Year: 2018

Today

Last Updated on 24/02/2018 by Vivien Ayinotu

                I came across a lovely poem about ‘Today’ and want to share it with you.

The best thing you have in this world is today

Today is your saviour

It is often crucified between two thieves

Yesterday and tomorrow

Most of our misery is left over

from yesterday or borrowed from tomorrow.

Whoever planned this life of ours did well

in giving us one day at a time.

Don’t let the past unman you,

benumb you with remorse,

weaken you with self contempt.

As for the future,

the best preparation for it is an unafraid today.

Today is yours.

God has given it to you.

All your yesterdays He has taken back;

All your tomorrows are still in His hands.

Today is yours,

Just a little strip of light between two darknesses.

Use it so that at close you can say:

“I have lived and loved today.

Source; Pixabay

The poem made me more aware of how time conscious and persistent one needs to be, especially when you are stuck in between two ‘thieves’.

Today is very special. Special because we live in it. We have to cherish and maximise our today because by the time we know it, there is another new day; tomorrow with it’s own challenges.

Why not do something meaningful today than look back and wonder or say ‘had I known better…’

Many have left with dreams yet to come true. Be productive today. Do not procrastinate.

Push yourself and maximise your today. It has no duplicate.

I hope you find this post very useful and inspirational.

P.S.

My new book: Happiness At Last is available at Amazon, Authorhouse and in New Beacon Bookstore N4 London.

Vivien’s Voice – Truly Inspired #20

Last Updated on 22/02/2018 by Vivien Ayinotu

Hi Friends, I featured in a talented bloggers website. I had a great time answering his questions. You can read it here: Vivien’s Voice – Truly Inspired #20

My new book – Happiness At Last is out. It’s available in Amazon for purchase.

Thanks. See you on my next post.

Book Reveal: Happiness At Last

Last Updated on 02/04/2018 by Vivien Ayinotu

Hello Friends, I can’t keep calm my new book is finally out. It’s live on Amazon. I am delighted to announce to you the publication of ‘Happiness At Last’. I still can’t believe it.

After so much time writing ✍ then came the draining editing and re-editing. At a point I thought the humour was all gone due to so much corrections but I kept my cool.

Like I told you, it is worth the wait.

Please check it out here and let me know your views. It is available for purchase in Amazon, Authorhouse and on Barnes & noble soonest. Authorhouse has  a preview for you as well.

I will be posting more about it. It feels surreal.

Mystery Blogger Award

Last Updated on 07/03/2018 by Vivien Ayinotu

I have been nominated for the Mystery blogger award. In my entire time of blogging, this is my very first nomination. I am very pleased that someone had liked my blog  posts and thought it wise to recognize me. I am grateful to Siddharth Banga for making this post possible. He is a young talent with great vision and keen interest in international relations and politics. Do visit his blog and you will be amazed by his wealth of knowledge.

The rules of the award include:

  1. Put the award logo/image on your blog.
  2. List the rules.
  3. Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
  4. Tell your readers 3 things about yourself.
  5. Answer the questions you were asked.
  6. Nominate 10 – 20 people & notify.
  7. Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question (specify).

Three things about myself:

  1. Number ‘3’ is my favorite number.
  2. I love to spend some quality time alone. I really need it to function better.
  3. I hate bullying.

Questions I was asked:

1) If one day you had to choose between writing blogs online or getting them print as articles in a small newspaper, what would you choose and why?(readership of that newspaper company is very small)

Ans:

I think it totally depends on which platform that means more audience. Since I already blog I will like to write for newspapers. I tried it a while ago but did not take it seriously.

2) What made you write blogs over here (WordPress?)

Ans:

I have previous blogged on blogger but thought I should upgrade to WordPress. I must say the community here is a bonus as I never expected it.

3) Any sport you like or any other hobby?

Ans:

I’m not into sports that much. I watch soccer when some big teams play , same is applicable to  table tennis. I love to listen to good soothing music.

4) If one day you woke up and found that you got 20,000 followers over a night, what would be your reaction?

Ans:

I will be chuffed to bits to know that huge amount of people had connected with me. I will be really blown away.

5) What is your dream place to live in?

Ans:

You know I haven’t thought of this lately. Let’s say a place filled with love and happiness, no negativity of the world; I will love to be there.

My nominees are:

  1. Elizabeth
  2. Patrick Stories
  3. Apple Rae
  4. King Taylor
  5. Shreya Jindal
  6. Gayathri
  7. Kunterblunt
  8. Kaylaann
  9. littlemisssunshine
  10. Yuule

Questions for my nominees:

  1. What do you enjoy the most about blogging?
  2. How often do you blog?
  3. Do you have a favorite book?
  4. What do you do when your are stressed?
  5. If you have the ability to change the world what would you do?

Finally, I had a great time answering and asking those questions. I thank my readers because this blog is growing every single day and I can’t do it all by by myself. A massive thank you to you all.

Excited Over Just One Reader

Last Updated on 04/02/2018 by Vivien Ayinotu

Source: Pixabay

The other day while I was at work I got into a conversation with a patient. I will refer to her as “Maria” in this post. For my new readers, I am a nurse by profession.

As we chatted, Maria nicely asked,

“Vivien what do you do in spare time? Hope you don’t mind me asking” she added.

“No. That’s fine.” I replied.

I read books but mainly write stories among other things.

“Are you a writer?” she keenly asked.

“No. Not yet, am finalizing my first novel which is out soonest.

She immediately became interested and asked me what the book was all about. In my book, I have included stories that my Mum had told me about how people have lived back in the sixties although the majority of the story is fiction. In fact, the former was the primary motive for the novel as I so much wanted to tell my future kids [I have one now though] how people have survived in the past centuries.  However, as the characters developed the story became more interesting and I decided I have to share it with the world.

Back to Maria, she was very touched to hear all that and told me how her father have asked her niece what she wanted from him during a family gathering and her response.

“Tell me the story of your life,” the little girl politely answered her grandpa.

Maria’s father was surprised to hear that but it turned to be the a cherished time for both of them as he shared most of his wonderful life memories with her.

Maria asked for my book’s title and wrote it down. She told me she will look for it in amazon and leave a review. I was blown away by her kind-heartedness and interest.

I was thrilled by mere someone’s genuine interest in a book that is yet to be published. She truly made my day. That day was stressful like most shifts but our conversation made it worth the while. I was happy, still happy about that encounter.

I was amazed because I realized I have somewhat promoted my book in the course of doing my professional duties; which was not intentional. Maria was very happy too as she said I was kind and one of the best nurses she has met in her entire years of going to the hospitals. What a compliment!

“Thank you” I said while my face glittered with smiles.

The book is out next month. I will keep you posted.

The Good Wife

Last Updated on 01/02/2018 by Vivien Ayinotu

Source: Cdn.pixabay.com

I have a joke for you and it goes this way. A kindhearted woman went to his busy husband who was in a meeting and asked, “Can I see you briefly?”

The man came out hoping no emergency had happened. She continued, “I have a good and a bad news for you, which one do you want to hear first?”

Only the good one the man replied. “You know the new BMW car, it‘s airbag works really well.”
This kind of clever woman is hard to find😄
Have a beautiful day and a fabulous weekend my lovelies.

Who Likes Adversity?

Last Updated on 01/02/2018 by Vivien Ayinotu

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Source: Ziglar.com

Adversity is marked by periods of misfortunes and distress. Studies have it that we experience lots of adversities in our lifetime.

Adversity has the potential to make one stronger. I came across a story of a lady who said that the challenges she had encountered at a very young age molded her into a hardworking person she has become.

You and I clearly know that no one likes hard times but they are inevitable. Sometimes when we look around, it looks like there are people who are more prone to adversity than others.

In my opinion, I would say try as much as you can to learn from difficult times. It is one of those situations you simply find yourself not that you would have chosen it; if it were down to you.

Be brave, and try to think 🤔 with you head, push your emotions aside. Remember that they say, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. In addition, it is not permanent; meaning it’s only a phase that will soon disappear.

More so, you are not the first to be in such situation and will not be the last. Take a deep breath. Be grateful to God for sparing your life.

I hope you enjoy this post. See you on my next one.

Dear John

Source: i.pinimg.com

For some time now, I have been waiting anxiously to hear from a good friend. His name is John. Let me tell you about John.

In my previous blog “Writingisrewarding” I put up lots of post but had a few subscribers. I must tell you at that time I was more excited by posting and wasn’t worried about subscribers. So, John would normally email me almost after every post. I remember the first time he emailed.

I was pleased to know someone had read my story and took out time to write me an email. Since then we kept on exchanging emails. I never asked why he wouldn’t comment or something like that on the website.

I will describe him as gentle man and a man of faith. His words are filled with encouragement and wisdom. He is always grateful for little things.

In his emails, he told me about his health conditions, when he felt better,  and the kind of treatment he had received. He once told me how he cancelled an eye surgery and had gone for laser which he found better as it meant less recovery  and thanked me for praying for him. The last update was to let me know he had series of chemotherapy and one more to go. I continually pray for him and wish he gets better.

Months have passed and I have not heard from John. I have emailed him severally like usual but got no reply. I have missed hearing from him. Sadly, it’s over a year now. I have written a couple of posts I know he would have loved to read but got no email from him. I have missed how we both encouraged each other. I will always remember your kind words.

You will always be in my thoughts 💭 John. May God shower His blessings upon you, wherever you are.

Vivien🙏🏼

Your Imagination [Your Reality]

Last Updated on 05/01/2018 by Vivien Ayinotu

Imagination is the ability of our minds to be creative or inventive. Our imaginations can lead us very far, even beyond human understanding. Imagination has so many advantages and includes the following:

Self discovery:Source: i.pinimg.com

Imagination starts with an idea and builds up, which can take a great path and open world of opportunities. Psychologists believe that most successive people had imagined their situation before it became their reality. I have always believed that you never know how far you can go till you give something a try. So, come up with that single idea and let your imagination lead you.

Boosts ones memory: It sharpens our memory and equally boosts intelligence. Imagination is simply creativity, just like in forming new ideas and images, using our minds. In addition, imagination helps in memory rehabilitation when a person have suffered a brain injury.

Important for children’s development:

 

Source: Blogreadingeggs.com

Another quote by Einstein affirms that imagination is more important than knowledge. It opens doors to possibilities whereby a child can be creative, clever and think outside the box.  According to studies, imagination is not only vital for a child’s cognitive development, it gives them a better understanding of reality later on. More over, it is through activities like imaginative and creative play that kids discover the world.

Makes one empathetic: It makes someone more aware of others situation as you can visualise their condition without experiencing what they are going through. I consider this as a brilliant way of understanding the world; putting yourself in the shoes of others.

There are many benefits of imagination. Lest I forget, imagination transforms dream into reality. “You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” Mark Twain.

So I urge you to dream big, let your imaginations flow and you will never know when reality knocks at your door. Whatever you do, stay focused and positive. If you like this post please leave a comment.