Category: A Spiritual Look At All Forms Of Entertainment…

It’s the day before Christmas and thankfully not one I’ll be spending the majority of running around doing last minute shopping. Instead, I’m going to enjoy spending it with my partner relaxing at home having an early holiday meal and then watching my most favorite romantic movie that I put into my DVD player each year just before December 25^th arrives. What is that movie? Serendipity.

I guess you could say that Serendipity was not actually geared as a Christmas movie when it first came out given much of it takes place during other times of the year. But, since its first scene takes place during the busy Christmas shopping season at Bloomingdales in New York City, it’s become that to me. When this film was actually released in late October of 2001, the world had just gone through some very trying times with the events of 9/11. My own heart had been extremely heavy because of this and I hadn’t felt very Christmassy because of it. But there was something quite magical about the film that after its brief running time of 90 minutes had passed, I had been stirred enough to bring the holiday spirit back into my heart.

The movie itself revolves around John Cusack as Jonathan Trager and Kate Beckinsale as Sara Thomas, who may possibly be two star-crossed lovers destined to be together, but in the Universe’s own unique way. Their story unfolds as each reach for an expensive pair of gloves at the same exact time in the famed department store in lower Manhattan. With one glove in each other’s hand, a moment is shared between the two that becomes enough of a catalyst for them to spend the rest of the day together. Sara invites John to her favorite spot in the Upper East Side, which is a boutique restaurant and dessert shop of the same name as the movie, Serendipity. Jonathan asks why the place is so special to her, which Sara responds it’s in the name itself. She says the name means when things happen by chance and cause good luck or fortune for an individual. Jonathan playfully banters how the pair of gloves was “serendipitous” for the two of them, even though he’s engaged and soon to be married. Sara is obviously flattered but admits to having a boyfriend as well. When their day comes to a close, it’s apparent they have a certain chemistry lacking in their own respective relationships. But when Jonathan eventually asks for her number, fate seems to intervene when the wind suddenly wisps it out of hands and away into a sea of others. Jonathan tries his best to convince her it’s not a sign, but Sara’s quite adamant it most definitely is. Seeing how Sara places so much on the word “Serendipity”, he agrees to another exchange of numbers, but this time in a very strange way. Jonathan is to write his name and number down on a five-dollar bill and she on the inside of her favorite book, Love In The Time Of Cholera. After buying a pack of mints with the money his information is now on, she says she’ll donate her book to one of the local used bookstores tomorrow. Hence the premise of this movie truly begins. Will the five-dollar bill find its way back into her hands? Will the book make its way back into his?

I have watched Serendipity countless times now since I first was enthralled by its charm in the theater all those years ago. Maybe that’s because I ultimately believe God operates in the same type of mysterious ways with each of us or maybe it’s because my heart moves so incredibly every time my eyes and ears are entertained when its playing. Either way, Serendipity is a magical movie that has managed to become a regular part of my life each year. So I look forward to watching it again tonight with my partner, as I know it will once again truly stir my heart and bring out more of that festive holiday spirit…

Have a great Christmas Eve everyone!

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Do you have a bucket list? If so, what’s on it? In all honesty, I didn’t even know what one of these was until I saw a movie with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman in 2007 titled just that. While it’s not one of my all-time favorites, it did stir me enough to begin creating my own bucket list.

But I guess it’s probably best that I first provide a simple explanation for what a bucket list actually is, as I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who don’t know what they’re about. By simple definition, it’s the experiences or achievements that a person hopes to have or accomplish during their lifetime. As for those who haven’t seen the film The Bucket List, it’s premise is about two men named Carter Chambers (Freeman) and Edward Cole (Nicholson) who meet each other in the hospital having both been diagnosed with cancer. Carter decides to begin writing a bucket list given his diagnosis, but upon finding out he has less than a year to live, he immediately crumples it up and throws it on the floor in anger. Edward soon discovers Carter’s list and urges him to pursue each of the items and even offers to finance the trip. Carter eventually agrees to take him up on his offer which leads the pair to start engaging in an all around the world exploration doing things such as race car driving, skydiving, climbing pyramids, going on safaris and more. But the underlying spiritual message of the movie is truly about how important it is to give and receive unconditional love to each other and our selves because our time here on earth is really just too short.

For a movie that didn’t make much of an impact on me in 2007, I’ve sure thought a lot about it’s premise in recent years. I’m sure that has a lot to do with the health issues I’ve faced during the same time. And although they’re not terminal on any level (Thank God for that!), they have stimulated me to ponder what I want to do and achieve in this life before it expires. So for now, the following is what I could come up with for my own bucket list and it’s my hope that you too may take some time to make one for yourself.

Andrew Arthur Dawson’s Bucket List

• Visit the cities of Vancouver, Anchorage, Honolulu, Sydney, Rome, Berlin, Cape Town, Reykjavik, Tokyo, Shanghai, Giza, Dubai, Moscow, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dublin
• Become a published author
• Meet and/or appear on Ellen DeGeneres’s talk show
• Do motivational speaking about my life’s recovery in front of at least 1,000 people
• Live in or near Tampa, FL
• Learn the Spanish language fluently
• Become a Reiki Master
• Bungee jump off a bridge
• Parasail
• Stay in a tropical overwater bungalow
• Go on a real African safari
• Drive a real Nascar on a track
• Experience zero gravity
• Watch Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on the street in NYC
• Zip line through a rainforest
• See the Northern Lights
• Become a motivational/spiritual coach
• See a volcano from the top
• Be a passenger in a fighter jet
• Do a silent meditation retreat for 30 days

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Have you ever aspired to become truly great at something in life and were willing to go to any length to achieve it? That’s precisely what a drummer that shares the same name as me, Andrew (Miles Teller), strived for in the movie Whiplash.

The film centers around him, a young and rather unconfident first year student at Shaffer Conservatory of Music, who’s only dream in life seems to be that of becoming Buddy Rich, one of the most talented drummers of all time. Late one night while practicing in the studio, Andrew looks up during a ferocious drum roll sequence to notice he’s being watched by Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), the conductor of the school’s top-ranked jazz ensemble that competes on the national level. It doesn’t take long for Andrew to realize how much Fletcher demands of those who get the chance to study under him, and it’s one that definitely comes with a pretty serious mental and emotional price tag. While Fletcher does seem to have a gift to see and hear a budding musical artist, his way of showing that comes mostly in the form of an angry drill sergeant out of boot camp. Through repeated verbal and even some physical abuse, Fletcher pushes each of his musical prodigies to the brink of madness, hoping to inspire them to greatness, with Andrew often being at the center of his brute and usually ridiculing behaviors. Does Andrew crack under the pressure like so many of Fletcher’s students end up doing and give up, or does he fully rise to greatness and become the drummer Fletcher believes he was born to become?

Whiplash is by far what I would consider to be the best movie of 2014. I felt each and every moment of pain, joy, sadness, and triumph that my name’s counterpart felt during the entire length of this movie. I genuinely hope I will see this movie go on to garner many honors during this upcoming film awards season. But more importantly, Whiplash was a well-needed rejuvenator I’ve been seeking as of late for my own spiritual journey in life. And it’s one that I know will eventually end up in my own private collection to watch anytime I find my spirit once again needing some spiritual inspiration…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson