100 Yards.

This year I plan to up my game as far as having faith is concerned. I struggle with being fully present going through the seasons of life. I know this deprives me of the full benefit of focusing on the season at hand. Maybe some seasons last longer because I’m not paying attention and I end up repeating the class. I’m constantly wondering (more like worrying) how my current situation will determine the outcome of my life. We often stare at the finish line and risk tripping by not focusing on the few steps ahead of us.

Allow me to repeat a quote that’s shikad me. Oh and thanks to one of my readers I found out that it’s originally a poem by Minnie Louise Haskins and not Robert Collier. I mentioned it in my first article of 2021 two weeks ago. “I said to the man who stood at the gate of the new year: Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown. And he replied: Go out into the darkness and put your hand in the hand of God. That shall be to you better than a light and safer than a known way.”

I reckon one way of entrenching a new thought system is repetition. I’m saying this for me as much as it is for you my dear readers. Walking in trust and faith is so much easier said than done. There are few times I have woken up in the morning with full confidence that Sir God will take care of stuff. Especially at a time when my obligations are on opposite ends with my available and actual bank balance. This is the month when we interrogate the difference between the two hehe.

The confident assurance that I will be taken care of even when I don’t know or see how feels so good. The peace that follows is priceless. That’s the space I want to spend more time in this year. Maybe it’s harder because I’m a guy and im required to be on top of things. We like seeing the whole plan and sequence of events to the very end. Well, that may happen in some instances but it’s not the natural way of life and we have to accept it.

I want to be like this small bird outside my window that shows up every day to eat from mummy shark’s hibiscus flowers. My backyard is like a KFC drive-thru for this bird. It knows it will find ready to eat food.  And if he doesn’t like the flowers in my backyard he can find more food elsewhere for free. The universe serves him an all you can eat buffet daily. I want the confidence of that bird.

I plan to continue working towards the life I desire and I’m capable of living. I tend to believe that once we approach a season in life with the acceptance that we cannot control the outcome but we can influence it by giving it our best shot then at least three things happen. First, we are less anxious and that makes us more productive. Secondly, we learn more and get fulfilled as we execute. Thirdly and inevitably, chances of success increase substantially.

And If things go our way we celebrate the outcome. If they do not then we choose to believe there is better ahead. And that the work done was not in vain but just preparation for a greater good. It is difficult to see it this way when faced with disappointment but we have to muster the courage to move on folks if we are to have a lit year.

It’s strange how we struggle to be comfortable with the unknowns yet when driving at night we trust our car headlights to illuminate the one hundred yards ahead of us. We don’t worry much about the darkness ahead because we know it will be pushed by a hundred yards as we move towards it. That’s a good visual to remember when we struggle with the unknown and unpredictable future. Let’s trust that we will be shown the next steps as we move along.

All we need to live a fulfilling life is just to carry out out the task at hand to the best of our ability and trust that when the student is ready for the next lesson the teacher will appear. It is ridiculous to imagine how our view would be like if we are driving home to Nairobi from Mombasa and our car headlights can mulika to our gate.

Purpose to focus on the one hundred yards ahead of you folks. And even on the twenty yards when life gets foggy. The Good book encourages us in Matthew 6:34 – “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” That qualifies to be a screen saver so we don’t forget ama?

A tweet by Julian Shapiro sums it up well. He says, “ success isn’t an end state. Success is having the freedom to focus on the grind you enjoy.” I enjoy this grind of sharing my thoughts here every week. We are almost at year five of doing it. I do feel though that now is a good time to explore how we can monetize it. I’m open to ideas on how to do that folks. Share your wisdom tafadhali.

What’s the grind you enjoy people? once you identify it trust that the next steps ahead will be illuminated for you at the right time, engage fully at every step, and success will show up. That’s my picture of a good life.