Month: October 2016

Have you ever wondered who disappeared from your Facebook friends list when your total number of friends suddenly decreases one day to the next? I’m sure there are some out there who would say they have never paid attention to such a thing. But I’m just as sure there are others out there like me who probably have. Regardless, it’s something that I occasionally think about when it does happen like it did recently when the number of friends I was connected to decreased by four in a 24-hour period.

Oddly enough, during that same 24-hour period, I had only posted two things on my Facebook timeline. One was the link to an article I wrote in my blog about a gay men’s coffee group I’m part of here in Toledo that has been a spiritual blessing to my life. The other was nothing more than a question I also posted on my blog about what people’s fears might be if Trump was to become our next president.

Of course my initial thoughts when I saw the number of my Facebook friends decrease by four in such a short period of time was that it related to the content I had written in my blog.

Could I have been connected to some people who didn’t know I was gay and who really didn’t want to associate to a gay man?

Or was I connected to Trump advocates who read my question and quickly thought I was completely against the man and doing nothing more than trying to stir up negative comments about his presidential run?

While the latter question was definitely not true in my motivation for posting it given I asked the same question about Hillary a few days later, the conclusion I came to is that it ultimately doesn’t matter whether someone unfriends me or not. The same principle holds true when someone abruptly blocks me on Facebook or doesn’t accept my friend request.

Why do I say this?

Because I’ve come to believe that the people God wants in my life, whether in person or in the digital realm, will stick around, and the people that aren’t, won’t.

The fact is, people have come and gone a lot throughout my life. That why I place stock in that old saying that people come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. And if I trust in God like I say I do, then I must try that God is taking care of who’s intended to remain a part of my life and who’s not.

So the bottom line is that while I may still at times think about that Facebook friends counter when I suddenly see it decrease one day to the next, I choose to believe that God is in control of even things like those who are meant to remain my Facebook friends…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Against my better judgment, I opted to watch the 2^nd Presidential debate just over a week ago and lasted approximately 20 minutes in doing so. During that short period of time, I found myself becoming polarized, negative, angry, strongly opinionated and well, to put it bluntly, everything that went against my spiritual core.

How could a debate between two presidential candidates do this to me?

That’s the question I pondered as I went into another room, closed the door, and refocused on what truly matters to me the most in life and that’s feeling God’s peace.

Frankly, I haven’t felt much of that whatsoever with any of this election process. Every day there’s a new advertisement on television where one candidate is bashing the other about something they’ve done. The news is pretty much the same as well. But I definitely had hoped that in the midst of being in front of over 65 million viewers that the two people debating for the top position in our country would maintain their composure, would treat each other with respect, and focus on how they plan on helping our country work through all our growing issues.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

Instead, it became a finger pointing session almost from the onset. It really reminded me of two children on a playground who didn’t like each other much and found every possible way to put each other down.

Is that what I want to see in the future of our country’s leadership?

Of course not and it saddens me that this is where our country is at right now. What I want the most from our next president is something I’m not sure I’m going to see given how everything is playing itself out right now during this election season.

What I want the most is for our country is to unify, to foster more peace, and to build a better foundation that cultivates unconditional love for each other. These are all the things that I feel Jesus would want as well if He were alive today. And I believe the same would hold true for all other great spiritual teachers who have ever walked before us. But sadly, this election seems more like it’s bringing out the worst rather than the best in people.

What’s even worse is that I’ve occasionally glanced at several of my friend’s Facebook pages on some of the postings they’ve had about either candidate and each of them were no different than the squabbling that took place between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton during that 2^nd debate. The comments that followed were no better either as they seemed to only create more rifts, more divisions, and more negativity.

Thus my truth is this. I really have no idea who would make a better president with these two individuals. And I have done my absolute best to remain unbiased with both because I ultimately feel that’s what Jesus would want of me. It’s hard though given all the mass confusion that has been put out there in the news and on live television with these two candidates. Mass confusion that includes racist comments, objectification, lies, deceit, false promises, ego, greed, and so many other low spiritual energies. None of which I believe stand for who Jesus is.

Why can’t we just have two candidates who focus on what they plan on doing to help our country achieve what I believe Christ would want for us, that being peace and joy. I wish I had that answer. Instead, I’m left with bickering, deflection, and judgment, none of which are healthy spiritual principles.

So in the end, I’ve opted to do my best to remain tuned out for the rest of this election, regardless of what drama may still unfold. My only hope is that when it comes down to the moment we all vote in November, that God may lead each of us in that decision. Until then, may God bless us all with love and light, and hopefully better unity between us all…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson