Month: November 2013

I’m beginning to wonder if patience and acceptance are the two most challenging lessons I have to learn in this lifetime. That’s only because it seems that just when I feel like I’m really stating to master either of them, something happens in my life to show me I still have a long way to go for both. And most recently, that became clear to me when I clashed with UPS.

Whether I‘m going to use UPS or FedEx is never something I find I have to ponder these days. Usually I’m just at the whim of whatever package carrier is being used by those I order from online. About a week ago though, UPS was the carrier being utilized for a new mattress I ordered from Overstock.com and was going to be delivered by them to my new residence in Ohio. Unfortunately the day they were going to be doing that was not one I was going to be around for. This prompted me to contact UPS and ask if they could put a note on the package to have it be delivered around the back of the house outside of plain view due to the sheer size of it. I never would have expected the result of that inquiry to be something that would pose such a challenge for my levels of patience and acceptance of things outside my control.

What I discovered over several phone calls was that approximately four weeks ago, UPS implemented a new system called MyChoice. They informed me that it, and not them, was the one now responsible to handle these type of tasks, including the one I was asking them to do. As I had them guide me through the steps online to sign up for this free system, I kept receiving error messages indicating it wasn’t able to verify me. Upon further inspection, the agent asked me if I was new at this residence and I promptly replied I was. When I was told that I’d have to wait for at least three to six months to be established at that residence before the system would be able to verify me, I asked if they had a workaround to handle my request. The long and short of it after talking to various agents, technical support staff, and a supervisor is that they didn’t. What’s even worse was my realization that the system verification could take even longer for me than that time frame, or maybe even never at all. That’s only because it’s my partner’s house and I don’t have any bills being established in my name there. As for everything else I receive these days from companies I deal with, all of that comes online. Needless to say, I lost my cool a few times over several of these conversations, especially when I was told the only solution was to leave a note on the door for this package and all future packages from them.

Whether you may be able to believe this or not, I’m actually grateful that all of this happened to me. It truly showed how I still have a lot more work to do in those areas of patience and acceptance of things outside my control. There are times my ego has tried to elevate my thinking lately into believing that I’m some type of spiritual guru when in fact, I’m not. This is one of those times that I really love remembering this saying I heard a long time ago in my Buddhism studies:

“Just when you really think you are starting to know everything, the reality is that you know nothing at all…”

I thank my Higher Power today for helping me to see the areas I still have room to grow in such as this. I think it’s important for me to have daily reminders like this because they all help me to keep growing closer to the Light.

While UPS does have a serious loophole in their system that needs to be addressed, the people I spoke with there were not the cause or source of my impatience and lack of acceptance. I was and I definitely have some more work to do in these areas. The good thing though is knowing what one of my teachers once told in that a true test of someone growing spiritually is being able to admit when they are wrong. I freely can admit that in this case and I send out my forgiveness to both UPS and myself for my actions. In the meantime, I also have come to the acceptance that a note on my door for the UPS driver will have to do for now…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

In most people’s minds here in the United States, today marks a day that represents the true beginning of the Christmas shopping season. It’s also a day that’s most known for where stores are packed beyond belief, where people get angry because of limited availability of merchandise, and where individuals spend incredible amounts of time and money trying to secure those best bargain based holiday gifts. And all of this has been nicknamed Black Friday, that in all honesty, doesn’t seem to be filled with much holiday cheer.

The origin of this day dates back to Philadelphia in the mid-1960s where it was referring to the Friday situated between two other big days for the city. The first was obviously Thanksgiving but the second, which occurred on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, was when the Army-Navy football game was held. Both generated a huge influx of people for the city which translated into massive traffic, gridlock and huge shopping crowds on the day before the game. Supposedly it was extremely frustrating for the city’s police officers, cab drivers, and anyone else who had to negotiate the city’s streets, so they started referring to this annual day of commercial bedlam as “Black Friday” to reflect how irritating it was. Apparently as the years went on though, retailers wanted the day to have a more positive spin to this nickname it had been given. So somewhere in the early 1980’s the idea of looking at the day from an accounting perspective began. This is where retailers who were in the “red” and operating at a loss would begin to turn a profit and operate in the black. Ironically, this is a myth in the commercial world though. That’s only because most major retailers are generally profitable, or at least striving for profitability, throughout the entire year. A company that turns losses for three quarters out of every fiscal year wouldn’t be a big hit with investors and probably wouldn’t make it in today’s economy.

While many believe that Black Friday represents the biggest shopping day of the year, it really isn’t. According to financial statistics, the days closest to Christmas generally are. What Black Friday does seem to represent though these days in most metropolitan areas is the busiest day for customer traffic in retail stores. I have traditionally avoided going out and doing any type of shopping on this day for this reason. Watching the news each year cover the events throughout the day always is enough to convince me that I made the best decision.

In recent years, I have seen how people have been trampled, beat up, and murdered all for the sake of getting some special deal. Stores such as Walmart will advertise they are giving away 48″ flat panel wide screen televisions for over half their cost and people will frantically try to secure one on Black Friday. Little do they know that the stores they are vying to get one at only have six of them set aside for that special deal. This usually translates into a steaming pile of anger and frustration when the customers find out, especially for those who waited in the cold and dark outside the store long before it opened. Then there’s those people who camp outside places such as Best Buy and take time off from their jobs just to be the first one to get those Black Friday deals. I read about one man who took several days without pay from his job just to do this. I find it strange that he’s still willing to do this even though he’s losing more money by not working than what he’ll be saving in his purchases on Black Friday. In fact, he’s not alone. Across the country there are many others who follow in his footsteps and camp outsider retailers for up to and sometimes even over a week, just for the sole reason of getting some great deal. Most of them will spend more time and money doing that, versus the savings they’ll end up receiving from any of their purchases on Black Friday.

Regardless of the reasons why anyone puts themselves through the highs and lows of Black Friday, I’m beginning to wonder if the driving force for each of them is ego. Isn’t the Christmas season meant to be about things such as sharing love, family, connection, and joy with each other? Unfortunately, the exact opposite seems to happen on Black Friday where people’s egos get the best of them. I’ve heard the stories from so many about the anger and rage, the rudeness, and the lack of respect that arises in people during this big shopping day. While the holiday season might involve getting gifts for loved ones, it shouldn’t be at the expense of others, but sadly, it often is on this day. Even worse, Black Friday has been slowly expanding into greater hours over the years with stores now beginning in on Thanksgiving. In my childhood, I can remember how nothing was opened on Thanksgiving except for maybe a few gas stations and a restaurant or two. That’s rapidly changing with the focus shifting away from being with family and loved ones and going towards consumer commercialism instead.

While I can’t speak for anyone else, I can for myself in saying that no gift is worth any of what Black Friday entails these days. I can’t see how pausing my life for hours, days, or weeks by waiting in lines outside stores is worth it. I can’t understand how hurting someone else on any level is worth procuring any item no matter what it is. And I definitely can’t advocate in my own life non spiritual behaviors such as pushing, shoving, yelling, screaming, or fighting for the sake of saving several hundred dollars for a gift that might not even be remembered a few years down the road.

For what began as a headache for the people in Philadelphia back in mid 1960s, Black Friday has sadly not changed much over the years, except now it’s become a headache for a lot of others throughout the entire country. So if you are going to one of those out shopping on this day, or any day for that matter this holiday season, take a moment, breathe, and pray to your Higher Power before venturing out. Don’t let your ego get the best of you and try to remember that the real meaning behind Christmas is not about securing some great deal at all costs, it’s about spreading love, hope, and joy with each other, and not anything else.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Today marks the day that many homes in the United States will be heavily indulging in big turkey feasts that often take much of the day to prepare. But many people also forget it’s true meaning that started around 1621 in Plymouth.

Back then, the Pilgrims and Puritans had emigrated from England and carried with them the tradition of Days of Fasting and Days of Thanksgiving to our country. Around this time of the season they held a feast and offered many prayers of thanksgiving when they reaped a bountiful harvest. Eventually by the late 1660’s, the practice of holding an annual harvest festival became common in New England and over time, across the rest of the nation. But most people these days have either forgotten about this or they simply don’t care to know. Instead, they focus on what this holiday has turned into, which is a mostly a huge feeding fest.

That feeding fest will have most people spending today overindulging in huge plates of turkey or ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, and a wide variety of desserts. By the time the day ends, many will find their eyes getting heavy with the notion that their fatigue is coming from the L-Tryptophan they consumed in the turkey earlier. But ironically, that’s a myth as turkey does not contain an overabundance of the essential amino acid as compared to any of the other types of poultry they consume on a regular basis. What actually causes most people’s fatigue on this day is their gluttony and the crash they have afterwards from it.

I’m trying to be more conscious today of things like this as I don’t like overindulging and feeling that uncomfortable feeling afterwards from having eaten that much. I’ve come to believe that the only reason why I ever consumed that much at previous Thanksgiving meals, or any other big meal for that matter, was my attempt to fill all that emptiness I felt within about my life. I don’t feel that huge pit of emptiness anymore because of the spiritual work I’ve been doing, so I’ve prepared to spend this Thanksgiving a little different.

This year, I plan on being more consciously aware of how this holiday originated over three centuries ago by having gratitude for the abundance I have in life. I plan on spending this day with only my partner and we have decided to spend the holiday meal by going out for dinner. There I know I will start out that meal like I do all my other meals, by giving thanks for the plentiful food in front of me. And I will end that prayer by sending a blessing to all those out there in our country who might not have anyone special to be with today, or who might not even have any food to eat because they are homeless and destitute.

So however you choose to spend this Thanksgiving holiday, I encourage you to take a moment, breathe, and know that overindulging and being gluttonous today isn’t going to fill any spiritual emptiness that exists inside of you. Instead it will only end up just making you feel pretty miserable later, so how about trying to do things a little different this year by practicing how this holiday once started. So be grateful for the abundance of food you might have in front of you today, offer a serious prayer of thanksgiving to God because of it, and try to remember all those out there who might not be as fortunate as you. In doing so, you’ll be taking a step back in time and honoring those Puritans and Pilgrims who originated the true meaning of Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone and God bless!

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson