The great German genius, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, famously said: "One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words."
Mmm, so I've done myself some good by revisiting tracks that hit me right when I was growing up, like Nas' "I Know I Can", David Foster's "The Power of a Dream", Z-anto's "Binti Kiziwi", and Eric Wainaina's "Daima Mimi Mkenya".
I first heard Nas' "I Know I Can" in 2003 when I was in Form 2 at Starehe Boys' Centre. And wow! The song touched me, as it did my classmate Lawrence Sikuku, who I heard croon its refrain:
I know I can (I know I can)
Be what I wanna be (be what I wanna be)
If I work hard at it (if I work hard at it)
I'll be where I wanna be (I'll be where I wanna be).
I also remember when I first heard David Foster's "The Power of a Dream". It was in 2006 when I was 18. And it's the lovely and talented Celine Dion who sang it during the opening ceremony of the '96 Olympic Games, held in Atlanta, U.S.
Image from Smart Living 365. A shepherd was out in the field grazing his sheep one evening when he heard a sound. At first, he thought it was that of a kitten, only to see it was a lion cub. Out of fear of its mother, he watched it from the safety of a leafless tree.
When darkness started setting in without the mother coming for the cub, he took it to the farmhouse, kept it with his sheep, and hand-fed it with milk. And for the next six months, it grew into an energetic ball of shiny muscle: a lion!
One day when the sheep and the lion were out in the field grazing, they strolled to a nearby river to drink water. And lo! Out of the jungle emerged a beast which roared so menacingly that the sheep ran for cover. So did the lion.
The shepherd, who was watching the incident from the leafless tree, saw the beast clamping a lamb in its blood-drenched jaws after the others had fled. That made him realize danger had returned to his part of the village.
Several weeks went by without such an attack. But one day when the lion went to the river, it bolted to the farmhouse on seeing a beast. It then wondered why the sheep hadn't run for cover as well.
A few days later when the sheep and the lion were drinking water in the river, the lion again saw the beast in the water and trembled with fear. Then out of the jungle emerged the old beast which roared menacingly as it did the other time.
The sheep ran for cover while the lion stood in dazed confusion as it was now seeing two beasts: the real one, and the one in the water, which was its own reflection. It thought its life was about to end.
As if to encourage the lion to be bold, the beast kept roaring. The lion tried to roar, but all that came out of its mouth was the bleating of a sheep. On trying some more, though, it started to roar.
No sooner had it started roaring than it felt strong, confident and courageous. The beast then turned and strode back into the jungle, satisfied that the lion had gained the boldness of a lion.
The lion, on the other hand, turned around and glanced over the village where it grew up. It then gazed towards the jungle where the beast had gone and followed it, for it knew its time had come to be all it was meant to be - a lion king!
"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: Inspiring the world to godly living, one person at a time.
Just for Laughs
There was this drunkard called 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?"
Author's Note I am learning to treat life as a journey, not a destination; I have therefore given up the things that weighed me down and I am now living my life to the fullest because the tomorrow I had always hoped to live my dreams 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.
"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 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 Elbert Hubbard's words, 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 don't 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
Finding Peace in Turmoil
"Moses' rod on the ground was a frightful serpent; in his hand, it was a marvelous wand. Thus are tribulations. Considered in themselves, they are terrible; considered in the will of God, they are honors and pleasures."
~ St. Francis de Sales
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."
