Andrew Arthur Dawson

Andy’s Woodsy Adventure – Chapter 10

Q: What did the traffic light say to the car?
A: DON’T LOOK! I’M CHANGING!

Well according to the calendar date, we’re already into spring now! Yea! But wait, that also means I’ll soon be doing outside chores again like cutting the grass, raking and watering the flowers! Boo! J Anyway, here’s the next installment for my ongoing story, as well as the links to the previous chapters. Enjoy!

Andy’s Woodsy Adventure – Chapter 10

Chris was staring at me waiting for a response. He then looked over at Andy #2, and then drew his attention back to me again.

“Can you keep a secret?” I said nervously, feeling like I had no other choice.

“Yes…” Chris said smiling.

“Seriously, I really need to know I can completely trust you won’t tell anyone else at all what I ‘m about to say…”

“Geez…it’s that serious huh? Yeah, you can trust me. The fact is I don’t really have any friends I could tell anyway. So what this big secret with your twin brother here?”

“I have magic powers and can create a duplicate of me whenever I want…”

It sounded totally ridiculous after I said it and I could see Chris wasn’t buying it either by the expression I was now seeing on his face. He then started to laugh.

“Really, I’m being serious! I’m not lying!” I said rather irritated.

“Look, I’m not stupid!” Chris said sounding like he was starting to get irritated as well.

“I am being serious and I can prove it!”

“Oh yeah, how?!”

“Gemini!”

POP…

“What the…where…did…he go?” Chris stammered, looking around and feeling confused.

“I told you I had magic powers…”

“Come on, seriously…HEY YOU CAN COME OUT NOW!” Chris shouted loudly, looking off into some nearby bushes thinking the other me was hiding there.

“He’s not hiding. He’s part of me…”

“Gemini!”

POP…

“Hey Chris, what’s hanging bro?” said Andy #2 as he rapidly appeared out of thin air directly in front of Chris.

“What the! How are you doing that?!”

“I told you it’s magic. I still haven’t figured it all out myself.”

I ended up having to demonstrate it a few more times before Chris finally believed me. I decided after he did though that it was best to have me #2 go away for now.

“Gemini!”

POP…

“That’s awesome!!! To think of all the cool things you can do with a duplicate of you!”

“I know right! Now do you understand why I need you to keep this a secret?!”

Chris has so many questions for me. He wanted to know everything and was asking me one thing after another. I figured it was going to take a little while to tell him so we sat down on the grassy hill nearby where I started from the beginning. I told him about the large rock I used to play at in the woods by myself and about the secret hatch I unearthed the day I went missing. I told him about the cave I found underneath it and almost getting stuck in there forever because of the puzzle on the floor. I told him how solving that puzzle with my birthdate led me to finding the crystal and how time passed so quickly in the real world while I was down in that cave for just those few hours. And then I explained to him how I first discovered the power of the crystal when I was in the police station trying to show everyone the symbols on it. Finally I told him about the powers I had learned of so far, including almost passing out at my pool and how it appeared that I didn’t need to have the crystal on me to use the abilities it gave me.

“So I’m curious on one thing…” Chris said while laughing. “Why didn’t you jump into the pool dummy when you said Cancer! It sounds like you had gills on the side of your neck that probably would have helped you breathe under water silly! And most likely your normal air passage ways were closed off to make all that work correctly.”

“Yeah, I kind of thought about that after the fact, but at the time it was a little hard because I was gasping for breath and my parents were about to discover my secret.” I said laughing with him.

It really felt good having someone to talk to, someone who finally believed me.

“So what do you think happens if you pause time and your touching someone?” Chris said.

“I don’t know? I never tried that. Let’s see…” I said as I swiftly grabbed Chris’s arm.

“Libra!”

WHOOSH…

I looked over at Chris, expecting him to be frozen now, except he wasn’t.

“I don’t feel any different…” Chris said, looking around and touching parts of his body.

I was truly amazed to see it actually had worked, but Chris still didn’t think anything was different.

“Look up…” I said as I stared at the bird hanging in mid air almost directly above us.

“Holy crap!” Chris pointed at the bird and then noticed a plane even higher in the sky that was motionless as well, almost like a mobile above a baby’s crib. “So do you have to be touching me as well to go back to real time?”

“Libra!” I said standing near him but not touching him at all.

WHOOSH…

The plane continued on its way while the bird flew off in the direction it was heading and thankfully I noticed Chris was moving around with me once again.

“You are so dam lucky you know? To have all these powers… But hasn’t it been killing you not knowing why it picked you, where it came from, and why the hatch or cave no longer seems to be there in the woods?” Chris said inquisitively.

“Well duh! Yeah, but how am I supposed to figure all that out?”

“Maybe all those answers will come to you when you say one of those zodiac names?”

“Huh, I never thought of that. I guess I was sort of scared after that Cancer incident.”

Immediately I started gasping for breath again and felt those gills appear on my neck.

“Say Cancer again you idiot!” Chris said with a huge smile.

“CA-AN-CER!” I choked the word out of me like before and then took a big gulp of air.

“Wow, I guess I can see why you’d be freaked out not to try some of the others. But hey look, you’ve got me now to help you through this right? We’re a team now. You’re Batman, I’m Robin ok?”

“Yeah…except no stupid costumes ok?” I said laughing.

“So are you up for trying a new one just to see what happens?”

“I guess so…” I said nervously, but felt a little better that Chris was there.

“How about Capricorn? That’s my sign…” he said.

I looked briefly at my watch and knew I needed to be getting home because my parents would probably freak if I weren’t there when they walked in the front door. But I figured I had enough time to try at least one new symbol.

“Capricorn!” I said as I thought about my mother coming in the front door and calling for me.

Suddenly I saw a vortex of spinning light appear out of nowhere along with a weird “VAVOOM” noise. I hoped Chris could see it, as it looked so beautiful and appeared to have the whole set of rainbow colors circling it. In what was probably no more than a blink of an eye, it completely enveloped me and for a moment or so, I found myself being thrust down a long tunnel lit in a spectacular display of millions of colors, all moving in the direction I was. Then without warning, the end of the tunnel rapidly zoomed towards me. VAVOOM… Immediately I was thrust out of it and toppled to the floor of the hallway right inside my front door. And there in the kitchen directly in front of me just a few steps away stood my mother with her back to me…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

My Struggle To Make Friends

I really struggle making friends. The most common thing people seem to always say about me is that I’m too aggressive in pursuance of their friendship. Others have often said I divulge too much about my life too quickly as well. Ironically, when I was the complete reverse of this many, many years ago, people said I should open up more and try harder. I’ve come to accept these days that the people who do want to be my friend are the ones who accept me just as I am.

The main reason why I’m talking about this subject today is due to a social group that my partner and I dined with recently. We met up with this group one evening to share a meal, as they regularly get together each month to break bread with each other. Five or so couples were present that night, only one of which we knew and they were the ones who had invited us to join them.

I was excited that night to meet some people who possibly might become new friends of my partner and I, as we continue to look for couples to spend time and develop healthy friendships with. While we dined that evening, I spent a good period of it talking to one couple that sat near me I have never met before. They were very friendly and I truly enjoyed the conversations we had. By the time the night was over, I felt comfortable enough to give them my contact information and suggest that maybe we get together sometime to hang out. I even offered them an invite to an Oscar party I was having a week or so later. After we all parted ways, I looked forward to connecting with them again, as well as with the rest of the group in subsequent months.

Like most people seem to do these days, when I got home, I found them on Facebook and sent them a friend request. Four weeks passed after that with no response to that request or to the brief messages I had sent to each saying hello. I asked one of my friends who knew them, if I possibly had offended them somehow without even knowing it. What I learned later was what I always seem to learn.

I was too aggressive.
I divulged too much.
They weren’t comfortable with my forwardness.
Etc. Etc.

I’ve heard this before and I’m sure I will continue to hear this time and time again. I’ve jumped back and forth throughout my life trying to make friends by putting effort into opening up and getting to know others, but keep getting these types of responses. Then I get frustrated because of it and go in the exact opposite direction by remaining more silent than not at various get-togethers where people end up saying they still aren’t comfortable with me because I didn’t try hard enough to socialize.

To be perfectly frank, I am who I am. I can’t keep trying to change to fit what other people want me to be. In doing so, I’m just being a chameleon and not authentic. I’m a firm believer that if my Higher Power wants a couple or anyone for that matter to be a friend in my life, they will be there with me just being me. And being me these days is one who does open up a lot more than not, who does share about his life quite openly, who does send friendship requests to people he newly meets, and who does extend an invitation to hang out with new people when it seems like things are going well in getting to know them.

Case in point, on my partner and I’s recent vacation, we met a couple early on named Cathy and Mike who took to us very well. We all opened up quite a bit with each other over the course of four days or so and shared a ton of laughter with each other as well. By the time we parted ways as they headed home first, a decent friendship was forged and possibly a future trip on the horizon to each other’s places.

So while one couple, or maybe more didn’t take to my forwardness so well on that night at the group dinner, I know there are others in this world that still do. I know I’m a good person and deserve healthy friendships and I know that I am who I am. I’m an extrovert with a good heart and a very open life. I write about it, speak about it, and that’s just me.

I look at it this way. If a couple or anyone doesn’t want to be a part of my life or my partner’s, it’s their loss and it’s our gain to spend more time developing connections with those who do.

So if you are someone like me who has been rejected a lot in life, just be yourself and live in your heart, and the friendships you’re meant to have will come in your life when they’re meant to. Let the ones go who can’t accept you for you, because in the end, you truly don’t want friendships like them anyway…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Vacation Part 7 – The Light Fast

Today is the final entry for my recap of my vacation in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico that was just a few weeks ago and it deals with a light fast I chose to do for a few days upon returning home. The motivating factor was simple. Gluttony.

If you’ve ever been to a buffet, then you’ll probably know what I’m talking about. It’s almost natural to want to overeat when at one, given all the choices that exist. The first thought I ever have at one is how I want to try everything there and get my money’s worth. Well that same mentality seemed to be present just as much when on an all-inclusive vacation where food surrounded me 24/7.

Every time I had breakfast, lunch or dinner at the resort’s buffet, I sampled everything because my ego kept convincing me that I would be missing out on something if I didn’t. On one particular evening for example there was a Mexican theme for dinner where they had a huge spread of desserts. I tried one of each, which probably ended up being equivalent to eating around 15 different ones overall.

By the time my vacation ended, I felt so lousy inside due to all this overabundance of food I had consumed on a consistent basis while away. I knew I had gained a few pounds, which many might say isn’t so bad for a skinny guy like myself. But the truth is, I didn’t feel that good about myself in how it happened nor did I feel that good in my body either. This is specifically why I made the conscious choice to go through a light fast beginning on my first full day home.

I have to say though that there were many times during past vacations I would tell myself quite often after overeating “I’ll just go on a diet when I get home”, but I never did, not once. I’m not sure if the reason why I actually did follow through with my verbal promise this time around was due to the spiritual place I’m trying to be in life. Regardless, I kept that promise and began a light fast my first full day back from vacation.

My diet for three full straight days consisted of nothing more than a cup of yogurt with a few tablespoons of granola for lunch and a single Lara Bar for dinner. And this was accompanied with only water or mostly black decaf coffee. To understand the drastic change I went through for those three days, I most likely consumed more than 4000 calories each day on vacation. But during those three days of light fasting, I consumed no more than 400 calories on each.

One of my friends made a joke while I did this light fast and said it sounded like I was binging and purging, but replacing the purging with fasting. I had to laugh, except deep down I was kicking myself for having done so much gluttony with food while I was away. Anyway, I learned two very important things because of my fasting.

One, I definitely have taken food for granted in life. According to the statistics I found online, 805 million people go through most of their days feeling what I felt more than not, which was weak, tired, and starving. It was strange seeing commercials or food programs on television, as I found myself longing to gorge on the pixels in front of me. It was also strange having the desire to eat things I normally don’t eat, just because I was so darn hungry. And I found it almost downright cruel when I had to sit through two different meetings where the aromas of pulled pork and lasagna wafted through the air. But the idea of going through this every single day truly overwhelmed my heart and brought out compassion for all those who have to do this because of their poverty.

The other important thing I learned was how fast I normally eat in life. Many of my friends have consistently told me this but I rarely have ever paid attention to them. It’s true though because at most meals, I was usually the first one finished. But having a single cup of yogurt and a single Lara Bar for an entire day made me want to have this food last as long as it could and I did just that. I savored every bite of that yogurt and took close to 30 minutes to consume it versus the 1 minute it normally took me. As for the Lara Bar, I finished it in close to 20 minutes as compared to the 2 minutes that generally took.

What’s interesting is that my fast ended up lasting just under four days by the time I had my first full meal again, which was a gourmet burger and fries at an upscale bar in Toledo. I will tell you that I did savor every single bite of that burger and fries no different than how I did with that yogurt and bar, and watched as people ate their food around me as fast as I once did. When that meal was finished, I felt more than satisfied on many levels. Thankfully, I am continuing to do this at every meal now and find I’m eating far less than I once did.

But I think the most important spiritual lesson I learned through my light fast is to be grateful I even have food to consume at all, when so many are going without on this planet every single day of their lives…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

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