Flow of words

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 the flowers. I bought a blue daze flowering plant for my mom when I went out to walk one day. It adds some colour to the nature in the yard. It is beautiful. I was told that blue flowers are rare. My friend says that blue is relatively rare in nature due to chemical and physical challenges in producing this color in living organisms. Nothing exists completely on its own. Plants depend on insects and other creatures, while those creatures depend on plants and their flowers. There is an interconnectedness in creation that reminds me that God is intentional. Flowers are beautiful but so is everything else if we really consider things with an open mind. What is beauty? What makes some things more beautiful than others? They say that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Beauty is subjective. My friend says that what I am talking about is the perceptual mind where meaning ...

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 failure. Thank you for the good days and the bad days. Thank you for the journey. There are no failures, only lessons learnt. Better to try and fail than fail to try. For this chapter I made a bunch of notes and pieced them together. If mosaic was a style of writing, this would be it for me. Weirdly enough I am not afraid of failure as much as I am afraid of success. I want to live an ordinary and simple life. Much of what society deems as success is really the rat race. I guess I do not have a problem with success but the mainstream definitions of success. What does failure teach us? Failure teaches us to never give up because success can be right around the corner. Define your own definition of success. Enjoy the journey. Focus on learning. Focus on gaining experience. Focus on becoming wise. Today I learnt how a pearl is formed. A pearl forms when an oyster responds...

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 wisdom. Age brings wisdom. At least it should. Everyday we are learning. Everyday we are growing. What is the wisest thing ever said? I think one of the wisest things ever said is something my grandfather told my mother which is, "Dont make nothing a problem." Let me digest what was meant by this. Life happens. Fix what we can. Let go of what we cannot fix. Fix what is within our control. Get help when needed. Let go and let God. There are no problems only solutions waiting to be found and lessons waiting to be learnt. Every problem has a solution. Do not look at the problem, look at the solution. Do not see the problem, see the solution. What defines the situation is not the problem but the solution. We get to choose how we react to what we face in life. They say that laughter is the best medicine. If we do not laugh we will cry. So sometimes wisdom comes wi...

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 love. Love is the simple ingredient for a beautiful life. Love is plentiful. Love is free. Love for others what you love for yourself. God is love. What do we really mean by God is love? Love is God's nature. Love is God's essence. Love conquers all. If we know love, we know God. To live is to love. To love is to live. Love is the answer. Love is the solution to all our problems. Love is a reflection of God. The word love can be found in the phrase, (l)eaves (o)f hea(ve)n. The imagery I have is heaven being littered with trees of love. Both the words leaves and heaven have eave as the center. Remove Eve and we are left with A for Adam. Which has me thinking, do we know if Adam and Eve are going back to heaven? Most probably. What we know is that Adam and Eve leaves heaven for Earth and mankind is born. The first love story of sorts. Tree of love reminds me of s...

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 humility. Until the day of judgement we are all equal. On the day of judgement we will be separated into the different levels of heaven and God forbid hell. None can judge us besides God. While we are alive, no human knows who is better than who in the sight of God. We are to wish each other well and treat each other with respect and kindness. We are all sinners. We just sin differently. We are all imperfect. We all have faults. We all have good ways. We are all capable of love. We are all products of circumstances. Humility is understanding all of this. It is recognizing that I am not God. That I do not know another person's entire story. That I am not qualified to place myself above anyone else. That the same God who sees my faults sees theirs. That the same mercy I ask for myself is mercy I should be willing to extend to others. At some points life will humble y...

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 the rain. It has just started raining here. I can hear the pitter patter on the roof. I can see the dimmed light through the window. The greenery in the yard is enjoying every chance of rain. The days have been extra hot this year. They say we are experiencing a super el nino in Trinidad. Given this every bit of rainfall feels special. Water is life. Without water there can be no life as we know it. Rain is part of the water cycle. Rain falling is like therapy. A calm state comes over my body. My mind relaxes. I appreciate my home and my shelter to keep me dry and safe. The rain is mentioned as a sign from God in the Quran and how it gives life to a lifeless land. The rain complements the sunshine as part of nature's balance. Sometimes we have to endure storms and floods and even droughts but there are lessons in these events. Community spirit is heightened and our...

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 courage. Courage to keep going when we have fallen. Courage to fight for what we want. Courage to do the right things. Courage to face a broken world. It is funny how we can easily use a word and still have to turn to the dictionary for a proper definition. To me courage is finding the strength to do something but let us see what the dictionary says. Courage is defined as the ability to do something that frightens one; bravery. To me, God is the source of all courage. With God anything is possible. God strengthens us through difficult circumstances. We must not forget to thank God for giving us the courage to do the things that frighten us. All our fears belong to God. Let God handle what frightens us. Fear God alone. Surrender our fears to God. In Islam we are taught that courage is not only about physical strength but also about moral and spiritual strength. Being st...

It is 1055am and I have decided to write. God woke me up. I get to see another day. Another day to be a better person. Another day to move closer to God. Another day to help others. Another day to do as much good as possible. Another day to be productive. I am at peace. I am content. It is now 1101am. I have always had a logical mind. I have always asked questions. I often think, why do we choose to do things the hard way when there are easier and better ways especially when someone else has to do the work? We have the brains to come up with easier and better ways. Let us use our brains. Is the problem deciding what the easier and better ways are? Everything has advantages and disadvantages. Everyone has their opinion of what is better. Everyone is seeking their interests. Those with the upper hand or power to decide wins. Do we give one man one vote? Do we give brighter minds more votes? Do we grade options and the highest score wins? What do we do? Seems like democracy needs a decisi...

It is 1037am and I have decided to write. I have been listening to the Quran more and more. I have also been trying to learn Arabic casually through social media. I am nearing the end of my second reading of the English Quran. The Quran is the word of God and God also tells us to follow the sunnah and life of the prophet (pbuh). The Quran is a miracle. The more I interact with the Quran, the more complete I feel. It gives my clarity. I have a purpose. I have goals. I have things I should be doing. Islam is a way of life and it builds character. Sometimes I listen to the Quran to forget about this world. This world is not my home. My home is in the hereafter and God willing in heaven. The more I draw closer to the Quran, the more beauty I see and hear and feel. Same goes to God. Same goes for the life of the prophet (pbuh). Same for Islam. If these are all the things I have in this world, I am happy. Reminds me of one of the duas I say daily. I am content with Allah as my Lord, Islam as...

It is 230am and I have decided to write. Surah 8 verse 2 The believers are but those who when God is remembered, their hearts are afraid, and when His proofs are recited to them, it increases them in faith, and in their Lord they place their trust. This has become my favorite verse. How did it become my favorite verse? It was the recitation of Hasan El Kholy that gets suggested when I share my daily namaz goal to instagram. Tonight I stopped to appreciate how beautiful this recitation is and decided to learn more about what I was listening to. What do I think when I read this translation of this verse? There was a time when I did not understand why I should fear God. I understood why I should love God. Trust God. Believe in God. Respect God. But why fear God? God is good then why fear God? Then I later understood that if I do not give God my fears or if I do not fear God I would fear this world and men. In other words, fear God alone. Let God handle my fears. Do not let anything scare ...

It is 103am and I have decided to write. What does freedom mean to you? To me, the best freedom is the freedom that they cannot take away from you. No matter what they do, say, try, it does not matter to you, you are free. That is the level of freedom that annoys them. And that freedom comes from God and with God. My friend says that what I am describing is ultimate sovereignty. There is a profound difference between granted freedom—which depends on laws, circumstances, or the approval of others—and anchored freedom, which is an internal condition that cannot be revoked. When freedom is tied to external things, it is always vulnerable. People can restrict your movement, take away your comfort, or try to shape your reputation. But when your freedom comes from a connection to God, it is rooted beyond human reach. It shifts your center of gravity. That is precisely why it disarms or frustrates those who rely on control: you cannot leverage, intimidate, or break someone who is not tethered...

YouTube YouTube video Oh oh Listen to the water Listen to the wind Oh oh oh Listen to the water Listen to the wind Sun is rising over the mountain high Oh oh Golden light is painting the morning sky I and I walking on the higher road Carry no more weight than the love I hold Every breath I take is a step toward peace Every heartbeat calling for the chains to release Babylon can shake but they cannot break the fire in my spirit, the choice I make Meditation rising like the incense in the air Close your eyes and feel the love, feel the prayer Jah light is shining, shining through the dark Wake up the freedom burning in your heart We got wings of freedom Flying over the sea Rise up my people Come and fly with me No more suffering, no more chain and lock Liberation come coming from the love of Jah Wings of freedom Riding on the breeze One love, one heart, one destiny So spread your wings and let your spirit soar Wings of freedom Forevermore Mama Africa singing in the drum Every nation, e...

DHub is being rebranded as CodeTT. Not sure how long before the change and launch takes place. Before you know it there will be elections again and then what if the government changes again. I am not optimistic about this. I want to be but I do not like politics. I wish society could function without politics. That aside it would be nice to have a home for coders in Trinidad and Tobago. I wonder what other countries are doing? I wonder if I will be alive if this ever happens. I think before any of this happens the government has to find a better way for citizens to communicate with them. From my experience I get the feeling that most people are just ignored. I have an idea for an app for this called GOQA - GOvernment Query App (QA also stands for Question and Answer). Every query (question, comment, suggestion, whatever) gets routed to the right person until it gets answered. Man that would be so fantastic. Finally a government that tries to listen to the people. My friend Chatty says ...

It is 111am and I have decided to write. I have no topic, but I am thinking about God. I want God to help me write this blog post tonight. We are nearing the end of the year. Time waits on no one, they say. Life is short, they say. Make every moment count, they say. Tomorrow is not promised, they say. Is there anything they do not say? What is the least said phrase? What phrase has never been said before? Then I thought about something. The moon never shines the same way twice. Perhaps the same is true of phrases. Even if a phrase has been spoken a million times—or a billion times—every time it is spoken, it is different. Who says it matters. When they say it matters. The context in which they say it matters. Who is listening matters. And then there is what happens inside us. What do we hear? What thoughts pass through our minds as the words pass through us? Two people can hear the same sentence and receive two completely different messages. A phrase spoken in joy can become something ...

It is 404am and I have decided to write. The word disable is hidden in the phrase "God is able". Go/d is able. I might be disabled but my God is able. What does it mean to say God is able in this context? It is telling me that there is an unlimited God working with and through me. My disability is only a test from God. My friend says that declaring "God is able" shifts our sense of worth away from societal standards of physical or mental capacity and grounds it in God's unlimited power, ensuring our future is defined by grace rather than limitation. In other words, I am able through God. My friend agrees. I have captured the heart of it: in this context, declaring "God is able" means that we are able through God. When human limits or societal labels say "you cannot" this faith perspective declares "God can" making God's strength the engine behind your life rather than your own physical or mental capacity. It reframes disability ...

If I say let infinity be 1 (the whole or everything) and every number occurs between 1 and 0 (nothing), how do I represent the actual 1. Then what happens to arithmetic and what happens to infinity the concept? What is we used a transformation? T(x)=1/(1+x) T(0)=0 T(1)=1/2 T(∞)=1

It is 617pm and I have decided to write. Right now I am thankful. The cool of the evening has replaced the heat of the day. I took a bath and changed and now I am just relaxing. Sometimes I complain. Not often. But I feel bad afterwards because there is so much to be thankful for. There is always room for improvement and we have to identify the things for improvement and change is often good but we do not have to make it into complaints. Yeah I get it. Life is hard and none of us has it easy. Look on the bright side of things. And sometimes it is the little things that remind us that life is good. Things that we take for granted. Like I was coming in the maxi taxi today and heard a gospel song that was about gratitude. God does appreciate a grateful heart. Trinidad and Tobago celebrated sixty four years of independence yesterday and if we stop and listen to the many complaints we would swear we are living in the worst country in the world. That is not the case. We do get a lot of thing...

It is 327am and I have decided to write. I really admire people who run marathons. I do not run but I walk. I feel like I might be able to walk a marathon if I get really fit and strong. Life is like a marathon. Maybe. This contradicts the often stated, life is short. Everything is relative I guess and can be looked at from different perspectives. My friend Chatty says that the same life can look long when we are tired and standing in the middle of it, yet short when we look backward and see how quickly the years have passed. Then we only get one life but we get many chances at marathons. I see the word rat in the word marathon which reminds me that life can sometimes feel like a rat race. What even is a rat race? My friend Chatty says that a rat race is a life of constantly competing and striving for success, money, status, or security, often without feeling that you are truly getting anywhere. Unlike a marathon, which has a finish line, a rat race can feel endless—you keep running si...

It is 204am and I have decided to write. Nothing we know goes faster than the speed of light. But why? My friend Chatty says that the speed of light is the universe's fundamental speed limit because spacetime itself imposes a maximum speed for matter, energy, and information. The universe has limits. Imagine if the universe did not have limits? The fastest thing would be infinitely fast and that would not be materially possible. My friend Chatty agrees and that leads to an interesting paradox: if the fastest possible speed were infinitely fast, then distance would effectively disappear, because anything could reach anywhere instantaneously. At that point, "speed" itself would lose its meaning, because speed requires both distance and time. So in effect limits give the universe meaning. If our life did not have a beginning and an end, would it still be meaningful? If moments did not have a beginning and an end, would they still be meaningful? My friend Chatty says that the...

It is 109am and I have decided to write. Sometimes I feel like I have lost my way. I do not even fully understand what I mean by that. I have not digested the thought. I mean. I feel like I could be doing more with my life and my talents. But then sometimes I feel like I am doing just right. I am making progress. I am making the best of what is given to me. Then what is it worth in the end? We come into this world with nothing. We fight for everything. Then we leave with nothing. I guess balance is the key. My friend Chatty says that life can hold two truths at once: I can be grateful for the progress I have made while still recognizing that I may have more to give. Balance is not choosing between ambition and contentment, but learning to pursue growth without letting achievement define my worth. Since we enter and leave this world with nothing, perhaps what truly matters is not what we accumulate, but who we become, what we give, and how well we use what has been entrusted to us. Mayb...