.

Let her have her peace.

♠

I wrote this as I watched the leaves, my mind dwelling on many little things.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

P.S. We’ll be having our monthly blog party 1st – 2nd of October. I’ll keep you posted.

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A Click A Day

The Global Village – A Click A Day.

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I walked past this office with the map and stepped back to take a second look. With their permission, I looked at it with keen interest. Yes, I’ve seen the World map before – luckily I did geography in school, so I do know a bit about my longitudes and latitudes but that wasn’t where my interest lay.

I noticed that though we are set apart by natural and man-made boundaries, we are all still joined together.

I noticed that the World today seems smaller than it was in my mind as a child. That today, I am bound to know what might be happening in Greenland right as it unfolds and it brought this thought to my mind; ‘that the lack of concern about what’s happening in other places is living in a fools’ paradise.’

Crisis and trouble have no borders and eventually, when not checked and contained, it becomes everyone’s trouble. We have to make wise decisions in choosing those who become our leaders because our small and unselfish decisions truly matter in the larger scheme of things.

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