September 2013

Have you ever gone somewhere feeling like the world has conspired to frustrate you and after interacting with other people and listening to their sorry stories, you ended up feeling so ashamed of yourself for thinking you had it bad? Well, that's what I felt last week when I met a lady who had every reason to give up on life, but instead, she had this joyful and bubbly look around her that made one think she lived in paradise; until she shares her story with you.

It is a small car, one you can easily ignore on the road, until it teaches you a lesson or two in humility. The first time I had an encounter with the almost un-noticeable Toyota Opa was during a road trip I made from Dar Es Salaam to Kisumu via Nairobi and back to Dar Es Salaam. I remember I was driving along the Moshi - Same route from Nairobi at a speed of 140km/h, when this little thing passed my car like I was parked.

I know most people prefer keeping their toilet-room experiences to themselves though we all know everyone uses this room. I guess what differs is where your toilet is, how big it is and how it looks inside. Obviously, besides the nature of the business that takes you in there, I guess the aforementioned factors (to some extent) determine a lot how much time you are likely to spend in there. All the same, I believe we all unanimously agree that it is a very important room.

I normally get very uncomfortable when I am in the presence of people who constantly give excuses as to why they cannot do certain things. I get uncomfortable because such people tend to spread negative energy wherever they go. I personally know for a fact that nothing is impossible if you put your mind to doing it. Yes, it is all in your mind. Like Henry Ford said, “there are two kinds of people in the world; those who believe they can, and those who believe they can’t.