Month: May 2022

Silly Joke Friday

Silly Joke #1

The new minister stood at the church door greeting the members as they left the Sunday morning service. While most of the people told the minster how much they liked his message, one man seemingly had a different opinion. “That was a very dull and boring sermon, Pastor,” he said. The pastor was a bit baffled by this, but he continued shaking hands. A few minutes later, the same man re-appeared in line and said, “I don’t think you did much in the way of preparation for your message.” A few minutes later, the man circled back once more shuffling into the line. “You really blew it. You didn’t have a thing to say, Pastor.” Finally, the minister could stand it no longer. He went to one of the deacons later after everyone had left and asked if he knew the man. “Oh, don’t let him bother you,” said the deacon. “He has some diagnosed mental health issues. I was told that one of the things he does is go around repeating whatever he hears other people saying.”

Silly Joke #2

An exasperated mother, whose son Little Johnny was always getting into a lot of mischief, finally asked him one day after he got himself into deep trouble, “Little Johnny, how do you expect to get into Heaven acting like this?” Little Johnny thought it over and said, “Well, I’ll just keep running in and out and in and out and in and out slamming the door each time until St. Peter yells, ‘For Heaven’s sake, Dylan, come in or stay out!!!’”

Silly Joke #3

A lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store for Thanksgiving, but couldn’t find one big enough for her family. She asked the blonde worker behind the counter, “Do these turkeys ever get any bigger than this?” The blonde replied, “No ma’am, unfortunately, they’re all dead.” 

Bonus Silly Joke

Cassie was taking two of her grandsons on their very first Amtrak ride heading to Washington, DC for a mini-vacation. At the snack bar on the train, she saw they were selling Pop Rocks, a candy she loved as a kid but one that she knew neither of her grandsons had ever seen or had before so she bought each a bag as a treat. Before they received it, she told them the story she heard as a kid about someone eating these and having soda along with it and it blowing up their stomach, but said it was all a silly rumor. She then gave them both their treat. The first one eagerly tore open the bag and popped one into his mouth just as the train went into a tunnel. When the train emerged from the tunnel, he looked across to his brother and said: “Well it didn’t blow up my stomach, but I still wouldn’t eat it if I were you.” “Why not?” replied the curious brother “Cuz, I took one bite and went blind for half a minute!!!”

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

Question For The Day

Today’s question is…

Which of the following do you prefer the most to connecting with a friend/loved one?

  1. Text
  2. Phone Call
  3. In Person
  4. Video Call
  5. You tend to avoid communication.

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

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Are We Moving Farther And Farther Away From Having Healthy Communication With Each Other?

One of the things I think I’m probably most concerned about with the direction our society is heading in, is the growing disconnection we seem to have with each other, especially when it comes to much of the new generations in life where the strongest form of “healthy” communication seems to be in texting.

I’ve been reading about how addictions are massively on the rise in our culture, especially since the pandemic first came upon us, and I tend to believe much of that is due to our present forms of “healthy” communication. Because the forms we are using now are really less about communicating and more about avoidance. How many times I’ve called people in recent years who’ve had voicemails that are full, I’ve lost count. I spoke to a college student last week here locally who told me they never listen to their voicemail and tend to leave it full. Most of their generation say the best way to reach them to communicate is via text.

People want to know why depression and suicide attempts continue to increase every year. This is why. Human beings weren’t born to simply immerse themselves in text messages, social media and the like. While one may have tons of friends or followers on their social media, that doesn’t translate to having healthy communication and connection. Isn’t having healthy communication and connection more about one person meeting another for a coffee or meal, or maybe taking a stroll through a local park with each other, to talk about life, and show  how much they matter to each other.

Many addicts have also been relapsing into old addictions in the past few years while others began a path of addiction, all because the pandemic moved them further away from having healthy communication due to quarantine and isolation. While video chats helped to alleviate some of the loneliness, it wasn’t enough for some who chose addictions to cope with the lack of real human connection.

Nevertheless, I miss those days when people actually had healthy communication with each other on buses, in stores, at restaurants, in public places, amongst strangers even. Today, not so much. Today, all it takes is a quick look around in public where you’ll see so many blankly staring into their phones rather than at the people they’re spending time with. Believe me, I’ve fallen into this pattern at times as well all because of the fear of missing out on something. But this is one of the main reasons why our world keeps digressing more and more from healthy communication.

Healthy communication is about being there for each other, learning about each other, supporting each other, making eye contact, and showing in those moments, that one doesn’t have to be alone in a world that these days seems so easy to feel alone.

So, the next time you find yourself feeling disconnected, alone, or isolated in this world, try reaching out to a friend over the phone, or better yet, meet one in person and be fully present with them, rather than immersed in whatever forms of the digital realm you carry with you. Because it’s in those moments you dedicate to another human soul, that often become the very thing that not only will help you feel less alone in this world, but also help another feel less alone as well, especially someone like me who has always felt more overlooked in society than embraced. I treasure real human interaction and thank all those who continue to call me or meet me in person. It’s each of you who have demonstrated healthy communication and reminded me I do matter in a world I often feel like I don’t…

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