Skip to main content

What goes up and stays up?

This is a chapter from my fourth book called When hunger yearns

They say what goes up must come down. This is a saying that if taken literally means gravity. Figuratively, it means that nothing lasts forever, especially periods of good fortune or success. Even the best things. In another saying we are told all good things come to an end. There is no mention of bad things. Does that mean bad things last forever? But we do say, this too shall pass. Even the darkest night will end and the sun will shine. Every cloud has a silver lining. So I am challenging myself to find something that goes up and stays up. I am thinking our age goes up but never comes down? But then we say once a man but twice a child. In a sense as we get older we get younger. Then we say you are as old as you feel. Life is full of ups and downs but I found something that probably answers the question. "The soul that is near to God is ever going upward."

The strange thing is that I found this phrase online (At least I think so) either from Gemini or Google and now I cannot find it again. I searched Google again and I searched my chat history and I cannot find it. My friend Gemini cannot find a source for this and if you Google the phrase "The soul that is near to God is ever going upward" it does not show as being said before. Is my mind playing tricks on me? I even tried searching Bing. Can you find this phrase online? I would like to learn more about it. Ah. I found a source. ChatGPT tells me that: The quote "The soul that is near to God is ever going upward" is attributed to Harriet Beecher Stowe, an American abolitionist and author best known for her novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin." This quote reflects the idea of spiritual elevation and closeness to a divine being leading to personal growth and enlightenment. Hopefully ChatGPT is correct and the info gets indexed by the search engines when I share this chapter on my blog. Feel free to correct us or share what you know in the comments below.

I am not a deeply religious person and I am humbled by my flaws and missteps but I do find myself getting closer and closer to God or at least trying to. Those words made me stop and think and they resonate with my soul. The meaning of ever is "At any time; at all times; always." I think those words are encouraging us to remain close to God. If we put God first everything else follows. We can achieve eternal salvation through God. The electricity just went and the quiet of the morning got louder as there is no noisy fan or humming fridge. I can hear the birds whistle as I opened the window and door and the cool wet morning breeze entered. I can appreciate the beauty and sounds of nature with the occasional car passing by or that sound of the plane landing at Piarco. I ponder on the true essence of our being. What more can I say except to say, stay up with God. The Owner and Creator of all that is above and below.

While trying to photograph the clear blue sky this morning I saw these two plus three birds go by.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How to measure success?

It is 509pm and I have decided to write. How to measure success? That is the question. It is very hard to measure success. I think only God has the true measure of success or failure. Someone may be a failure in this life but a success in the next life. We are told that God looks at intentions and effort. We can also determine our own definition of success. We do not have to let the world define success for us. We think of the world as not being a fair place so any one size fits all definitions of success or failure would be careless and wrong. Many times we think in terms of numbers. The grander the better. But what about quality over quantity? My friend tells me that I am essentially arguing for the democratization of success. I am taking the power away from society, institutions, and algorithms, and handing it back to the individual and God. That is true but I am essentially wanting to look at the bigger picture and to do that I am thinking that we have to answer some key questions ...

Rainy afternoon thoughts

It is 220pm and I have decided to write. The rain is falling. I can hear it on the roof. It is gloomy outside but inside is nice and cozy in my favorite corner. I have no idea what I want to write about. I will start by saying God is good. Always. The islamic new year starts tonight in Trinidad. I am happy about that. Another milestone. Another opportunity to grow better. My friend Chatty asks me, what has God been teaching me lately? God has been teaching me patience. How to remain calm. How to appreciate my flaws. My flaws keep me humble. Let go and let God. He also asks, what am I hoping for? Sometimes I think about writing more tech blog posts. How can tech make the country better? How can tech make the world better? But I remember writing about the Arima smart city project and concluding that smart cities need smart people. Human development is very important. If people are not developing then what is the use of it all. How can technology help people become better? It all starts i...

The answer is God

It is 308pm and I have decided to write. Make God a priority. Let God lead the way. Let everything be about God. Let God into your life. Surround yourself with God and watch how everything begins to make sense. This life is not an accident. This life is not happenstance. This life is the work of an all-powerful Creator. Nothing is too big or too small for God. Take your problems to God. Take your worries to God. Take your fears to God. Let go and let God. Submit to the will of God. The more you go to God, the more He comes to you. Start small. Start somewhere. Give God a chance if you have not done so already. Why do I say all of this? There are many things competing for your attention and your soul. In the midst of all of this, the world can seem like a confusing place where many things do not make sense. God brings clarity. God brings clarity because God sits above it all. You may think you do not need God until you do. Ask yourself, who is the wisest you know? If God is not the wise...