Author: Andrew Arthur Dawson

A teacher of meditation, a motivational speaker, a reader of numerology, and a writer by trade, Andrew Arthur Dawson is a spiritual man devoted to serving his Higher Power and bringing a lot more light and love into this world. This blog, www.thetwelfthstep.com is just one of those ways...

The Meeting Before The Meeting

One of the things I like best about my home group in AA is that when I show up early, I get to set up the meeting which I enjoy doing. But there is another reason why I show up earlier that is much more important. There always seems to be at least one person who shows up just as early as me that is relatively brand new to the program who I get to say hello to.

I imagine sometimes the founders of AA, Bill and Bob, walking into a meeting in the early stages of the program, and going up to everyone present and introducing themselves and establishing a connection, especially to the newcomers. Sadly today, I have found that at many AA meetings, people show up that have been around for awhile and just socialize with those that they know and ignore those they don’t. While being social with other fellow alcoholics is important, I try to believe that Bill and Bob’s original intention was to help out every newcomer by initially making them feel welcome.

Walking into an AA meeting for the very first time or maybe even for the first few times is overwhelming. Those that have been around for awhile always seem so happy, smiling, and socializing, while the newcomer generally sits alone and is scared, angry, afraid, or one of any other number of emotions that can overwhelm their psyche. My first reaction in my early experiences with AA was to run out the back door. Having had someone come up to me and shake my hand and then tell me that they were glad I was there was key to keeping me from doing just that.

At this week’s home group, after I had set up the room, I saw a person sitting there by himself looking down at the ground. I’m not sure if it was the lost look he was portraying or if it was just the fact that I had never seen him before, but nonetheless I felt compelled to go up and say hello. After introducing myself, I asked if he was new and he replied it was his second day of sobriety and his second meeting. I gave him a friendly welcome and spoke about home groups in AA and told him if he had any questions at all about anything to just ask. I hope I see him next week but either way, I believe that I did what Bill and Bob probably would have all those years ago when AA first began. I made a newcomer feel welcomed and outstretched a friendly hand letting that person know they were not alone.

All of us in AA were at one point a newcomer and I know in my case, because of someone who welcomed me there, I stayed and I’m glad I did. AA has saved my life, brought me closer to God, and shown me how to help someone just like me who is trying to recover as well.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Sneaking Into A Movie

I love the movies. Tuesdays seem to be a great day for me to go because many theaters now are offering Discount Tuesdays where the cost is almost half of the normal price no matter what time the movie starts. Yesterday I went to the movies at a local theater where the cost for the movie ticket was $7.50 which was about $6 less than it’s normal price. Because I had the time available, I paid for two movies (Snitch and Jack and the Beanstalk in 3D) that I could go from one to the other without missing any of either. A long time ago, when I was a misguided young adult, I thought it was cool to go from one movie to the next on a crowded Saturday at the theater. The difference then was that I wasn’t paying for each ticket, I was only paying for the first.

Lately, this seems to becoming an epidemic as the costs of anything seem to be rising, especially movie tickets. I’m not sure if more and more people are sneaking into movies after seeing another but I have definitely have observed it happening lately. Take for example yesterday, I had just finished seeing Snitch and had gotten a refill on my popcorn. Across the hallway from the entrance to the Jack and the Beanstalk showing that I was going to, was Die Hard 5. Two men emerged from that theater having just seen it and cautiously looked over their shoulders a few times and then headed into the theater I was going into. I watched them pull out an older pair of 3D glasses that was in their pockets and wipe them off and proceed to stay for the whole movie.

Movie ticket prices today are a reflection of not just a factor of inflation, they are also a factor of many other things as well such as the actors and actresses asking for more money, the cost to producing a film rising, people not going to the movies as much anymore, and then there are those like these two people who were sneaking in and seeing a movie for free.

I’m guilty of having once done this. I did this a long time ago when I wasn’t trying to be in integrity in my life, be God-centered, and honest with all that I do. There was a part of me back then that said it wasn’t fair how expensive ticket prices were and I justified that I didn’t have the money to pay for multiple movies. The truth is that I did have the money. I just wanted to get away with getting something for nothing. I told myself that no one was being harmed in me doing that. Today I realized that I was part of the reason why movie ticket prices continue to soar. I also realize that sneaking in is essentially stealing. It’s no different then going into a store and taking anything off of a shelf, putting it in one’s pocket, not paying for it, and leaving.

I have a friend in New York who is a lawyer and earning more than six figures every year. He has a nice home and a family, and on just about every weekend, he goes to at least three movies and pays for only the first one he sees. Can he afford the other movie tickets? Of course and he would openly admit it that he could. So why does he do it? Why does anyone steal anything if they do steal? When I did it, there was a thrill or a rush of getting away with something. In other words, I got a “high” in doing it. The funny thing is that the money that I “saved” was only spent on something else that I couldn’t get away with stealing. A thought to ponder is what if all of the world’s goods were done on the honor system? What if the price was posted everywhere for each good but it was on the honor system to pay? Would anyone pay? Or would everyone just take and take and take? Today I can honestly say I would pay the price that was being asked. I wonder how everyone else would handle an honor system based society?

While people may not look at sneaking into a movie as stealing, it is. I know that to live a spiritually centered life, I can’t do things like that which I once did. I don’t want to live that way and I am glad I’m not. Today I refer to this as my God consciousness. What people don’t realize when they sneak into a movie or steal anything for that matter, is that they are hurting everyone else with the rising prices, and even worse, they are hurting themselves by corrupting their souls.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Being An Instrument

I’ve come to understand that when I live selflessly, seeking to have God run the show in my life, that I can be used as an instrument of love and light anywhere and anytime. One of those times came on my recent travels.

On my week long cruise, the ship I was on stopped at an island named St. Kitts. I had scheduled for that day an excursion over to its sister island, Nevis, for a tour and beach getaway. While I had been to St. Kitts before on a previous cruise, never had I been over to Nevis which was only accessible by boat. Upon arriving at Nevis, all of us on the tour were ushered into an open air bus that took us on a ride around the island.

I really love the island life, especially in the tropics, and could see myself living on one some day. Between the amazing weather, tropical flora, unique animals, and good natured people, I continue to be drawn to going to the Caribbean islands year after year. As I admired all of God’s beauty around me, the tour headed up the mountain side with the guide proceeding to provide a wealth of information about everything Nevis related. His energy was very bright and upbeat, and I found myself asking several questions related to things I was listening to or seeing on the tour.

Our first official stop was at a resort in the mountains that was quite exclusive. There were photo ops and time set aside to walk the grounds or purchase a drink. For some reason I was drawn to talk more to this tour guide instead. I asked him if this was his primary job and he said he was also an inspirational speaker. While he talked more on this, for some reason I felt compelled to tell him that I also speak inspirationally back at home about my recovery from alcohol and drugs. Upon mentioning that, he immediately pulled me aside quietly and whispered to me that he too suffered from addiction issues and while he had heard of AA, he had never been to a meeting and wasn’t aware of any on the island. In between tour stops and breaks, I spoke to this man about my own experience, strength, and hope, only to provide him a light to know there is recovery from all addictions.

When the day ended, and the tour was over, he said just a few words to me as we hugged. He told me that I was a blessing to him that day and that he believed God had used me as an instrument to show him the way back to the light. I gave him my contact information including my e-mail address, told him I’d be praying for him, and as the boat pulled away from the dock, I told him to never give up hope and that everything will be ok if placed in God’s hands. Sadly, I didn’t get his contact information and haven’t heard from him since but I continue to pray that God guides him into recovery. As the old saying goes, God brings people into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. If this tour guide was for the sole purpose to spread hope about a life free of addiction, I’m grateful to God for being used in that way.

God can use any one of us anytime, anywhere, and in any place. The more that I head forward in my journey to a completely God-centered life, the more that I know I will be a healthy enough vessel to have things like this happen each and every day of my life.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson