Month: January 2020

Grateful Heart Monday

Welcome to Grateful Heart Monday, a time for reflection upon a single piece of gratitude from my life, which for today is for a gift I feel God has given me to help people feel comfortable enough opening up to me about many parts of their lives, who might not normally do otherwise with the vast majority of others.

Over the years, I’ve definitely come across plenty who initially come across quite distant, closed-minded, and overly superficial in conversation. Yet, in me just being me, I’ve watched as so many of them have opened up about various parts of themselves that have often never been shared with others. I’ve also seen how this has helped them, as much as it’s helped me in the process, as I’m grateful anytime I feel like I’m making a positive difference in anyone’s life.

Like for example, recently someone I honestly didn’t know really at all, other than through a Facebook conversation or two, told me how much they were truly struggling with their life and didn’t know how to keep going. They shared how alone they felt and even at one point had talked about a very painful childhood experience where they were taken advantage of around the age of 14. I was very thankful when they told me how much it meant to them and I was grateful that I had held space for this person for at least our brief connection, as I know it helped them feel slightly less alone in their world.

I feel this gift falls under the 12th Step work I do in the world of recovery from addictions. And while the 12th Step work doesn’t necessarily always apply to those with addictions, it is a part of the step itself. As the 12th Step says, “Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all areas of our lives.” And for me that means to be a vessel, as best as I can, who’s there to help those who might be broken, hurt, or suffering, by simply remaining judgment free, by sharing the pain of my past that I’ve been able to heal from, and to show unconditional love no matter what.

Sometimes in me using this gift, I’ve seen incredible spiritual transformations begin in others. Other times I’ve developed great friendships out of it. And for even those times when an individual has opened up with me and then quickly disappeared from my life out of it being too uncomfortable for them, usually because they feel they’ve shared too much, I’m still blessed in knowing that at least for a moment, I was able to help shine some light into their own darkness.

So, I am filled with gratitude for continuing to work with this gift, to help others feel safe with me enough to go deeper in conversation, who might not normally be that way with others, and I pray that God continues to guide me in further developing this gift for His purposes and His purposes alone.

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson

Thought For The Day

Quote #1

“Peace does not mean to be in a world where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.” (Unknown)

Quote #2

“We don’t realize that somewhere within us all, there does exist a supreme self who is eternally at peace.” (Elizabeth Gilbert)

Quote #3

“As we cultivate peace and happiness in ourselves, we also nourish peace and happiness in those we love.” (Thich Nhat Hanh)

Bonus Quote

“How we start to cultivate inner peace is by focusing on loving ourselves for everything we are and by working on accepting ourselves for everything we aren’t.” (Juansen Dixon)

Peace, love, light, and joy
Andrew Arthur Dawson

Another Political Conflict, When And How Does It Ever End?

As I drove through the intersection of Secor and Central here in the Toledo area a Saturday ago, I suddenly became bombarded with 100+ people shouting and yelling on one of its busy corners. Many had signs in hands, but all were protesting the new Iranian conflict that has now become an issue due to the recent military airstrike that killed a very prominent Iranian general.

While I don’t support the killing of anyone, no matter what they’ve done, I’m also not one who feels that protesting it is the answer either. Sure, some of those protestors I saw on that corner genuinely looked like they just desired peace and were demonstrating in that way. But others there looked the opposite and were angrily holding their signs, almost shoving them into the windows of some of the cars that slowly passed them by.

I have my opinions about pretty much every political and religious hot topic in this country including this one. But unless someone asks me for that opinion, I normally don’t share it. Why? Because freely sharing my opinions without being asked has only ever created more separation and division, which is the very thing our country doesn’t need right now. Rather, don’t we need a lot more unity, love, and support for each other? Sadly, it seems we don’t have much of that nowadays. Instead, everyone is taking a side on what they believe should be happening with each of these hot topics.

I typically don’t share my views only because I don’t truly know what the best solution is on any of them. I don’t know because I’m not God. I’m not all seeing and all knowing. What I do know though is that we are all fighting amongst ourselves these days because of our opinions being thrown upon each other. And this latest conflict is just another example of it. Each of these conflicts remind me of kids on playgrounds fighting over some toy or a swing to ride on or simply for attention. Yet, below all of it is nothing but fear. Fear of losing something we have, that we think we’re always supposed to have, or fear of never having something we want, that we believe we deserve to have.

So, our fears cause us to invade other countries, killing prominent generals in the process. And in turn, our fears also cause us to protest those invasions and killings as well. Yet, what’s below those fears? And what can safely remove those fears?

I have preached this from my writing for years now and believe the only solution for those fears is simply and quite basically to love each other a lot more than we all are doing right now, no matter what our views, no matter what our beliefs, no matter what!

Shoving our viewpoints down the throats of one another is no different than invading another country, as it’s only going to create more division and move us in the exact opposite direction of that where love gets cultivated.

I stand with love. Even when it hurts. Even when hatred gets thrown my way. Because it’s the only solution I’ve ever seen that has overcome fear, no matter what the fear is. And while I’m not saying that those protestors are wrong for demonstrating their views of the Iranian invasion or that the United States is wrong for the Iranian invasion itself, what I am saying is that maybe greater efforts of expressing love for each other is actually a better solution, one that CAN in the long run, prevent all of this from happening.

Maybe if we just start lifting each other up, no matter what our beliefs, instead of putting each other down for our views, is the solution?

Maybe the solution is a lot simpler than we all keep trying to make it?

Maybe the solution is within us and not out there in trying to change someone or something?

Maybe the solution is in working on letting our fears go and trusting in a greater principle, one that’s founded on the basis of love?

Maybe by working on fixing ourselves and loving the parts of ourselves we really don’t, will help us to see through eyes of greater compassion and love for others, where both going to war and protesting those wars becomes unnecessary, where who’s president doesn’t ultimately matter, where sexual preference or identity doesn’t matter either, and where the same holds true with things like corporal punishment, abortion, religious identity, gun control, etc.?

In the end, what if what does matter is just looking at each and every person as a part of ourselves and as a whole? Maybe then, in doing so, we might see that hating another is really only just hating ourselves…and that the only solution is to love, no matter what…

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson