With permission, I have extracted this picture from Stock Snap. All rights reserved worldwide.
Knowing the meaning of the word "mojo" jazzed me so much that I once showed it off to friends by texting them to say I had lost my mojo. One friend texted back in Swahili asking, "Mojo ni nini? (What is mojo?)"
If you didn't know, mojo is having the inspiration to do the things you love to do. So if you love to go to church for choir practice, you lack the motivation to do so when you lose your mojo.
As for me, I usually feel lazy, bitter and guilty when I lose my mojo. That makes me incapable of doing the things that make me tick: reading, walking, singing, playing the piano and, of course, writing stories.
It seems people of substance also lose their mojo from time to time because venerated American theologian Charles Swindoll said in his book, The Mystery of God's Will, that he and his wife have at times felt strangely confused, even abandoned by God.
Now that I know most people, if not all, lose their mojo from time to time, let me share with you, my beloved reader, the following tips on how to get your mojo back when you lose it:
Pray
Listen to music
Practice gratitude
Talk to a good friend
Go for a jog and a walk
Reflect on past successes
Read something interesting
Write a story and share it on social media
Remember that everyone loses mojo at times
Well, I am not sure if some of the above steps can help one get their mojo back. For me, reading something interesting is what has worked for me. Jacqueline Novogratz's The Blue Sweater, for instance, so inspired me one night that I tried writing something equally inspiring for sharing on Facebook.
The thing with sharing an interesting story on Facebook is that it gets exciting when notifications begin rolling in. Nothing beats the feeling of seeing friends comment on how the story has touched them. That's one cool way of getting your mojo back, friend.
*********************** RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on how to get your mojo back, you might also enjoy another one on "How to Build Self-esteem" which I wrote last year. Just click that link in blue to dive straight into the story.
This is our beautiful Earth, which I will mention in the story below. (Photo courtesy of NASA.) Whoopee! It has been raining in my home area over the last few days. Our farm, which was looking more like a desert in its brownish-yellow color, is now turning green. If the rains continue, I expect the farm to be radiantly green by this day next week.
Today, as I looked at our farm, I thought something similar to what my friend Joe Mazzella said in one of his stories: "If God can do this wonder of turning a dry farm green, what if we allow Him into our lives? Perhaps He can fill us with love and peace."
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There is a pumpkin plant growing behind my room. It sprouted by accident after someone threw a seed there. While waiting for it to produce pumpkins, I have been watering it daily with the water I use to clean my room.
Observing the pumpkin plant grow in length has made me think something similar to what my friend Ngishili Njuguna said in one of his stories: "In times of trials and tribulations, what if we turn to the same God who makes living things grow? Perhaps He can strengthen us, expand our vision, lift our spirits and fill us with His peace."
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A few months ago while reflecting on the wonderful construction of the human body and the workings of its various parts, it dawned on me that no other organ is as tightly protected as the brain. Try poking your forehead and you will feel the hard skull that tightly protects your brain.
The tight protection of the brain had me thinking, "If we could protect our minds from negative thoughts the way the skull protects the brain from external damage, perhaps we can become loving, peaceful, creative and courageous."
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Today, I found myself admiring a picture of the Earth as viewed from space (see photo above). And wow! The planet looked cute in its bluish, whitish and greenish colors. It is arguably the most beautiful planet in the solar system.
I found it interesting to note that I couldn't see any mountain in the picture, not even Mt. Everest. But some valleys were visible by virtue of their bluish or greenish colors. That reminds me of the following lines from Handel's Messiah:
Every valley shall be exalted;
And every mountain shall be made low,
And the crooked be made straight,
And the rough places plain.
All that teaches us to be humble and contrite if we wish to be exalted. But if we insist on being arrogant and boastful, we shall be made low just like the tall Mt. Everest is reduced to nothing when viewed from space.
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My friend Joe Mazzella once shared with me a wonderful story about the great Leonardo da Vinci. Since the story was fictional, allow me to tell you my modified version.
As my version goes, da Vinci decided to use living models of Jesus and His twelve apostles when he began painting the Last Supper. He first painted Judas Iscariot when he saw a man whose face appeared vicious, malicious and avaricious.
Then over the next three years, he found other men who appeared like each of the other eleven apostles. When he was done painting the last apostle, he saw a man whose face looked like that of Jesus: loving, hopeful and peaceful.
As he was being painted as Jesus, the man asked da Vinci, "Do you know who I am?"
"No, I don't know you," da Vinci replied.
"Well," the man responded, "I am the same man you painted as Judas Iscariot three years ago."
While that story is fictional as I have said, it does teach us two valuable lessons: that the appearance of our faces reflects the condition of our souls and that it is never too late to change our character.
Let us therefore strive to radiate love, hope and peace like Jesus. We can do that by turning our fears into courage, our mockery into compassion, our foolishness into wisdom, our anger creases into laugh lines, and our sorrows into hope of a better future on Earth and/or in heaven.
********************** RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on points to ponder, you might also enjoy another one on "Life's Like That" which I wrote last year. Just click that link in blue to dive straight into the story.
"Always be full of joy in the Lord; I say it again, rejoice! Let everyone see that you are unselfish and considerate in all you do... Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything; tell God your needs and don't forget to thank Him for His answers. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand."
~Phillipians 4:4-7 (TLB)
About the Author
Name: Thuita J. Maina Marital status: Single Lives in: Kiserian, Rift Valley, Kenya Mission: To inspire the world to godly living, one person at a time.
Just for Laughs
There was this drunkard named Azoge who loved drinking at Josiah's Bar. On being told a certain Hon. Nanga was flying to America to be conferred a law degree so that he could be admitted to the bar, Azoge replied, "Why fly all the way to America to be admitted to the bar while you can get into Josiah's Bar any time?"
The 7 Deadly Sins
Pride
Envy
Gluttony
Lust
Anger
Greed
Sloth
Author's Note
I am learning to treat life as a journey, not a destination. So I am striving to enjoy each moment even as I anticipate to fulfill my dreams, especially meeting my soulmate and traveling abroad. Tomorrow may never be mine.
Fun Facts
The fear of having no cell-phone service, running out of battery, or losing sight of your phone is called Nomophobia, reportedly affecting 66% of people.
A single Google search needs more computing power than it took to send Apollo 11 to the moon. The Apollo computer was less equipped than a modern toaster.
Besides being some of the biggest names in the tech industry, HP, Apple, Google and Microsoft share another commonality. They all started in garages.
~Extracted from Codingforums.com
Health Tip
"So many of us take for granted the wonderful construction of the human body and the workings of its various parts. Some of us even expect it to function efficiently with less than the minimum care and attention. Learn the much you can about your body and how the care of it can help to give you that greatest blessing of all - good health."
"My life in politics was a joy. I loved campaigns and I loved governing. I always tried to keep things moving in the right direction, to give more people a chance to live their dreams, to lift people's spirits, and to bring them together. That's the way I kept score."
~Bill Clinton
Scientific Marvels
Space travel
Heart surgery
Fibre-optics communication
Concorde
Radios
Computers
Anesthetics
My Supreme Desire
To borrow the words of Elbert Hubbard, my supreme desire is to radiate health, cheerfulness, calm courage and goodwill. I wish to live without fear, hate, guilt, worry and jealousy; to be honest, natural, confident, clean in mind and body - ready to say "I do not know" if it be so; to treat all men with kindness; and to meet any loss, failure, criticism and rejection unabashed and unafraid.
Greatest American Presidents
Abraham Lincoln
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
Franklin Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Woodrow Wilson
Andrew Jackson
Making Peace With the Past
"Dwell not on your past. Use it to illustrate a point, then leave it behind. Nothing really matters except what you do now in this instant of time. From this moment onwards you can be an entirely different person, filled with love and understanding, ready with an outstretched hand, uplifted and positive in every thought and deed."
~Eileen Caddy
Toughest Colleges to Get Into
MIT
Princeton
Harvard
Yale
Stanford
Brown
Columbia
Why You Should Trust God
"Men and women who turn their lives over to God will find out that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities and pour out peace."
~Ezra Taft Benson
The 7 Greatest Scientists
Albert Einstein
Isaac Newton
Galileo Galilei
Nikola Tesla
Aristotle
Archimedes
Charles Darwin
You Matter
"Always be yourself. Never try to hide who you are. The only shame is to have shame. Always stand up for what you believe in. Always question what other people tell you. Never regret the past; it's a waste of time. There's a reason for everything. Every mistake, every moment of weakness, every terrible thing that has happened to you, grow from it. The only way you can ever get the respect of others is when you show them that you respect yourself and most importantly, do your thing and never apologize for being you."
~Unknown
The Most Industrialized Nations
United States
Japan
Germany
France
United Kingdom
Italy
Canada
Keys to Success
"...in his effort to withstand temptation, to economize, to exercise thrift, to disregard the superficial for the real - the shadow for the substance; to be great yet small, in his effort to be patient in the laying of a firm foundation; to so grow in skill and knowledge that he shall place his services in demand by reason of his intrinsic and superior worth. This is the key that unlocks every door of opportunity, and all others fail."
~Booker T. Washington
The 7 Social Sins
Politics without principle
Wealth without work
Pleasure without conscience
Knowledge without character
Commerce without morality
Worship without sacrifice
Science without humanity
Cherish What You Love
"Cherish your visions, cherish your ideals, cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts - for out of them will grow all heavenly environment, of these if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built."~James Allen
The World's Largest Cities
London in England
New York in the United States
Tokyo in Japan
Berlin in Germany
Chicago in the United States
Shanghai in China
Paris in France
Benefits of Optimism
"In terms of success, optimistic people out perform their pessimistic colleagues. Research shows that they are consistently promoted higher and make more money while working fewer hours than those who think pessimistically. Optimists also contribute more significantly to social progress. It is the optimists who start and run successful companies, who win elections and carry out reforms, and who make breakthroughs in the realms of science and technology."
~Pepe Minambo
The World's Greatest Lakes
Caspian Sea in the Commonwealth of Independent States, C.I.S. (formerly U.S.S.R)
Lake Superior in North America
Victoria Nyanza in Central Africa
Aral Sea in C.I.S.
Lake Huron in North America
Lake Michigan in North America
Demonstrating His Love
"Take your communication for instance - the way you address others. It ought to be with loving, gracious and edifying words. Never talk people down. Never use words that hurt and demean people. Communicate excellently with others without destroying their self-image or making them feel sorry for themselves. Talk to people in a way that they never forget the excellence of your words, the love and grace of Christ that you communicated. It's how God wants us to love."
