Month: May 2020

Grateful Heart Monday

Welcome to another chapter of Grateful Heart Monday where I begin every week with inspiration that always comes from a single piece of gratitude, which for today is for a Bible passage from 2nd Timothy 4:7 that has kept me going for over ten years now and helped me to never give up.

First off, I feel the need to at least reiterate, like I usually do any time I utilize a Bible passage in my writing, that the Bible is just one of many inspirational books I’ve gained spiritual guidance and direction from in my life. I only say this because people often discount the Bible who aren’t Christian or have any type of spiritual beliefs, JUST AS MUCH as people who are Christian often discount plenty of other religious books and spiritual beliefs as well.

Either way, I once was told at a very young age that the Bible stood for “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth” and somehow that’s stuck with me for over four decades now. Basic instructions, not complex, something I can truly relate to, and something that connected with me when I read 2nd Timothy 4:7 in one of my daily devotionals the other day.

So, what is 2nd Timothy 4:7?

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.”

Since April 27th, 2010, I have most definitely been fighting the good fight to keep going. That’s “the good fight” I feel this passage is talking about, the fight to keep running and not give up. As it was on April 27th, 2010, that my life of constant health issues, severe pain, depression, loneliness, and an almost daily feeling of hopelessness began. After almost two years of doctors, medications, and a continual downward spiral when none of those things helped to alleviate any of my pain and suffering, I truly wanted to die. With no answers and no relief, I went deep into various addictions and attempted suicide. But, something greater than me, something I never have been quite able to quantify, and something that has kept me going even when I haven’t wanted to, kept me alive and became my only solution and thus began this good fight to not give up, NO MATTER WHAT.

Last week, I surpassed the ten-year mark of endurance. I can’t even begin to describe some of the anguish I’ve gone through over the past ten years, but if there’s one thing I can say has kept me going through the past eight years of it, is exactly what 2nd Timothy 4:7 says…I have kept the faith.

Faith that God will see me through this. Faith that God has been there with me this entire time. Faith that has sustained me even through the worst of health and the worst of days. Faith in knowing a brighter day will come one day for me. And faith in my belief that God is far bigger than all of my health issues, all of my sorrow, and of all my frustrations with my life.

While I haven’t completed THIS race yet and while I’m sure there will be plenty of other races to run beyond this one, it’s this race that I’ve become the most grateful for. Grateful that I’ve developed a faith in something greater than anything my ego and self could ever do for me, something that has kept me alive and running even when I didn’t feel any energy left to keep going, and something that has somehow made me stronger, even when I’ve felt at my weakest. For this, I’m truly blessed and feel immense gratitude for such a simple passage in the Bible that moved my soul and provided inspiration for today’s Grateful Heart Monday entry.

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

Thought For The Day

Quote #1

“It is not for you to judge the journey of another’s Soul. It is for you to decide who you are, not who another has been, or has failed to be.” (Neale Donald Walsch)

Quote #2

“If you see good in people, you radiate a harmonious loving energy which uplifts those who are around you. If you can maintain this habit, this energy will turn into a steady flow of love.” (Annamalai Swami)

Quote #3

“Everyone may not be good, but there’s always something good in everyone. Never judge anyone shortly because every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.” (Oscar Wilde)

Bonus Quote

“There are some people who will never see you as being good enough. That is their short-coming not yours. Be merciful enough to yourself to cut them out of your life.” (Dr. Steve Maraboli)

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

Daily Reflection

“Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you.” (Ephesians: 4:29)

Have you ever noticed how many people these days seem to like using social media to criticize someone else’s posts, rather than focusing on anything positive about them? Why do so many seem to steer more towards seeing the negative in another and commenting on that, rather than commenting on any of their positive qualities? Is it just easier to express negative viewpoints of another, rather than ones that uplift and praise them?

First off, I’ve always learned that one can only see the positive in another, if they see the positive in themselves first. When one is a positive person, it’s usually because they have a good amount of self-love behind it, which in turn leads them to see and concentrate more on the positive traits in another. My mother didn’t love herself much at all when she was alive and because of it, she tended to be more negative than anything. She frequently cited out all the things about my sister and I that she felt could use improvement, instead of lifting us up and praising our accomplishments. All that did was give us the worst of self-esteems, even though she truly believed it was going to help us to become healthier and better individuals.

Ever since, I’ve had many friends and partners who have been just like her, constantly pointing out all my flaws and shortcomings and any areas they felt I could improve. None of it was ever really helpful for me in the long run, because it only made me loathe myself a lot more and in turn, made me see the negative in others, because that’s what I saw in myself from all that constant criticism.

Thankfully, I’ve learned through it all that it’s far better to offer helpful words, to praise and uplift one’s achievements, then to cite out anything negative. As when someone places a negative comment on my any of my blogs for example, and then justifies it’s just them being honest and helpful. It isn’t helpful to me at all, in any way, shape, or form, as it only makes me doubt myself even greater. The same is true when someone hears me at a speaking engagement and the first thing out of their mouth is a comment on something they didn’t agree with. That too is more harmful than helpful because ultimately, I’ve had enough criticism of my life to last an eternity.

The last thing I need are people in my life these days who tend to comment on the negative parts of me, rather than the positive ones. What I need more of now are people who utilize helpful words, that build me up rather than tear me down, that motivate me instead of discourage me, that nurture me, rather than harm me.

Nevertheless, if we want to build a world with a lot more positivity, wouldn’t it be better for all of us to cite out the good we see in others, and not the bad? I’m inclined to believe from my own journey that citing out anyone’s negative attributes will only lead to them seeing themselves in greater negativity, which in turn will lead to them seeing the world around them in greater negativity as well.

So maybe we should all begin to use more helpful words than harmful ones. Ones that focus on a person’s achievements, accomplishments, and positive traits, that build a person’s character more up than down. And maybe we should all start by doing that with ourselves first, as when we do, we’ll be able to see that far greater in the world around us to the point where we share from that perspective instead…

I pray to love myself enough that I focus on all the good I am and all the positive traits I bring, and in turn, start seeing that in the rest of the world enough to where I communicate that more so than anything else.

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