Inspired By My Fellow Citizens

Ever since November 2008 after I was discharged from a certain hospital where I had been diagnosed with a mental illness, I have struggled with the emotion of sleep - something I have confessed before on this blog. I have had days when I have slept till as late as 1.00pm. On other days, I have retired to bed as early as 7.00pm and still found it difficult to get out of bed the following morning.

My struggle with sleep made me avoid work that required me to rise early in the morning. In July 2012 for instance, I chose to report in the evening when I was offered a job to teach piano to the family of Mr. Seni Adetu, the then CEO of East African Breweries Limited (EABL). I am sure Mr. Adetu's family thought I reported to their palatial home at 4.00pm because I was busy during the day, but I was actually just too bone-lazy to be available in the morning.

At the beginning of 2015, I challenged myself by seeking employment at a music school in Nairobi called Wynton House of Music. And lo! When I was offered a job as a piano tutor in the school, I found myself struggling with sleep. On some mornings, I would fall into a slumber in the bus while commuting to Wynton. The sweetness of slumber would make me wish the bus ride would go on and on so that I could doze some more.

And I will never forget the morning when I went to teach piano to Wynton clients. That morning, all I felt like doing was nodding off. Unable to keep my eyes open any longer, I texted a message to an acquaintance of mine named Rachel Wacera, asking her what I could do to ward off sleep. Rachel advised me to go for a walk, which I never did.

Even on some days when I didn't have a lesson to teach in the morning, I would still find it hard to get out of bed. Believe me when I tell you that I would roll in bed till noon, dreading the time when I would have to dash to Wynton for an evening lesson. How indolent!

Despite my struggle with sleep, I am proud to say that in the whole one year I taught piano at Wynton, I missed only one lesson. And that was on a morning when I couldn't resist the temptation to stay in between the sheets. When the Wynton receptionist phoned me to inform me that my student was waiting for me, I lied to her that I was feeling out of sorts. I am not sure if she believed my lie but I am glad nobody reproached me for skiving work that morning.

As it happened, I left Wynton House of Music at the beginning of 2016 to venture into blogging, a hobby I have been determined to convert into a job. My work as a blogger has involved travelling to Nairobi to record the videos I post on this blog. While travelling to Nairobi, I have observed that even though most of my fellow citizens don't read as much as I do, they are more hard-working than me. They rise early in the morning to go do such boring jobs as vending newspapers and polishing shoes.

Just last year as I was heading to Nairobi to produce a hymn I had worked on, I spotted an attractive woman named Nancy pushing a wheelbarrow. It was still early in the morning and Nancy was already at work building a waterway next to the road I was treading on. We both exchanged glances but we didn't exchange greetings even though we have known each other for years.

Maybe Nancy thought I was pityng her for doing menial work reserved for uneducated men. But how wrong she was if she was thinking that way! I was actually full of admiration for her because of her willingness to wake up, dress up and show up for work. At least she wasn't stealing from anyone or selling her body in order to get her daily bread.

It is Nancy and other fellow citizens I have seen at work early in the morning who have inspired me to also be waking up early in the morning to labour. For the past four weeks, I have been getting out of bed before dawn to read and meditate. And I have been staying mentally active throughout the day. I intend to keep up with that regimen for the rest of my life, come hell or high water. So help me God.

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RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on how I have been inspired by my fellow citizens, you might also enjoy another one on "Developing Good Sleeping Habits" that I wrote about four years ago. Just click on that link in blue to dive straight into the story.