Bliss. Strength. Love. Peace.

For the last five years when some of my friends have asked me how I am doing, I have replied that I have been hivi hivi, meaning that my life has been a roller-coaster: sometimes I have been active and creative, sometimes inactive and dull.

I have borrowed those two Swahili words (hivi hivi) from the late Mr. Joseph Gikubu, one of the founders of Starehe Boys' Centre where I had my high school education. Mr. Gikubu often used those two Swahili words in his speeches though I am not quite sure what he meant in his case.

And for sure, my life has been hivi hivi for the past five years. Actually, for the past ten years. When I was at the university in JKUAT in 2008, I would set a resolution to rise early, get myself psyched up with a positive mental attitude and tell myself I could do it. But after a few days of early rising, I would fizzle out and lapse back to indolence mode. I got stuck in that cycle for close to ten years.

Not wanting to continue wasting this precious life of mine living in defeat, I resolved last October to change, nipende nisipende^[1], by claiming victory over myself one step at a time. Don't they say a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step?

First, I told myself no matter what time I woke up, I had to make my bed, say the Lord's Prayer, clean my room, take a shower and jog to Kiserian Town which is about two kilometres from my home. It didn't matter whether I woke up at 6:20 a.m. or 2:15 p.m.; what mattered was doing all those tasks in that order.

I kept that resolution for several weeks including on one Sunday when I didn't note what time I woke up. It just caught me by surprise that I was about to jog to Kiserian Town at around 5:00 p.m.

After successfully keeping that resolution for more than a month, I decided to up my game. This time round, I told myself I had to get up at 5:30 a.m. with the help of my phone alarm, make my bed, say the Lord's Prayer, clean my room, take a shower and read. And do you know which tune I set as the alarm sound? The Kenya national anthem whose second verse says, "Let one and all arise..."

But I told myself I was free to either jog to Kiserian Town or go back to bed depending on how I felt emotionally. The important task was to rise at 5:30 a.m. and stay awake till after 7:00 a.m.

You know what? I again successfully kept that resolution for more than a month since I wasn't hard on myself. What was encouraging to note was that the days I jogged to Kiserian Town were more than the days I chose to go back to bed after 7:00 a.m. As a result, I lost the excess weight that used to make me sick with shame.

My next goal is to make each day count. I desire to be spending my days productively and enjoyably as I sang in one of the songs I have composed. (You can listen to it by searching "Help Me God" on the search page of this blog.) So far, I have identified reading, writing and playing the piano as my preferred ways of spending my days.

I desire to be regularly posting an enlightening, entertaining or inspiring story on this blog. And do you know why I have mentioned reading as one of my preferred ways of spending my days? Because, as all great writers can testify, writing well and reading avidly go hand in hand.

Once I start earning good money from blogging, I will add travelling, public speaking and movie watching as my other preferred ways of spending my days. When it comes to movies, I will limit myself to one fascinating movie per week, preferably on a Sunday afternoon.

I am looking forward to watching westerns, cartoons, comedies, musicals, travelogues, documentaries, war films and biblical epics like Samson & Delilah. Given how handsome and confident I am growing up to be as I take control of my life, I would especially want to watch Samson & Delilah just to be reminded how women can ruin a successful man.

As I strive to make each day of my life count by spending it productively and enjoyably, I have asked God for help in achieving that goal by playing on my piano keyboard the wonderful old hymn Lord of all Hopefulness, Lord of all Joy. That hymn is made up of four edifying verses.

The first verse is about asking God to fill our hearts with bliss as we get out of bed in the morning; the second is about asking Him for strength to carry out our duties during the day; the third is about asking for love in our hearts in the evening as we meditate; and the fourth verse is about asking for peace in our hearts as we retire to bed at the end of the day.

Having known how disturbing it feels to wake up in the morning filled with bitterness, how demoralizing it is to be bored silly during the day, and how exhausting it is to go a whole night without sleep, I have felt every word of that hymn while playing it on my piano keyboard. I beseech you to also pray for those four qualities - bliss, strength, love and peace - as you go about your daily life. Ciao!

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^[1] nipende nisipende is a popular Swahili phrase here in Kenya which means "whether I like it or not".