Category: Daily Reflection

“We may fight against what is wrong, but if we allow ourselves to hate, that is to insure our spiritual defeat and our likeness to what we hate.” (George William Russell)

I do my best these days to not use two very specific words in the front of any sentence that comes out of my mouth, that being “I hate”. I’ve discovered over the years that living with hate in my life towards anyone or anything only led me to have a hardened heart. And having a hardened heart essentially just became kryptonite to my spirituality and my capacity to offer unconditional love to others. Hate is such an ugly word and when cultivated enough within one’s soul, it often transforms the person directly into that which they hate the most. Case in point, I once hated my mother so much for her control and her alcoholism until one day I woke up and realized I had actually become her. It wasn’t until I truly forgave her for both that I freed myself from all that hate I had harbored against her and began to change for the better. That’s why these days I work diligently to remove any form of hate that may somehow creep inside of me. Because in the long run, allowing it to remain there, will only end up being poison to my soul and lead me into becoming the very thing I hate.

I pray I find forgiveness in my heart for all that I may still hold hatred towards and to begin living on a spiritual path where the words “I hate” are no longer a part of my vocabulary.

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

“What keeps me sane the most is honestly, the Serenity Prayer.” (Bryce Dallas Howard)

I was in an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting one evening when a person said they really struggled with the Serenity Prayer and that they thought that most who said it were fake and didn’t truly practice it on a daily basis. For those who might not know this prayer, it goes as follows, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” This prayer is generally spoken at almost every single 12 Step meeting on the planet and indeed, the most challenging part of it is differentiating between the things one can change and the things one can’t. Early on in my own recovery, I was such a control freak that I thought I could change just about everything and everybody. That stemmed much in part due to how long I had suffered from multiple addictions because as an active addict, it was extremely hard to accept anything ever being out of my control. Usually I just exerted more and more effort to change the things that didn’t fit my expectations. So, on some level, when I began my path to recovery from all my addictions, I was as this person suggested, somewhat fake. I just said the prayer, but really wasn’t living it. Yet the more I worked my recovery, the closer I grew to God, and the closer I grew to God, the more I began to actually see the things God wanted me to work on changing and the things God wanted me to accept were out of my control. And somewhere along the way, I realized the words behind the Serenity Prayer are always going to be evolving, so long as I continue seeking God’s will in every part of my life. Because the more I have, the more I seem to receive the necessary guidance on how to apply this simple prayer to every single part of my life.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

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

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” (Meister Eckhart)

Saying thank you to God, or whomever your Higher Power is, can often feel quite difficult to do during those trying times in life, especially when they’ve gone on for a good while. But the reality is there’s always plenty to be thankful for, even when everything seems to not be going so well. Unfortunately, it’s just hard to see those things sometimes when the focus is on everything else that appears to be falling apart in our lives. In my case, while I may be struggling on most days to feel well in my mind and body, I still do practice thankfulness as much as I can. Thankfulness for even the basic of necessities in life such as food, water, and shelter, as I’ve never gone without any of them. Thankfulness for my partner who’s stuck by my side through thick and thin Thankfulness for those friends who continue to lift me up in their own prayers on a daily basis. Thankfulness for my eyesight, hearing and the rest of my senses, as each continue to work well for me. And thankfulness for every moment I experience in nature that brings me just a little bit closer to God, like when a dragonfly lands and perches itself gracefully on my hand. These are but a few of the many things I have to be thankful for, even on those days when my world seems to be coming undone. The reality is I have an incredible amount to be thankful for on any given day, and that’s why it’s so important to remember that saying thank you is sometimes the only prayer that needed in our lives.

I pray to always practice giving thanks to God, even during the most difficult times in life, as I know God continues to bless me with abundance, even when my mind chooses to tell me otherwise.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson