Thought For The Day

Quote #1

“People who believe they’ll be happy if they go and live somewhere else learn it doesn’t work that way. Wherever you go, you take yourself with you.” (Neil Gaiman)

Quote #2

“When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere.” (La Rochefoucauld)

Quote #3

“True healing occurs when I give myself permission to feel whatever feelings live below the triggers, pain, and all that causes us to keep looking outside of ourselves for the solution when the only solution is to go within.” (Andrew Arthur Dawson)

Bonus Quote

“When you are finally tired and exhausted enough from constantly looking outside of yourself for a better life or better health or a better relationship or a better anything, maybe it’s finally time to just be still and go within, as it’s only there can any of that ever manifest.” (Unknown) 

Facing The Hard Truth About My Health On My Recent Trip To Austin, Texas…

It’s pretty easy to try to blame the source of one’s pain on those closest to you or on things around you. For as long as I’ve been dealing with the difficult health issues I have, I’ve occasionally and regrettably lashed out at my partner and others closest to my heart, and even with the region I’m currently living in too. Most recently, in the midst of doing this behavior, I opted to go visit a close high school friend named Karen whose family lives in Austin, Texas, solely in the hopes that my health might improve drastically by getting away from Toledo, the Midwest, and my partner. It was pretty obvious in the first 24 hours away though that what’s been going on within me has nothing to do with anyone or anything but me.

While at times my stress levels may indeed be higher due to where I live or tensions with my partner, I accept now that neither are major contributors to any of my health issues. For as much as alcohol or drugs or sex or love or any of the other things I once addictively fell prey to numbed various parts of my psyche that I didn’t like about myself, a small vacation taken many miles away merely did the same as well.

On some level, I’m actually thankful to discover this, as it quickly eliminated the many projections my ego has been giving me lately, especially during these COVID times. The saying “You are wherever you go” feels so apropos right about now with that stark realization. While my ego truly wanted to go to Austin and suddenly experience miraculous levels of relief and healing, that didn’t happen, thus crushing my ego’s last ditched effort to remain in control.

The reality I see now is that my health and healing really is out of my control. I’ve done the very best I can over the years to heal myself by desperately seeking answers and working so very hard to find the source of all my pain. Along the way I’ve attempted to fix all the brokenness and unhealthiness from my past and still have come up short in the physical healing department. Ultimately, I accept now it really is in God’s hands and maybe always was. I just needed to give my ego a last hurrah by going on this trip alone so it could see the ultimate truth.

So, while I’m blessed to have been a guest in Karen’s home for a few days in Austin and did experience some wonderful times, the biggest blessing quite possibly received on this trip was the crushing blow given to my ego when its final attempt to try to fix me failed. I see now the only thing that’s going to fix me is to keep trusting in God, as it’s God and not my ego that delivered me from a life of addiction hell, and it’s God who will do the same with my health when the time is right.

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

Silly Joke Friday

Silly Joke #1

A man was driving to work when a truck ran a stop sign, hit his car broadside, and knocked him out cold. A passersby pulled him from the wreckage and revived him. He began a terrific struggle and had to be tranquilized by the medics. Later, when he had calmed down, they asked him why he had struggled so. He said, a bit sheepishly, “I remember the impact, then nothing. I woke up on a concrete slab in front of this huge, flashing sign. Turns out the person helping me was standing in front of the ‘S’ on the ‘Shell’ sign!”

Silly Joke #2

Mrs. Hunter was called to serve for jury duty, but asked to be excused because she didn’t believe in capital punishment and didn’t want her personal thoughts to prevent the trial from running its proper course. But the public defender liked her thoughtfulness and quiet calm, and tried to convince her that she was appropriate to serve on the jury. “Madam,” he explained, “this is not a murder trial! It’s a simple civil lawsuit. A wife is bringing this case against her husband because he gambled away the $12,000 he had promised to use to remodel the kitchen for her birthday.” “Well, okay,” agreed Mrs. Hunter quite abruptly, “I’ll serve! I guess I could be wrong about capital punishment after all!”

Silly Joke #3

The teacher asked little Johnny if he knows his numbers.
“Yes,” he said. “I do. My father taught me.”
“Good. What comes after three.”
“Four,” answers the boy.
“What comes after six?”
“Seven.”
“Very good,” says the teacher. “Your dad did a good job. And what about what comes after ten?”
“A jack!” says lil’ Johnny quite proudly.

Bonus Silly Joke

An airline captain was helping a new blond stewardess get situated in her new job. The route they were flying had a layover in another city. Upon their arrival, the captain showed her the best place for airline personnel to eat, shop and stay overnight. The next morning, as the pilot was preparing the crew for the day’s route, he noticed the new stewardess was missing. He knew which room she was in at the hotel and called her up wondering what happened. She answered the phone, crying, and said she obviously needs a little more guidance from him because she couldn’t get out of her hotel room. ” You can’t get out of your room?” the captain asked a little shocked. “And why not?” The stewardess replied: “Well, there are only three doors in here,” she sobbed, “One is the bathroom, one is the closet, and one has a sign on it that says ‘Do Not Disturb’!”

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