I just wanted to express my gratitude to all those out there who took the time yesterday to wish me a happy 45th birthday and congratulate me on making it to my 22nd anniversary of sobriety from alcohol and drugs.
Whether that came through the multitude of phone calls, text and Facebook messages, responses to the blog I posted yesterday, or even comments to my main profile picture, all were truly a blessing.
As it wasn’t too long ago, when I was still acting completely selfish, self-centered, and negative more than not, living out my life in the downward spiral of a sex and love addiction, where I could count on one hand the amount of people who reached out to wish me a special day on June 11th.
But I’m a firm believer that much of reason why I probably received more than 200 happy wishes this year is because my spiritual self has changed so greatly through all my 12 Step recovery work. No longer do I live in a world where I expect the world to serve me and my needs. Instead, I do my best these days to find ways to help those in need and give back to the world, rather than take from it.
So maybe somehow this shift I’ve gone through, and on some level, am still going through, has caused others to start seeing me in a different light. One that motivated so many of you to think of me this year on a day that far too often felt entirely empty and alone for me in many year’s prior.
And whether each of you who contacted me this June 11th know this or not, you ultimately helped to overcome a self-defeating belief I’ve had on occasion as of late, that I’m a forgettable person in this world who doesn’t deserve much of anything given how long I took from this world.
That’s why I’m sincerely thanking each of you here from the bottom of my heart, for all the special wishes I received this year on my June 11th birthday and sober date, and for showing me that I am loved, that God loves me, and that I do matter…
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
