Thee African Hummingbird

It can’t be all gloom and doom. It just cannot, right?   There has to be something good, something to look forward to, and something to make this life worth living. There has to be something that will make you randomly sing; “I think I like this little life, this little life’, just like I usually do when I first taste Dairyland’s Fiesta white Ice-cream on a hot sunny afternoon in Nairobi. Or when you have the first scoop of vanilla ice cream on a hot tedious evening after work. And to find something good happening around you or to you, you have to be observant enough to see it. Your mind has to be aware of your surroundings so that you can see and spot beauty, the good in the humans around you (strangers or not), your gifts & strength, and the blessings in your life because, after all, it cannot be all gloom & doom. Also in the quest of searching for good, you should not let life happen to you, at least not the things you can control. Knowing that you have a part to ...

 Happy New Year friends :)  I will write a little because we have some catching up to do and this is Pato's post. Pato might just be a regular guest writer on this platform. He reminisced about simpler times. An epistle ...perhaps?  Enjoy. Xx . Hi, it’s me! Pato! It has been a hot minute, hasn’t it? You must even have forgotten I exist LOL. Well just in case you are wondering. I have been doing fine. “Fine” is an understatement really, I have been doing great actually. Thanks for asking. I am sending you this because you abruptly stopped responding to our conversations, you outrightly ghosted me, or we unexpectedly fell out of contact in some way. I am of course devastated beyond repair, as your attention was all that was sustaining me in these troubled times, but somehow, I’ll soldier on. You have missed my writing, haven’t you? Today prepare to have your mind blown. But I haven’t been practicing. Writer’s block is still a thing so also lower your expectations because I ...

When it rains, it truly pours. I have spent the past 8 days or so fighting for my life. I attribute this to capitalism, the flu, and an inferior laptop (I downloaded a heavy system, and it almost took out my laptop…but thank God for a good fundi I know, my baby is back after paying the good fundi a hefty amount). I also blame the cold Nairobi experience, but as I write this, the sky is blue, and the sunshine is marvellous. So, thank God for Sunshine. Lol, legit as the reasons above are, I honestly feel they are just excuses, because If I wanted, I would, yes? This is to say, that I am once again happy to be writing & editing again. Enjoy! Disclaimer : Real-world events may have inspired some aspects of the story below, but overall, this is a work of Fiction. Any similarities to real events or persons are unintentional. *** ‘Some nights, you dance with tears in your eyes’ – Self Control This lyric explains my current state. I am at my happy place, in the shower. A place ...

Have you ever been through a scenario that changed you so much as a person that just left you wanting to hide away from the world? Vanessa told me how after a 5-year relationship ended, she felt isolated. She felt like she was living in a bubble and having fewer interactions with humans. She did not have any relationships for two years straight and did. I asked her what she intended to “go heal”. I bumped into her during the weekend and asked her if the isolation worked, and whether she really healed. Here’s what her thoughts. “Isolating yourself is just not it when wanting better for yourself… when you want to heal. You can disappear for a while but isolating oneself does not do justice to you. The analogy I will use is, does one become a good runner by just reading about the greatest athletes? Watching the marathon, they participated in? Fair enough, one might learn a trick here and there. But until one goes to the field to practice by putting oneself out there.” **** I ponde...

So, things happened.  This is Day 3's post.  Today’s post (Day 4) will be up tonight. Bless! *** The other day my friend asked me if I had listened to the latest episode of a certain podcast. I had been an ardent and consistent listener of the podcast for the longest time ever and I don’t think I had ever missed an episode until recently. “No, I have not. I do not think I will soon because I am in my quiet era!” “ What does that even mean Stacy?” Here is what I meant. We live in a time where we come across a plethora of information whether it's intentional or not. Podcasts, TikTok, X, You Tube. You’d find people at the office working with headphones listening to music or someone talking. But aside from sleep? At what time does our brain get to relax? At that moment, I felt overwhelmed by the many things I was consuming. Books, music, podcasts, TikTok, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), the thoughts and opinions of people I interact with … all the information I got d...

  As I was scrolling through TikTok, I saw a video that made me reflect.  The subject of the video Was a couple , of Black American origin in  Times Square, New York.  The environment was terribly busy: a myriad of people, locals busy going about their business, tourists absorbing the culture shock and taking pictures and vehicles all over hooting. From the reviews of the tourists of New York, I am sure the air smelt like New York. I cannot say the smell was flowery, musky or a pungent smell. I will leave that to those who have visited that City or are residents of New York to describe to us what New York City Square smells like. The couple was standing in front of a very humongous billboard, attached to the wall of a skyscraper. This couple were dating and wanted to take things to the next level. So, the guy took the lady to City Square to declare his intentions to her and the hundreds of people there that day. He said sweet words to her, I know this because ...