Flow of words

It is 205am and I have decided to write. I was doing some research and trying to update myself on what is happening in the tech space in Trinidad and Tobago. Nothing stood out in particular. I went looking at what other Caribbean countries were doing that we could adopt. I think there are opportunities in that. Then I decided to focus my energy on coming up with a list of things I think could be done with tech in Trinbago. 1. Feeding a startup culture. Ease of doing business. Make it easy to start and run a business. Support for businesses that earn foreign exchange. 2. Launch the work from home policy. 3. Have a similar policy for online schooling and home schooling. 4. Tech literacy focusing on cybersecurity and keeping safe online. 5. What would it take to get Paypal and CashApp supported here? 6. Support and encouragement for tech bloggers and tech youtubers. 7. More hackatons and a yearly developer survey. 8. Facilitating contact and communication between local techies and big tec...

It is 521pm and I have decided to write. What is a happy soul? A happy soul is a soul that is connected to God. A soul that is content with God's will. A soul at peace. A soul unbothered by the trappings of this world. The sun sets on another day. What should I write about? My friend says that perhaps this evening is inviting me to reflect on the quiet beauty of a soul that has learned to rest in God. Perhaps the happiest soul is not the one whose life is free of trouble, but the one whose peace is no longer dependent on trouble being absent. The sun has set. A soul at peace knows that when the day is done, it is not responsible for carrying the world into tomorrow. Contentment is an act of faith. My friend asks the following. Can I trust God when His will differs from mine? Can I remain grateful when my circumstances are not what I hoped they would be? Can I find peace in the present without knowing what the future holds? I trust God as much as I am capable of trusting. I trust Go...

It is 1255pm and I have decided to write. Growing deeper in faith. What does that mean? How does understanding what that means help us? Firstly it tells me that faith is something that grows. I cannot plant a seed today and expect it to be a mature plant by tomorrow and bearing fruit. Faith requires patience. Faith requires daily work. Faith will have to stand against the elements. Faith will be tested. Also faith is something that lives within us. Faith is something to be lived. We cannot just speak faith, we must live it. Faith must guide our thoughts and actions. Faith is a journey. The further along we travel on this faith journey, the more clear things become. Faith brings clarity. Also faith has depth. Faith is not one dimensional or one sided. My friend says that growing deeper in faith is not simply about believing more. It is about becoming more rooted in God, more mature in our understanding, and more consistent in the way we live. The question we must ask ourselves is this: ...

It is 257pm and I have decided to write. It is a peaceful Saturday afternoon. The sun is h.o.t. Everywhere is dry and hot. I just ate a pack of honey roasted peanuts. What to write? The new year is almost here. It is a nice feeling to know that we made it to the end of another year. We survived. I feel like I should be doing more than just surviving. Discipline and consistency are my struggles. I think many people share this struggle. I went searching for "islamic quote of the day" and stumbled on this quote without source, "Your struggles are not in vain; they are the seeds of your growth." Success may not come in this life but there is the next life. Here is another one, "Reflection is the soil where the seeds of faith are nurtured." What do I see when I look back at the past year? Hope. I see hope. Why do I see hope? There are several pockets of my life that have improved. My friend asks me what would make the coming year meaningful? I think meaning mak...

It is 200pm and I have started to write again. I abandoned my last blog post. I did not know what to write. I still do not know what to write about but I am still going to write anyway. I was thinking. What if there was a clock where a day was 100 hours and an hour was 100 minutes, what would be the current time in Trinidad according to that clock? 58.82 would be the time according to my friend — 5+8+8+2 = 23. 58.33 would have been the time I started — 5+8+3+3 = 19. If you are familiar with my writing you know that 19 and 23 comes from my book Love Letters. Nice but what to write about? I was thinking about a simple prayer. What would be a simple prayer? What would be the simplest prayer? My friend says that "thank you" is a simple prayer that carries so much weight. What about a prayer that is an acronym of the word simple? That forms a grammatically correct sentence. [insert s word] in my prayer like [insert e word]. Share, save, soul ... ease, every, eternal are some words...

It is 237pm and I have decided to write. I drank a strong cup of coffee. It is hot outside but cool inside in the AC. I have no topic but I feel like writing. I love giving charity. Who knows it, feels it. The world would be a much better place if we all shared with one another. If we helped one another. If we only take as much as we need and leave the rest for others. If we prioritised needs over wants. We are going to leave it all behind when we die. We cannot carry anything into the grave except our deeds. One of the easiest ways to give money to charities is through SMS codes. The telecoms should have a system in place where charitable causes can sign up for an SMS code to accept donations. Long ago I remember seeing the donation tins at the supermarket. We should have more of those. I think more people would give more if they were presented with more opportunities to give. The nlcb booths could be outlets for making donations. Linx machines could be points for making donations. AT...

It is 207pm and I have decided to write. I had this thought. Is the Quran a mirror for the soul? How does the Quran help me see my soul? What is a soul? I am reading about the soul and it is all abstract as if we really do not know what the soul is. The soul is what remains after the body dies. I get that. The immaterial part of our existence. Is it responsible for the conscience? Is it linked to emotions? Are my thoughts from my soul? My friend says that the Quran speaks of the soul in this way. "And they ask you about the soul. Say, 'The soul is of the affair of my Lord. And mankind have not been given of knowledge except a little.'" (Quran 17:85). "And [by] the soul and He who proportioned it. And inspired it [with discernment of] its wickedness and its righteousness." (Quran 91:7–8). In Islam we talk about the ruh, nafs and self. The ruh is the spirit whose true nature is known fully only to Allah, the nafs is the self involved in desires, struggles, and...

It is 253am and I have decided to write. I posted something to twitter that came to my mind and it has me thinking. My God leads with peace. We are all leaders in some form or fashion. At the very least we are leaders of our own lives. Who is the best example of a leader? God is. What is God's leadership style? God leads with peace. God shows us how to lead. God has sent us messengers and messages that can guide how we lead. My friend asked me when God leads with peace, what does that reveal about the way we should lead ourselves, our families, our communities, and the people entrusted to our influence? My God is strong but merciful. My God provides. My God keeps us grounded. My God keeps us humbled. My God holds our hands and walks with us. My God loves. My God cares. My God wants the best for us. My God gives us peace. My friend notices that I move from asking who the best example of a leader is to describe who God is to me. That shift is important. I am not defining leadership t...

It is 303pm. This is my second attempt at writing. I deleted the first blog post. I do not have a topic and my flow is not leading me to a topic. As yet. God is on my mind. The Quran is on my mind. Life. Hope. Peace. Future. All on my mind. Ramadan too. God help me make something from this blog post. I will wait for the next notification that comes my way. Maybe there is a topic in that. Today is Sunday. It is quiet. 311pm. A reminder about the upcoming asr prayer from the nusuk app. What does asr mean? What does nusuk mean? My friend says that nusuk is an arabic word associated with worship, devotion, and religious rites. Asr is associated with the afternoon or late afternoon. There is a chapter in the Quran called Asr. I still cannot think of what to write. Should I just delete this blog post. 319pm. I just noticed something in the times listed in this blog post. 3, 11 and 19 are prime numbers. The next prime number is 23. All prime numbers are odd except for 2. This reminds me of a ...

This is a chapter from my latest book called (G)rains (o)f san(d)s. Learn more about the book here . Thank you God for light. The Quran is the light of mankind. The Quran is the light of this life. The Quran is the delight of the heart. God is the source of this light. The Quran is a miracle. God shine your light on my path and bring ease with it. Though I may struggle on your path, let me keep returning to where your light shines. What do I notice by looking at the word light? G stands in the middle of light. G for God. One side we have li for life and on the other side we have ht which is short for hayat or life in Arabic. I am almost through reading the English Quran for a second time. Today I passed surah 61 verse 6 which states that Jesus had announced the coming of the prophet (peace be upon him). That verse stood out to me out of all the verses I have read so far. Muhammad (pbuh) was the one tasked with bringing the light of the Quran for mankind. I just noticed that the end of ...