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On Disgust and Hating Our Neighbours
I wrote this article awhile ago for a particular group that shall remain nameless. The editor and I had different ideas on how to move forward so I decided to pull back my work from being considered. However, I’ve had people ask me if I have written on it before in a shorter version so…
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Celebrating You!
As an undergrad student, I remember holding an edited volume and scanning the table of contents. I remember seeing names of people I have never met but admired. Even though I did not know them personally, I was struck by their intelligence. Surely not everyone gets published. Being published is a badge of honour. It…
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On Religious Trauma
It is only recently that I’ve had to really deal with the issue of religious trauma. I think that it was there but I never allowed myself to feel it. There has been an intentional part of me to try and be more attuned to my own body. As a result, I have been noticing…
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You Won’t Break My Soul 2023
I’m not gonna lie. It took me awhile to write this. I wanted to write it to start off the year. Things, however, have been rather hectic. 2022 took me for quite a wild ride. It was definitely a roller coaster of emotions. The highs were highs and the low of lows. I was taken…
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You say it best… when you say nothing at all
It is hard for me to turn off the noise. Social media blasts so much information in one single day that it is quite overwhelming for the psyche to process all the facts, figures, opinions, and debates that one can easily find by simply scrolling down the page. Everywhere you turn, people are trying to…
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Losing My Religion
“That’s me in the cornerThat’s me in the spotlightLosing my religion” The term “losing my religion” is a Southern term for being at the end of one’s rope. This pandemic has definitely brought me to that point. Compassion fatigue has set in. It has become so difficult to be kind to those who refuse to…
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Go easy on me 2022.
2021 has been a very tough year. My 2021 accomplishment is that I’m still alive. I finally graduated in 2021. It was a virtual ceremony because of the pandemic. While it was a moment that was supposed to bring me joy for accomplishing quite a feat (I mean it’s not every day one gets a…
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Hello, 2021…
“Get thee behind me, 2020.” To say that 2020 was an “unprecedented” year is to state the obvious. It has been tough to deal with. Politically, the way that governments across the world reacted and responded to this pandemic is both shockingly inept but also, not surprising. This year more than ever, the gap between…
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The End of the PhD Road
I’m not gonna lie. I wondered if I would ever reach this milestone. One by one, I saw my friends defend their dissertation and celebrate them passing the dreaded defence. We would go to the Phoenix and as per tradition, the chalice would come out along with free alcoholic beverage and a notebook where past…
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On the importance of community
From July 14-19, 2019, I had the opportunity to be a Teaching Fellow (TF) at the Pappas Patristic Institute’s summer program. This is my fifth year of going and I must say that it always is the highlight of my summer. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is, when brethren gather together in unity…
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Tunes for Tuesday
Last week, I had a chance to reconnect with old friends. During our chat, we somehow ended up talking about Enneagram types and told me about this project by Sleeping at Last. Let’s just say that it was a song that rendered me speechless because I felt like someone who wasn’t me talked about everything…
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Meditations on love
For the last couple of months, I’ve been really thinking about the concept of love. A couple of months ago, a close family friend of ours passed away. She was a woman who loved God and loved others. It was so touching to hear so many stories of how her love touched the lives of…
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Lenten Journey 2018
Lent 2018 started this February 14. The fact that Ash Wednesday also fell on Valentine’s Day wasn’t lost on me. Both dates basically meant the same to me anyways: death to self. Last year, I fasted from social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Messenger, BBM, and WhatsApp) and carbs. This year, I’m continuing the trend…
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Hello 2018… it’s me.
Last year, I wrote a blog post about how my 2017 goal was to learn how to love myself. A year later, as I reflect on 2017 and what has happened, I am forced to face the fact that I failed miserably in achieving this goal. There’s a part of me that wished I didn’t…
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Reflections on #metoo
I was sitting down at Second Cup. She sat beside me. I was angry. I was sad. I was heartbroken. I wanted to punch someone. I wanted to hug her and tell her everything will be better. I wanted to weep because I know that not everything will be better. She was at a party…
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Thanksgiving 2017
I started the year with the desire to be better. I wanted to learn how to love myself. I’m not sure if I have done a great job of that. But I am thankful that I at least acknowledge the problem and wanted to make the necessary steps to achieve this goal. I think I’m…
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Back to School
I can’t believe I’m entering my fifth year of Ph.D. Has it really been this long? After finishing two years of course work, passing my comprehensive exams, modern language exam, and having my dissertation proposal accepted, I’m now in the process of actually writing my dissertation. To say that it has been an arduous…
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On the importance of community
Last week, I went to Boston to learn and fellowship with other like-minded and like-hearted individuals. Honestly, it is such a balm to the soul to get together with these people. The friendships made from going there for the last three years has been truly a blessing to me. Every time I go there, there’s…
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The Return of the Prodigal Blogger
It has been awhile since I have last blogged. I guess that’s what happens when one has to deal with conference presentations, dissertation proposals, and the looming deadline of writing the actual dissertation. But, those are all excuses. At the end of the day, I’m just bad at time management. Sigh. Well, I’m about to…
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Tunes for Tuesday – Doubt
Doubt is something that I have struggled with for a very long time. In many ways, I still struggle with it to this very day. It’s hard not to doubt yourself. It seems as if the whole world is against you. My world tells me that I’m not skinny enough, I’m not good-looking enough, I’m…
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“Truthiness” vs. Truth
I’m so thankful to be surrounded by so many friends who are ridiculously smart and just all around nice people. Today’s guest blog post is by my friend, Phil Strickland. With everything that is happening in our world today, his voice as an American evangelical Christian is one that needs to be heard amongst other competing American…
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New Year, New Me?
2017 has come upon us. I remember January 1 as if it was just yesterday. I was full of hope, full of expectations, full of the thrill of the unknown. I really wanted this year to be different from last year. 2016 was not the best year for me. It was full of stress… well,…
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Back to School
It’s weird to think that I’m entering my fourth year of Ph.D. studies. I feel like it was only yesterday when I was starting this journey full of hope, dreams, nervousness, anxiety, trepidation and excitement. It’s one of those moments where you are just stunned that you’re actually living the dream. You’ve dreamt of…
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Community and Belonging: Pappas Patristic Institute Summer Program 2016
Last week, I had the great opportunity and privilege to participate as a Teaching Fellow for the Pappas Patristic Institute’s summer program. I was there last year and enjoyed my time so I came back for another year. There’s a certain feeling of home when I enter the Hellenic College Holy Cross campus. I…
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The Gift of Play
Today is Friendly Friday! I have been blessed to be surrounded by awesome people who are incredibly gifted and talented. Today’s guest blogger is my friend Justin Roberts. I got to know Justin awhile back through a mutual friend and at a young adult’s retreat. After that, I had the great privilege of starting my…
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When Enough is Enough
For today’s Wednesday Writings, I wanted to share a new poem I wrote. This poem was inspired by real life events. It is a mixture of different people I have encountered whose life situations were all different but strangely connected by one thing: addiction. There is something incredibly frustrating and painful for people who suffer…
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When suicide strikes too close to home…
His name was Bill Zeller. I read his story and there was just something about it that just struck me to my very being. I think suicide has had that effect on me. Lives snuffed before their time. I wrote a poem dedicated to him. the dark passenger scream, cry, numb every fiber…
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Sid and the City – The Beginning
I’ve been thinking about adding a new series for my blog that is slightly different from what I normally post. I’ve done a number of series on important topics like prostitution, suicide, shame, and self-esteem. I have also put in my two cents concerning theology and politics along the way. This series is more…
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2016 – The Year of Going Back to the Basics
Hello 2016. It’s me. I was wondering if we can have a brief talk about how things are going to be this time around. 2015 wasn’t exactly the best. Situations I never thought would happen happened. Feelings that I thought were gone reminded me that they were still lingering. I managed to surprise myself, and…
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Theology Thursday – When fear is no longer a reaction, but a willful action
A picture taken by Magnus Wennman from a collection called “Where The Children Sleep”, which showcases the life of refugee kids after their flight from their homeland, Syria. Like most people, I was shocked, angered, disheartened, and incredibly saddened by the recent horrific violent scenes coming out from Paris. I was at a book launch…
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Tunes for Tuesday – Dan Auerbach (Goin’ Home)
. I found out about this song through a friend awhile ago and I must say that it has been a song that has quickly risen to “fave” status. Everything about it just speaks to me on such a real and deep level. The concept of “home” has been something I have thought about throughout…
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Tunes for Tuesday – Grace Defined and This Love
I am so blessed to be surrounded by amazingly talented friends. Today, I want to give a huge shout out to my friend, Grace Defined, who released her album today! She is an amazing friend and a wonderful artist. Download her new album, This Love, and share it with all your friends. The best part is it’s free! Head…
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When Worlds Collide: Doing Theology within a Community
This past week, I had the pleasure of attending the Pappas Patristic Institute’s summer program as a Teaching Fellow in training. We had the option of choosing from a number of available courses so I decided to go with “Theodore the Studite and post-Chalcedonian Christologies” (taught by Dr. Thomas Cattoi) and “The Problem of Evil…
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Pensées on Love, Homosexuality, and the SCOTUS ruling
The recent SCOTUS ruling that made same-sex marriage legal in the United States of America was met with a flurry of rainbow-themed avatars and #LoveWins hashtags. There was also a proliferation of warnings of apocalyptic destruction and the empire’s downfall from others. These two messages filled the air waves and polarized people in two camps.…
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Theology Thursday – Lenten Reflections, Part II
This month, I had the opportunity to attend two back-to-back conferences in good ‘ol US of A. First, I presented a paper at the Eleventh Annual Archbishop Iakovos Graduate Students Conference in Patristic Studies hosted by the Pappas Patristic Institute in Brookline, MA. I also got a chance to be a respondent and a moderator…
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Theology Thursday – Lenten Reflections, Part I
Lent is a time for reflection. To help me in this process, I have decided to give up Facebook and Twitter, two of the social media platforms that I frequently use. Today is Day One and I’m already feeling the withdrawal symptoms. As a result, it has forced me to reflect on some key personal…
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#tbt – Living with Shame
It’s Throwback Thursday! This is a blog post I wrote awhile back about shame. I wrote another article on shame that was published in Bedlam Magazine. To check out that article, click here. Shame is something that we all struggle with. However, there’s a big difference between experiencing shame and living with shame. One means…
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Theology Thursdays – Why I Study Theology
For those tracking how I have labelled previous posts, you have seen Monday Musings, Tunes for Tuesday, Wednesday Writings, and Friendly Fridays. Poor Thursday was left out in the cold. So I figured I’d write about the one thing that I like so much, I have decided to do a Ph.D. in this area. What is…
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2015 – The Year of the Blog
2014 with all of its joys and triumphs, trials and triumphs, is now over. 2015 brings with it the whiff of potential change, that things will hopefully be better than the last. If 2014 wasn’t particularly kind to you, 2015 is the time to shake it off.…
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I. AM. CANADIAN.
The last couple of days have been quite emotional. The recent attack in Ottawa has had me battling the tears that often come unbidden. Ottawa was where I grew up. I practically lived downtown. I’ve spent many hours at Rideau Centre, studied at University of Ottawa/l’Université d’Ottawa, sat down at many coffee shops along Metcalfe…
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Announcement!
Hi everyone, My recent article on shame has been published by Bedlam Magazine. Woohoo!!! Click here to read more about it or visit bedlammag.com. I would love to hear your thoughts about it. Feel free to comment away =)
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Monday Musings – Living with Conflict
It was a Facebook post from a friend of mine that got me thinking about this topic. I was going to make a comment but thought that instead of doing that, I’m dedicating this blog post to him. This is for you friend. Conflict is inevitable. If you’re human, you will know this all too…
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Tunes for Tuesday – Bek O’Brien
Welcome to Tunes for Tuesday! Today’s featured artist is a friend of mine named Bek O’Brien. I have been super blessed to have friends who are also crazy awesome artists. Bek is a super talented singer-songwriter who is in the process of dropping an album soon. I have heard her sing live and this…
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Monday Musings – Living with regret
It would be nice if we can go through life without regretting some of the things we have done. But, that is often not the case. A lot of the times, there are relationships we have had that should never have happened in the first place. Sometimes, it’s the opposite. There are relationships that we…
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Monday Musings – Living with hope
“This world’s a tortured place to be / So many things to torment me / And as I stumble down this road / It takes a toll” – dc Talk, Supernatural There are times in one’s life when the waves of insecurity comes crashing down so vehemently that one is left struggling to gasp for the air of…
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Fear of not being good enough: the inner life of a (recovering) perfectionist
Hi! My name is Sid and I’m a perfectionist. There. I said it. I’m really trying hard not to be a perfectionist. But just like how some can slip from time to time, so can this recovering perfectionist! In a couple of days, I will be starting my Ph.D. journey at McMaster Divinity College in…
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Pensées on Suicide
There’s just something about suicide that just hits me to my core. My heart just goes out to people who carry what must be such unbearable pain that they feel that the only way to make it go away is to choose death over life. I can’t even begin to think how isolating and how…
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A New Beginning
I made the leap. It’s a scary leap for me. I’ve had a number of blogs in the past but this is the first time that I have a blog that has my name in it. It absolutely scares me. I know how the Internet can get and that’s why I have stuck close to…
Pensées by Sid 
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