Month: July 2021

Silly Joke Friday

Silly Joke #1

On the way to kindergarten, a doctor had left his stethoscope on the car seat, and his little girl picked it up and began playing with it. “Be still, my heart,” thought the doctor. “My daughter wants to follow in my footsteps!” Then his little girl spoke into the instrument, “Welcome to McDonald’s! May I take your order?”

Silly Joke #2

Three Pastors were having lunch together at a diner. The first Pastor said, “Ya know since summer started, I’ve been having trouble with mice in my church. I’ve tried everything–noise, spray, cats–nothing seems to scare them away. The second Pastor then said “Yup, me too. I’ve got tons of them living in the basement of my church. I’ve set traps and even called an expert to get rid of them, yet they still aren’t going away.” With a grin on his face, the third Pastor said, “I had the same problem so I baptized them all and made them members of the church and I haven’t seen one back since!!!”

Silly Joke #3

“I think I need a new doctor!” said Lauren to her girlfriend Karen. “Why?” said Karen. “Well, I went to my doctor recently and he said to me during my checkup, “Don’t eat anything fatty.” “What’s wrong with that advice? Karen responded feeling confused. “Because after that I said, “What, like bacon and burgers? and he said, “No, I mean you, Fatty, don’t eat anything!”

Bonus Silly Joke

An Ohio family of Buckeye football supporters head out one Saturday to an outlet mall to do some tax-free back to school shopping. While in the sports shop Little Johnny picks up a Michigan jersey and says to his older sister, “I’ve decided to become a Wolverines fan and I would like to wear this to school”. His big sister is outraged by this and promptly whacks him round the head and says, “Go talk to mother”. Off goes the little lad with the Michigan jersey in hand and finds his mother. “Mom?” “Yes son?” “I’ve decided I’m going to be a Michigan fan and I would like to buy this jersey”. The mother is outraged at this, promptly whacks him around the head and says, “Go talk to your father!” Off he goes with the Michigan jersey in hand and finds his father. “Dad?” “Yes son?” “I’ve decided I’m going to be a Michigan fan and I would like to buy this jersey”. The father is outraged and promptly whacks his son around the head and says,”No son of mine is ever going to be seen in THAT CRAP!” About half an hour later they’re all back in the car and heading towards home. The father turns to his son and says “Son, I hope you’ve learned something today?” Little Johnny says, “Yes, Dad, I have.” “Good son, what is it?” To which the son replies, “I’ve only been a Michigan Wolverines fan for an hour and already I hate you Ohio State Buckeye bastards.”

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

Question For The Day

Today’s question is…

What issue in this world do you struggle the most with accepting those who have an opposing view of yours? (ex. Gay marriage, gun control, abortion, vaccinations, etc.)

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

The Twelfth Step The Twelfth Step The Twelfth Step The Twelfth Step The Twelfth Step The Twelfth Step The Twelfth Step The Twelfth Step The Twelfth Step The Twelfth Step The Twelfth Step The Twelfth Step The Twelfth Step The Twelfth Step The Twelfth Step The Twelfth Step The Twelfth Step The Twelfth Step The Twelfth Step The Twelfth Step

Taking The “E.G.O.” Out Of Whether Someone Vaccinates Or Not…

My partner Chris and I are rapidly coming up to our 10-year anniversary and had planned to celebrate it by doing a cruise, the very thing we did when we first met a decade ago. But sadly, being unvaccinated from COVID-19 due to my ongoing health issues, we learned that while I could still be on the cruise (given it was leaving from Florida), there were going to be a number of limitations during it. Because of this, we opted to cancel, much to my dismay, leaving me feeling like I let my partner down. When I shared this disappointment with a friend I cared about, instead of receiving compassion, I received a chastising about my unvaccinated status, shedding light on exactly what Dr. Fauci has said is happening in our country now, where a new division is happening between those getting vaccinated for COVID-19 and those who aren’t, a division I believe is solely arising out of ego.

There are far too many divisions in this country that stem from ego. Last year I witnessed this due to my non-political stance from both Republicans and Democrats alike. I’ve often experienced this with other issues as well, such as with my stance on guns, abortions, marriage, and a number of other hot topics as well. Far too often, I’ve received chastising’s for those stances I take in life, just for standing true to myself, even when I’ve accepted everyone else’s stances. Now I’m receiving chastising’s over not getting vaccinated and being told how ignorant I am, some even suggesting they know better about my health than I do. In light of that, my question is this.

When did it stop being ok to stand in our own truths, especially when they’re not being put on anyone else but ourselves?

My truth with vaccinations is simple. If you want one, get one, and if you don’t, then don’t, but don’t judge another just because their choice with vaccinations is different than yours. Personally, I’d love to vaccinate, but given the complexities of what I continue to face with my health, I’ve decided not to at the present time over fear of complicating my health even further, even if my risk is only 1%. With that now being said, I ask you, are you sitting there right now judging me and saying I’m dumb, or stupid, or thinking some other negative set of words, all because of my choice to not vaccinate? If you are, it’s precisely why disunity still exists in this world, because we keep letting our ego’s judge each other over our stances in life, especially when they don’t align with our own views. Unity is never going to come so long as we keep judging each other for the differences we have, in our belief systems, in our sexualities, in our races, or in anything really.

People have frequently told me that unity is a pipe dream. Maybe it is, or maybe it isn’t, but for it to ever even have a chance to manifest, it’s going to take the removal of thinking we know what’s best for everyone else. The fact is, I don’t know what’s best for anyone, it’s only my ego that always tries to tell me otherwise. Knowing this is precisely why my best friend Cedric and I are able to maintain such a close friendship after 24 years. We differ so greatly these days with viewpoints on the Bible, politics, sexuality, and some other things too, yet we remain the best of friends, all because we love and accept each other unconditionally for our differences, rather than let our ego’s judge each other for them.

The bottom line is that there is no one on this planet that I know better for. Trying to think I know what’s best for another will only ever lead to chaos, discord, disunity, and the like. If I ever want to see unity in this world, it’s going to mean accepting others stances in life that are different than my own and loving them regardless. Doing anything otherwise just leaves me operating out of ego, or as they say in 12 Step recovery, (E)dging (G)od (O)ut.

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