Thank you 42!

It is written on my “earthly” birth certificate that, on 1 July 1981, I was born. On this same date in 2023, I contemplate me. I now have three white hairs (called "mvi" in Kiswahili) on my beard, two of which are only visible if I have not shaved. Some say it’s a sign of wisdom and wealth, but it also just means I have done several trips around the sun already.

I don’t even know where I came from, I just rocked up to this world. Was I sent here? Did I send myself here, or was I brought here?

But now that I am already here, does it really matter whether I was sent, came by my own volition or just brought here by the people so called my lovely parents as a result of their indulgence of their happy places? Did they even know the result would be me? Most likely, not all. But I did show up anyway.

I am so grateful to be here. I did not choose my parents, my siblings, my clan, the extended family, or even the village I consider my ancestral home. I did not choose my race, my name, or my religion. What a way to show up to the world without having any influence on all these important aspects that have shaped my life and who I am today. Some say we do make all these choices before we are born, but forget as soon as we enter this world. I am yet to reconcile how this happens and if I can remember why I came here.

42 years later, I am a happy, handsome, and wise gentleman "if I can say so myself," walking this world with a lot of gratitude. Sometimes, I am still unsure to what end and where I am headed. But I have found meaning in just living the moment. "Life is in this moment." I am amazed at how my life has unfolded and to who and what I am today. Talk about miracles, indeed my life is full of miracles; talk of favours, indeed I am favoured; talk of being loved, indeed I am loved; talk of being special and unique, indeed, I am special and unique; talk of having flaws, indeed I have my own flaws. If I say I planned all this, it would be blasphemy. Actually , "life just happened" and continues to "happen" to me.

I am so grateful to my parents, siblings, clan, immediate & extended family, friends, and acquaintances that I did not know if I chose or we just crossed path, for all the drama. It is just wonderful and colourful. I couldn’t have chosen better. My life experiences have been and are perfectly curved out for me.

Let this lovely drama continue, as one wish I received this morning, for "a new trip around the sun."

To bliss!