My Walk with God 🌱

  "Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day." - Psalm 96: 1, 2 Anyone who is aware of Trinidadian culture may be aware that we are right in the middle of the season of Carnival, which means there are many events and competitions that have the place abuzz with activity. This week, I was given the opportunity to accompany some students to a calypso competition for school children. This was admittedly my first time attending an event like this, so I was unsure as to what to expect. However, as I sat and took it in, I observed several finalists competing for the first prize, performing well-crafted calypso compositions, using creativity, rhyme, rhythm, props, social awareness and confidence to impress the judges. The winner eventually emerged - an eight-year old boy, who, in his song, paid tribute to past legendary calypsonians and vowing to keep the artform of calypso alive. 8-yr old Xai...

  "And whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would pick up his harp and play, and Saul would become well, and the spirit of distress would depart from him." -1 Samuel 16:23 Did you know that every year, the first day of March is used to acknowledge World Music Therapy Day ? It was specifically set aside to recognize and celebrate the healing power of music. According to the organization 'Percussion Play', "music therapy uses music to reduce stress and improve mood and self-expression through listening, singing, paying instruments or composing music."  I'm sure we can all identify a song or a genre of music that we tend to go to when we are feeling down or need our moods to lift. In fact, music has so much reach that it can also have a negative impact on an individual, causing or reinforcing negative emotions, thoughts or behaviours. Being able to harness the effective healing power of music for good is truly the skill of a music therapist. D...

Happy World Steelpan Day! "Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!" -Psalm 150:6 This week, I was engaged in a conversation that happened to centre on the workings of artificial intelligence. We touched on the fears about serious possible implications of it, and also on all the many benefits that can be derived from it. It took a while admittedly to come around to dropping parts of my guard about it (perhaps the movie " i Robot " is still playing on my sub-conscious to this day), but I had to have a good chuckle at myself when an article was later shared with me which traced some pretty early inventions and explained the controversy surrounding them at their inception.  For example, the train when it was first invented was feared because it was thought that the human body couldn't withstand moving at such a high speed (50km/hr) and would be dismembered automatically. Similarly, the telephone, telegraph and radio when first invented were...