Al Fonzi’s…

May 2, 2016May 2, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha25 Comments

Sal’s damp hands, pounding heart, and throbbing temple announced an impending migraine. She struggled to maintain elegant poise before polite company whose smiling faces got on her nerves.

Now and again she felt eyes rest on her in sympathy or surreptitious glances that feigned disinterest.

The champagne tasted like chilled piss and the food held no interest for her.

Here. Where it had all happened, her mind whirred back in painful rewind.

Here was their favourite place to celebrate. First date, proposal, engagement party and every milestone worth celebrating.

She wondered fleetingly how insensitive her sister could be. Of all the places to choose for an engagement party, it has to be Al Fonzi’s. She had contemplated not turning up, but felt it would cause more wagging tongues as she became fodder for dinner discussion, not as if she already wasn’t.

Here, held all the good memories until the ugly incident brought her life to a screeching nightmare.

Here, where Stanford chose to blow his brains across the dinner table in a horrific way.

The room got too claustrophobic, the laughter and music rushed at her as she stood to go to the ladies. Sal succumbed to the encroaching blackness in a dead faint.

InLinkz

Thank you, Graham, for the photo and Priceless Joy for hosting this charming platform where we unleash our stories

Guest Posts · Inspiration - Motivation · Life

The Compass Of Your Life..Guest post from Alicia James.

May 1, 2016May 1, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha4 Comments

Vipassana, Yoga, Consciousness, Meditation, Practice

THE COMPASS OF YOUR LIFE

Permit me to say: Your life’s a product of your THOUGHTS that become BELIEFS, BELIEFS that become ACTIONS, and ACTIONS that form CHARACTER. That’s why sages advice against accommodating filth as a tenant in your mind because of it’s ability to transform into the landlord of your mind.

Sadly enough, a lot of us sail through life without a Life Compass. We either adopt a ” go with the wind” or “choose to have a one-dimensional view of life” mentality. Hence, my problem with people who conform to certain principles without questioning their existence. There’s a possibility that with changing trends, those principles have developed loopholes and are in need of modification. That’s a topic for another day.

Let me explain the beauty of your life. As individuals, we require a Life Compass and a Life Map to navigate through life successfully. Why? Maps were created as guides to unfamiliar territories explored by foreigners, eliminating the probability of getting lost along the way. Thank God for technology today, we have Google Maps and GPS systems.

“But it still doesn’t explain why I need a Life Map”. From birth to death, every stage in your life has a guide to ease your transition from one stage to the next. At every juncture, your Life Map serves as a guide to your final destination.

“Sounds like a Life Map’s all I need, why include a Life Compass”? Your Life Compass gives direction and intention to your life; it’s like a pen that fills the blank pages of your life. When you’re torn between making certain decisions, your Life Compass can guide you in making your choice. It will shock you to know that most of the confusion, guilt, lack of purpose and dissatisfaction we feel and experience in our life’s journey are caused by the absence of a Life Compass. Simply put, The Life Map serves as a guide; the Life Compass keeps you on the true path.

“Ok, I get the message, so how do I develop a Life Compass”?

Well, it’ll require lot’s of self-reflection (as cliché as it sounds) to enable you determine your Life Purpose and evaluate your Life Principles. For those that struggle with self-knowledge, this helps you connect with your inner self.

Understand that your Life Purpose is different from your Life Project. Your Life Purpose is not: ” To be the next Ben Carson” or “To find the cure for AIDS” that’s a Life Project you assigned to yourself. Your Life Purpose is the reason for your creation, what’s most important to you, successful

Your Life Purpose is the reason for your creation, what’s most important to you.A compass has four cardinal directions which in this case represents the four most important principles that guide your life. The most important of these four is your North Direction which is your Life Purpose. This serves as a reference point no matter where you’re headed in life. Therefore, this determines your other three directions.

A compass has four cardinal directions which in this case represents the four most important principles that guide your life. The most important of these four is your North Direction which is your Life Purpose. This serves as a reference point no matter where you’re headed in life. Therefore, this determines your other three directions.

The most important of these four is your North Direction which is your Life Purpose. This serves as a reference point no matter where you’re headed in life. Therefore, this determines your other three directions.

The beautiful thing about your Life Compass is that it’s not set in stone i.e a final representation of your life but it is the best reflection of your values and belief systems in the present moment. As you journey through life, you revisit it and modify it.

It may sound difficult and confusing right now. You probably don’t know how to start, that’s okay. The answers you seek are within you. No one can give them to you.

At the end of your life, how would you like your story to be told?

Alicia James

Hey there, I like to call myself as a delightful soul.
I am on a journey of self discovery and I enjoy blogging because it helps me connect with the world through my words as I share my thoughts and experiences as well as that of others

Alicia is a young budding blogger (a fine blend of a Niche Expert & Lifestyle blogger) with a lot of enthusiasm and inspiration. You can meet her at her blog Alicia James to get a better glimpse of her World.

Would you like to guest post or an interview? Feel free to contact me through my contact page or on email: JacquelineObyIkocha@gmail.com

Everyday People · Humans · Photographs

Fancy Footwork…Every day beautiful people # 31

April 29, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha8 Comments

Every tattoo has a little story behind it. I wonder what the story to the flowers on her legs. Hmm, I should have asked, now I’m wishing I did 😉

Echos Of My Neighbourhood · Travel

Milling around Souk Al Bahar…Echoes of my neighbourhood

April 28, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha34 Comments

On Thursday’s, I share pictures about ‘Echos of my Neighbourhood.

I would like to invite you to participate. The challenge is quite simple.

Every Thursday, share a photo of bits and pieces of wherever you are at any point in time. It could be a house, backgrounds of your neighbourhood, activities and so forth and you can tag it Echos of my Neighbourhood, add my link to your post so that I will get the ping from your post.

Every other Thursday, I will publish a post with the links of all those who participated the previous week.

This is just a fun way of getting to see more of the World around us through your eyes since we cannot all be at those places, we could, at least, see them through you.

Sitting on the staircase and enjoying the warmth of others

We had some guests over the weekend and visiting Dubai Mall was top on the list for them since it’s their first time in Dubai.

Close to the Dubai mall and the Burj Khalifa is the Souk Al Bahar. One of Dubai’s destinations for Al Fresco dining at its finest with it’s Cafe’s, Pubs and exclusive restaurants.

When you have August visitors in April, you play nice and give them a little treat if possible. So we mixed up the entertainment of showing the landmarks that time would allow, people watching, and enjoying a noisy meal and karaoke in the Cuban restaurant Cafe Habana.

They did the daring zip lining but I didn’t. Maybe on another day when the thought does not send my tummy plummeting 😉

Last Week Echoes took us to different neighbourhoods, hop on let’s go see and we will be glad to see some of yours.

A walk in the village A totally refreshing amble, good food and beautiful things to see. My kind of good time 🙂

Temptation gallery When you visit Jericho and Temptation Mount, prepare your mind to see just anything, even a smart local speaking your native language. It’s a small world.

Jazzy tower I think I can be naughty and if I had the film crew hanging around my backyard, I would probably use the opportunity to do my own filming 😉

Kat of Mercury Colliding takes us on a wander through the museum. I love visiting such places. You get to see an eclectic mix of interesting stuff.

Boy o boy He’s such a big boy that you have to see him for yourself.

Please do share a peek of your neighbourhood/ World with us. Regards

My regards,

Jacqueline

Everyday People · Humor - Bellyful of laughter · Life

Taking A Lick….Every day beautiful people # 29

April 27, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha6 Comments

‘Sitting next to you licking ice-cream and doing absolutely nothing, but people watching is absolutely divine and means everything.’ Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

Her cute sandals colour matches her pistachio ice-cream 😉

Inspiration - Motivation · Lifestyle · Musings · My Thinking Corner

Tuesdays Trickles…My thinking corner #19

April 26, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha12 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.

Each Tuesday, share your very short snippets of positive, inspiring, motivating, health, spiritual, writing advice, clips, posts etc, that can serve as a prop to motivate others and simply add my link to your post.

I call it my thinking corner because, I actually take out a bit of time just to think through things, encapsulate my thoughts as much as possible and detoxify my mind. It helps give me clarity of vision and might help you too.

It might work for you in a different way, but the idea is to get the positive thoughts flowing.

Please send in your little thoughts. You never know whose life you might inspire.

♦ Sometimes, we have to cover our physical sight to see the silver linings in the dark clouds that hover.

♦ When the external heat of life gets too hot, you must keep working at your internal cooling system.

♦ Going with the ordinary flow may sound easy, but sometimes you are washed to the wrong direction. So while flowing, take a paddle with you to steer your course.

♦ Each day, you must remind yourself of what you actually want out of life and keep that vision before your eyes as you take another tiny step in that direction.

♦ Have you been stretching your vision lately? Why not? Don’t settle for laxity.

This week’s thoughts have been sent in by:

Kings oracle This short and sweet post from Oba couldn’t have said it better 🙂

Dollops of heedful rambling This is such a beautiful quote *my first time of reading it* and its truth leaves you mindful.

A purpose-driven achiever Lady Cee joins us with her sage words brings it home to me.

I really enjoy these conscious musings, because sometimes life is just so frenetic that it simply races along with us. These thoughts keep me grounded and help me more than words can say.

My regards,

Jacqueline

P.S I still haven’t been getting some pingbacks, so please if you post a thinking corner post, you might have to visit my page and leave a comment. Thank you.

Mundane Monday · Photographs

What’s in the bag?..

April 25, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha16 Comments

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.

Found on an offbeat track, it was sheer will that made me resist untieing the bag to see what was inside, but I couldn’t resist stepping on it with my trainers on my feet to get a feel. Was soft and squishy, heightened my sense of curiousity.

Everyday People · Humor - Bellyful of laughter · Photographs

Take 1, 2, 3…Every day beautiful people # 26

April 24, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha4 Comments

‘Photography is an art of observation. It has little to do with the things that you see and everything to do with the way you see them.’ Elliot Erwitt

I am the fourth photographer 🙂

Lifestyle · Midnight motivation and musings · Self Help

Midnight Motivations and Musings # 69

April 23, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha17 Comments

I could go on and on about this particular thought because I have so much to say, but I will just leave a few lines.

There are people who live with the constant victim mentality that it does appear that everything seems to be about them.

No doubts, there are those who have been grossly victimised, but what matters most is how they address these issues that face them.

Do they use these challenges as a ladder to rise out of their situation or do they lie their minds down like a mat and allow the aggressor to walk all over them?

The sad reality is that the World is just what it is. It’s not going to change for you because as long as there’s mankind, there will always be those who don’t care about hurting others.

Rather, you will be the one to change your way of thinking and rise out of that slavery mentality that envelopes your mind.

Once you rise out of such thoughts and break free from victim mode, you actually defeat your aggressor by no longer lending him/her free room in your life.