Category: Daily Reflection

“Through perseverance many people win success out of what seemed destined to be certain failure.” (Benjamin Disraeli)

Who would have thought that a little inspiration for my ongoing journey to spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical well-being would have come from a video game? I sure didn’t. But in fact, that’s precisely what happened recently while playing a game called Bean Dreams on my Iphone. If you’ve never heard of this game, it’s essentially about a jumping bean that never stops jumping and for each level of the game, the player must guide the bean to the exit in a certain number of jumps to fully complete it. Basically, each level is somewhat of a puzzle, which normally I’m pretty good at solving. In this case though, I hit a level I just couldn’t get beyond, one where I needed to do it in 7 jumps, but could only manage 9 at best. I kept trying over and over again until my hands, fingers, and wrists hurt so much that I had to put the game down until the next day. Unfortunately, I experienced the same lack of success once again, having to put the game off in total pain for yet another day. Day after day I repeated this and kept coming up short. I began to think about giving up, even making ego-based assumptions that the creators of the game must have made a mistake! The nerve of them! But then one day, after what most likely was over a thousand attempts to solve this level, I accidentally sideswiped my finger on my phone’s screen and watched the bean suddenly do a new move that I didn’t know it could do, thus changing everything. And wouldn’t you know, within minutes after that I had finally solved the level! I think life is sometimes like this, that when we encounter those trials and tribulations which feel completely impassable, that so long as we continue to persevere through them, our Higher Guidance will eventually provide us with a way to transcend beyond them. So, I give thanks to God for a silly game call Bean Dreams, that truly helped to remind me that success can be achieved through perseverance, even when things seemed destined for certain failure.

I pray that I will always persevere through all the trials and tribulations I face in life, even when it may feel like the odds are stacked against me and that I’m destined for failure, because I know that through my perseverance, God will always provide a way for me to achieve success.

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

“God is everything or else He is nothing. God either is, or He isn’t.” (Bill Wilson)

Recently, my partner went through another job layoff that wasn’t due to any negative actions of his own doing after just going through something similar a mere three months prior. I couldn’t understand why God allowed this to happen, especially since my partner’s spirituality seemed to be growing rather rapidly with each day he was employed in a position held for such a short period of time. When I spoke at length about this to several friends, trying to make sense of it all, each felt God wasn’t concerned about the jobs people held and that this was just a factor of life and the free will we all have here on this planet. I spent a lot of time pondering this and came to feel quite differently, choosing to find comfort in my favorite quote from Bill Wilson that essentially says that God either is in everything or He is in nothing at all. And while that may not have helped me to understand God’s bigger picture as to why this had to happen to my partner again or what good can actually come out of it, I do believe God really does see the bigger picture, particularly when we seek God’s help in the matter through prayer. Of course, we all have free will here and don’t ever have to turn to God for assistance in things like where we are employed. But I wholeheartedly believe that when we do turn our will and our life over to the care of God in everything, that we can trust He will set a greater plan in motion and provide all the help and guidance we need to arrive exactly where we’re truly meant to be, although it may not be something we’re ever privy to comprehend along the way. So, while I may be frustrated at the loss my partner recently experienced with a relatively new position, I know he’s praying for God’s direction and will receive it. Because ultimately, I trust that God truly is in everything when we ask for His help, including even guiding us to our places of employment…

I pray that I always remember God is in everything and that even when things aren’t making any sense, that all I need to do is continue praying and trusting God will do the rest, no matter how small or insignificant it may be.

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

“When you can’t control what’s happening, challenge yourself to control the way you respond to what’s happening, rather than attempting to take control of something else in life. That’s where real spiritual power can be found and it’s where you’ll also find true peace and serenity as well.” (Unknown)

It’s been a pretty common theme lately to feel out of control in one area of my life, only to attempt to take control in another to deal with it. Due to my ongoing health and healing issues that have been progressing far more slowly than my ego has wanted, I often find myself trying to grasp onto control elsewhere, such as with my partner and the work I think he needs to do in his own recovery, or with several men’s groups I’m part of and the rules I perceive are lacking in their current structure, or with friends who want to hang out with me and always feeling the need to choose the things we do together. Unfortunately, I’m learning that the more I attempt to take control like this, solely to counterbalance the lack of control I feel in other areas of my life, the more I actually seem to enjoy nothing. And the more I actually seem to enjoy nothing because of all these attempts at control, the more I continue to realize how much I’m sacrificing my own peace and serenity, which is something I categorically want a lot more of than I have right now! I know the key to changing this though is to accept the fact I’ll never be in control of everything that happens in my life. Instead, I need to change the way I respond to each of those things that truly are out of my control. After all, if I genuinely believe there’s a Higher Force at work in this world that’s bringing everything together for our greatest good, then maybe it’s time I begin accepting that One who I feel is really in control. In doing so, I think it’s a safe bet to say I’ll achieve the desired peace and serenity I seek a lot quicker, than if I continue to attempt to control one thing after another in life.

God, I pray you help me accept the things that are out of my control and to resist the urge to control other areas of my life in the process of acceptance. And I pray that I may feel more of Your peace and serenity the more I do.

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