a cooking pot and twisted tales
Thoughts and Tales…A Lifestyle Blog with a Zing.
I honestly can’t claim that I have a fair idea of what I’m doing. In fact, I would be lying if I claimed to know. I am just having fun with today’s assignment since I am out all day with my troop.
According to today’s photo 101 prompt ‘Glass, Squared,’ we are to incorporate glass in today’s image: a window, a mirror, a wine glass, sunglasses or something else. It doesn’t matter what form the glass takes.
So here I go tinkering and peeking in or out.
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.
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© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Our last week thinkers brought in dollops of good thoughts that I am totally loving 🙂
Words of wisdom If we all think the way Deb does, maybe there’s hope for humankind.
Kindred spirits ‘Let not differences divide us, let not hatred poison us, we are all one.’ Can you say it better than this?
Positive thoughts Here is what I have to say about this inspiring post ‘One thing that I love Annette is your candid expressions without coming across as arrogant. Who said that you can’t teach and old dog new tricks? Call out the person and I will prove him/her wrong. Beautiful post.’
Above from Rosema says it all in six short words.
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It should go without saying that the voice of the giant in us should be the one that makes the most noise.
Alas, it’s hardly ever so. For the fact that the voice is not often heeded to, it lies dormant in us, while the screeching empty voice of the coward that knows all the negative, pessimistic words takes pride of place.
It does take a whole lot of paradigm shift and practice to drown the voice of ‘I can’t’ and ‘impossible’ to ‘I will and I’m possible.’
It’s equally a very liberating experience when we let go of some of our unfounded inhibitions and just spread our wings.
Even if we do take a splat in the attempt, chances are we must have gained some worthwhile experience.
When we don’t seek or venture, we shall neither find nor gain.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
It’s been a real struggle trying to resist joining a whole lot of challenges that I see flying around the blogosphere.
They always sound absolutely interesting that a tiny voice in me keeps nudging me to do more. My reluctance stems from the real knowledge and fair idea what getting involved would mean in real-time for me. MORE OF MY TIME.
I honestly don’t know how not to give a 100% and over when I am doing something.
I like to be that dependable. When I do less, I gain no real satisfaction and feel as if I am slacking off and letting something down.
I know these are good ways of connecting with others as well as practicing new techniques especially since I advise people to push the boundaries of their comfort.
Ruminating over it, I said to myself, Jacqueline my dear girl, you can’t seem to resist the bait of A-Z and more. Maybe, you should just take a little nibble and shelve something else. Hmm! REAL tussle in the mind. So what do you think?
Now, to get to some real talk on this post of mine.
It’s really been occupying space in my mind of late and each day the question grows.
We writers write for refined, elevated and so many other reasons. A writer will primarily tell you that they write for the love of it and not for the money. Sometimes, it does seem to me that we fail to calculate the real worth of our writing simply because the words flow easily from our minds to the tips of our pens and my wondering is that there might be need for a paradigm shift in this sort of thinking.
When you think about it, that passion for writing that we have, is been paid for with our time and other odd jobs. Won’t it be lovely if we shed other odd jobs and earned decent Ka-ching from our blogging, writing efforts?
I love writing. I love arty things. It’s beyond a passion for me and it’s not an alternative. It’s a compulsory pull.
I am trying to make conscientious effort to explore honest means of earning real cash from my endeavours. That’s the bottom line and it doesn’t make me less a writer to want to earn from the sweat of my fingers.
To live the lifestyle that I want without being enslaved to anybody, it has to work.
My conscientious effort requires reading more, researching more, learning more, having the courage to jump out of the window and all that. All these things will take some real good chunk of my time. There are no hard and fast rules to them.
I am however convinced that with dogged determination, hitting some pay; I am not sure about the dirt part, will really sweeten the pot.
Well there it is. Thank you Linda for today’s prompt word ‘real.’ It’s made me to dwell a little bit more on an issue that’s been running around in my head.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
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Today’s featured blogs are:
Go and don’t tell or go tell Do you keep quiet when you should be telling? It’s worth finding out.
Preventing social media from ruining your relationship It’s a fact that social media is affecting relationships, but there are ways to handle it if you are wise. Explore!
Ties that bind in Oba’s borrowed words below…Hmm! I won’t say much. Find out yourself 🙂
The feeling of hurt and anger overwhelmed her as she responded to her husband.
I know he loves me,so why do I feel rejected by his not wanting to hold my hands?
We’ve forgotten how to be human: From Jill I quote below:
But for a time it seemed that we were on the path to becoming a kinder, more gentle society; a society that was trying to overcome prejudices and see others as different, but not inferior. But today that trend is reversing. Today we are regressing back to a society that views all who do not look, act, speak, and think like us as being somehow inferior. And that is just wrong.
What do I have to say about this read? Gosh! I think it’s a pamphlet every adult, parent, teacher, leader etc should read. Simple in it’s words, but teaches a thousand lessons.
Scuffle on the balcony : If you’ve been following this tale, you must be hooked by now. Mel always ends it on a cliff hanger that leaves you looking for all the answers. My, my. Excellent writing.
I need these five items If you were stuck, what would you take with you?
Please visit their blogs and say hello. A few minutes may gain you a friendly support.
‘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.’
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
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The above quote can be likened to an ailing patient who buys all the drugs and keeps them locked in a cupboard for safe-keeping 
Of course, the patient will remain sick.
Change can only come about when it’s applied and not from wishful thinking.
Change is a deliberate decision, backed up with actions that over time and practice becomes a character trait.
Some are afraid of trying for change because of the fear of failure, which is a worse scenario.
It’s better to try and repeat over and over, than to sit in the same situation through a lifetime. What a waste that would be!
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Would you lend a hand
To help those hands
Hanging out of the pits
reaching for someone
anyone to help and give a tug.
*****
Would you lend an ear
to help listen to that sad soul
who needs a simple shoulder
just to lean for a bit.
narrow or broad, any shoulder would do.
*****
Would you lend a voice
to say no to violence
to help push a cause
that fosters human well-being
a common need for us all
*****
Would you lend a dime or two
to help a brother break some bread
for not everyone that you see that begs
is really a lazy never-do-well.
Some fell on real hard times
*****
Would you help to whisper a prayer
in the silent abode of your heart
for an ailing stranger
whom you know not
hoping that things will be for the best
*****
What would you do to help
those painful eyes
those limp, bruised arms
those hungry souls
those voiceless ones
*****
Would you silently help
or would you shift your eyes
pressing the phone aimlessly
in an attempt to appear busy.
and simply walk on by?
*******
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Help. The Daily Post
Image: Pixabay.com
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 houses, 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 can at least see them through you.
My Echoes came out a bit late today. I am bleary eyed and tired, maybe even jet-lagged from sitting at the airport till 3 am this morning, waiting to pick up family.
This week found me going out a bit more due to photo 101 course and I have shared a lot of those ones. These one’s were taken in the last 3 days and last night, or should I say wee hours of this morning.
The art exhibits are beautiful, but a bit pocket denting.
I attended a literature expo and my goodness, it was well put together and very well attended program.
I honestly don’t have the energy to tag all the photos and still do photo 101, so I just shared these bits.
Thank you for tolerating my yawning 😉
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Last Week Echoes gave us some peeks of different neighbourhoods, hop on let’s go see and do show some of yours 🙂
Sampan Ride Hong Kong is calling me like a siren. Beautiful pictures 😉
A bit of Ikotun market Nostalgia. I used to go buying some raw food items once in a while in this place back in Lagos.
So peaceful around the neighbourhood No matter how much you scurry about, nothing takes you off the sidewalk and brings down your stress from 100 to zero notch in seconds, like home.
Some real echoing sounds Kat took echoes to another dimension with her recorded sounds of her environment. I enjoyed the zen over and over, so beautiful and calming to listen to. Now she has sown some seeds in my head.
Nature’s beauty Sweet pictures from Thoughts and Entanglements. Nothing beats nature.
The Norfolk Giants Kim brings whimsical thoughts and paints stories in my mind with these photos of the dying giants. Let’s go meandering.
Funking for Jamaica Let’s go to Jamaica. Well, online at least 🙂
All Nigerian Foods My dear sis Flo who is joining echoes, is a big Nigerian food blogger *with over 35 million page views* She brings the tastes of home to you, wherever you may be on the globe 🙂
Watching people is totally a favourite sport, so it’s no hardship taking photos of their movement.
I can actually sit and count how many men who strolled past in a suit, or tie, or whatever catches my fancy at that point in time. It’s total fun I tell you and if your eyes are keen enough sometimes, you are rewarded with something to smile about.
I was out all day and there’s no time to simulate night movement, so between the gym, school, grabbing a bite at the mall, I think I managed to get some blurry movement shots for today’s Photo 101 theme ‘moment and motion.’
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
a cooking pot and twisted tales 