Wonders of Nature

A True Story

by Thuita J. Maina

on Apr 11, 2024

Picture related to the title of the story

Let me reveal to you a little secret about myself: I love nature and meditating on its wonders. I can pause to take in the beauty of a flowing river, of the sun setting in the western horizon and of a lone bird soaring high above the ground.

Perhaps it's due to my innate love of nature that I came to enjoy learning biology during my high school years at Starehe Boys' Centre. I particularly liked studying a certain photocopied book of biology essays that lucidly explained wonders of nature such as how polar bears are adapted to living in cold climates.

Later on in 2013, more than seven years after I finished high school, I developed a burning desire to reread that book of biology essays. So I went to Starehe to get it but the teacher I approached, Mrs. Cecilia Kiprop, informed me that she had no such book, something that surprised me since I expected the book to be an essential reading for biology students at Starehe.

Despite that let-down by Mrs. Kiprop, my love of nature has remained undiminished. I have memorized some motivational quotes that draw inspiration from nature. Quotes like "A river cuts through rock, not because of its power but because of its persistence", "A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking because her trust is not on the branch but on her own wings", and "The tree that bears the most fruits gets stoned the most."

Now that I have revealed my love of nature, allow me to share with you, my beloved reader, some four wonders of nature that have awestruck me. Only four.

The first is the nature of two gases: oxygen and hydrogen. Those two gases are highly flammable. As every high school student knows, oxygen is needed for combustion. Hydrogen gas is also combustible; it was quickly abandoned as the gas of choice in making hot-air balloons after one devastating accident in which a hydrogen-filled balloon burst into flames.

You know what? When you react those two highly flammable gases, oxygen and hydrogen, you form water which extinguishes fire. Isn't that a wonder?

Equally tantalizing is the nature of the elements sodium and chlorine. Both elements are extremely poisonous. Sodium is a very reactive element; if you were to put it into your mouth, it would react explosively with saliva, leaving you with wounds. Chlorine gas is also harmful; it was used by Germans to kill enemy soldiers during the First World War.

You know what again? When you react those two poisonous elements, sodium and chlorine, you form sodium chloride (table salt) which we add to our food everyday to improve its flavour. Isn't that another wonder?

The third wonder of nature is the composition of an atom, the building block of matter. An atom is made up of protons, neutrons and electrons. Protons and neutrons are concentrated in the nucleus of an atom while electrons roam around the nucleus. Both the nucleus and the electrons occupy tiny spaces of an atom. Most of an atom is actually vacuum, which makes me wonder where all the solidness we feel in the objects around us comes from.

And the last wonder of nature I will tell you about concerns the human body. I have come to be amazed by the wonderful construction of the human body and the working of its various parts. The human body is capable of having emotions, healing itself from an injury and reproducing itself. And its brain is so sophisticated that it can make us think creatively.

There are sculptors who make likenesses of a human body from wax, rocks and metal. And some of their sculptures are magnificent to behold. But to make the sculptures breathe, grow and think - that has, of course, been beyond the ability of even the most skilled sculptors. Only God can create such a miracle-working machine as the human body.

Before I finish my story, let me leave you with this quote by biologist Rachel Carson: "Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature - the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter."

***********************
RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on some four wonders of nature, you might also enjoy another one on "The Wonder of Honeybees" which I wrote a couple of years ago. Just click on that link in blue to dive straight into the story.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Sharing is Caring

Like this story? Then share it on:

Thuita's 7 Rules of Writing

A True Story

by Thuita J. Maina

on Apr 6, 2024

With permission, I have extracted this picture-quote from Reddit. All rights reserved worldwide.

I love writing stories, especially those that most folks can relate to. It's that passion for writing stories that inspired me to set up this lovely blog of mine. And I have come to reason that if people take time to read novels, then they can certainly be interested in the stories I post on this blog.

Well, many people think that writing stories is as easy as ABC. But how mistaken they are! Writing a captivating story can be as challenging as learning calculus or computer programming.

Personally, I am not a born writer. I have had to work hard to improve my writing skills. Most of that hard work has entailed reading avidly and doing lots of writing practices.

My efforts have been paying off given the feedback I have received from my blog visitors who inform me that they have enjoyed a story on this blog. Just last Monday, I got a message from a lady called Sierra Ann who encouraged me to keep up the great work I am doing on this blog.

I also believe that I have grown into a competent writer because I have been pleased with virtually all the stories I have shared over the last seven years since I rebranded this blog to what it looks like now. That's unlike in the past when I used to cringe after going through what I had written to friends.

As I was rereading some of my blog stories recently, I discovered several shortcomings in the stories. First was my tendency to overuse the hyphen, even when unnecessary. When talking of "hard work" for instance, I would write it as "hard-work".

Second was my proneness to using the wrong prepositions, perhaps due to my laziness in consulting the dictionary. In one blog story for example, I wrote that I heard something "in the radio". We should say "in the radio" when we are talking of the resistors, capacitors and transistors that make a radio. Otherwise the correct way to say it is "on the radio".

Third was my use of capital letters when unnecessary. A few weeks ago while taking on the internet a crash course in capitalization, I gathered that school subjects such as maths, physics and geography shouldn't be capitalized like I used to do.

The last shortcoming in my past stories was my failure to correct obvious mistakes before sharing the stories on the internet. Mistakes such as using the wrong words: "that" instead of "than", "a" instead of "I" and "her" instead of "him". Mark you, I have left those mistakes uncorrected even after proofreading the stories more than three times.

Despite those shortcomings in the stories I have written over the last seven years, I must say that I have been impressed with how much I know. And I owe that wealth of knowledge to my love of reading.

If you are also an avid reader, I implore you to take up writing as a hobby or as a career. Just to get you started, let me share with you the following "Thuita's 7 rules of writing" which I have drawn from my writing experiences:

Avoid plagiarism: Don't plagiarize other people's writings as that will turn you into a fool. Write original stories. By the way, top American colleges like Yale and Harvard take issues to do with plagiarism very seriously.

Borrow snappy remarks: It's okay to copy clever phrases from other writers. So feel free to use in your writings any smart statements you've come across in your readings.

Get rid of unnecessary sentences: A well-written story should have no unnecessary parts, just like a well-engineered machine. Therefore, be content to leave some things unsaid.

Be wise: To be a top-notch writer, not only should you be knowledgeable but also wise. Don't reveal other people's secrets in your writings. Neither should you write something you'll be embarrassed of later. Write what will not offend your soul or your readers.

Don't overquote: It is said that you can tell how lazy a writer is by the amount of content he quotes from other writers. The more he quotes, the lazier he is. So if you want to be known as a diligent writer, use your own words and quote other writers sparingly.

Love people: As author Dale Carnegie observed, to be a great storyteller, you must love people. Since writing is mostly about sharing stories, you need to love people so much that you want to share your writings with them.

Tell the truth: Unless you are a fiction writer, cut out any statement in your writings that's untrue, no matter how nice or funny it sounds. That's the way to build trust with your readers.

There you have them: that's "Thuita's 7 rules of writing". I hope you've gleaned something valuable from them. And if you are a seasoned writer, I'd love to hear from you on what I have left out in the rules. Just load the feedback page of this blog to send me your thoughts. Adieu!

********************
RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on "Thuita's 7 rules of writings", you might also enjoy another one on "Benefits of Writing" which I penned a couple of years ago. Just click on that link in blue to dive straight into the story.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Sharing is Caring

Like this story? Then share it on: