Category: Daily Reflection

“The waves of the sea help me get back to me.” (Jill Davis)

I hope one day life where I call home is also a place close to the ocean, as no matter what ocean I’ve visited throughout my life thus far, it’s taught me many lessons and help me find some level of peace within me. This held true a few weeks ago when I travelled with my best friend Cedric to York, Maine and stayed in an Atlantic Ocean beachfront hotel for four nights.

While the temperatures were unseasonably cool during our first three days there and weren’t conducive for swimming or sunbathing, I still felt inspiration from it. Most of that came late at night or early each morning from our balcony where I would listen to the lull of its waves and look out at the expansiveness of it all. I seem to relate far more to whatever God is in the expansiveness of the ocean, mostly because it’s so vast and something I also can’t control, the latter being the biggest struggle in my life and something I was reminded of when I finally was able to take a swim in the ocean on our last day of our trip.

I’m a pretty good swimmer, having grown up in a pool and having swum competitively from the ages of 5 to 17. The funny thing about that though, is that even the best of swimmers often struggle against the fury of the sea, which was precisely what happened when I made my way out into it on that final day in York. As frigid waters stung my extremities, I fought through the icy coldness and began to be met with one huge wave after another bashing into my body. Some of the waves coming at me were far over my 6’5” frame and probably the very reason why the lifeguards were on high alert that day. I could hear their whistles constantly going off trying to keep swimmers closer to shore, as there also was a riptide that day. And when’s there’s one of those, you’ll definitely know it. You see, it’s those aspects of the ocean that constantly remind me that God is far bigger than I because I couldn’t control any of those waves that day nor could I control that riptide, as the more I fought against either, the more I simply wore out becoming quickly tired. Eventually, I found far greater peace letting them take me where they did and it’s then I realized how much it was symbolic of my life.

I often fight against the ocean of my life, constantly trying to control the direction of where each of its waves take me. I have fought so hard to grasp control of the waves of my health, my finances, my relationship, my yard, my gardens, my friends, and well, a lot more. And every time I have, it’s gotten me nowhere except exhausted. The ocean reminded me of that, that day in those frigid waters, as I clearly saw that the only thing waiting for me whenever I fought against a wave and made it through, was yet another wave looming beyond it.

So, maybe it’s finally time to just ride out all these waves of my life, letting them take me where they will, trusting that the ocean, that God, is not something to fight against, and rather, something to ride alongside instead, as maybe the place where they’re headed is one filled with far greater peace than the lack of it that’s come from constantly trying to fight against them all…

May the lessons of the sea continue to bring me closer to You God and to myself as well. 

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

“Most people need love and acceptance a lot more than they need advice.” (Bob Goff)

On the day of my 50^th birthday a week ago, I wasn’t feeling well, mentally or emotionally, both due to the very heightened state of physical pain I was feeling. Some days have been worse than others when it comes to the pain I feel, but on my 50th, it was far beyond what I could handle. Honestly, I was pretty upset with God about it, after all, it was my birthday dammit, couldn’t I have one day of relief on THIS day God?! I know, I know, a birthday is just another day, even so, heightened pain has this way of making it very hard to feel, see, hear, or connect with any of God’s love, however it may manifest. Considering that, as my 50th wound down, where tears and angst had plagued most of my half-century mark in life, I suddenly received a message from a friend. I began to read it, hoping it might be one of those “God’s Mysterious Ways” moments, where God knew exactly what I needed when I most needed it, that my birthday sorrows would all be eradicated in this one message. I’ve had many of those moments, but unfortunately, this wasn’t one of them. Instead, it was an unsolicited piece of advice of something that worked to ease much of my friend’s own bouts of chronic pain. While their intention was genuine, it only caused me greater doubt, stress, and pain, as well as a very restless sleep that night.

People often say that God communicates through others and tend to tell that story about a person who drowns in a flood after praying to God for help and then turns away the help that comes in the form of people at their door, the boat on their second-floor window, and the helicopter on the roof. Here’s the irony in that story. To believe God speaks through others, which includes a lot of advice at this point, it would include, but not limited to, countless diets, drinking my own urine, revoking my sexuality by taking up a life of celibacy, consuming edibles or some other form of medical marijuana, and even seeking out Tony Robbins and plenty of other motivational gurus. So, was God sending me people, boats, and helicopters by telling me to drink my own urine? Of course, I’m being slightly facetious here, but more than not, humans offer advice because it makes them feel better, rather than helping the very person they are wanting to help with their advice.

Nevertheless, when God has chosen to communicate to me through another, it’s always come in a way that’s left me feeling completely loved and accepted, usually with tears flowing, and with no doubt in my mind that what’s being said to me is that person, boat, or helicopter coming to help. But, when advice has been just that, just a person wanting to fix another’s brokenness, I typically feel one predominant feeling, doubt, which in this case with this friend, is all I felt.

The fact is, many of us, me included, have often played God simply by offering unsolicited advice, simply by thinking just because it helped us, it will help another. But, to the brokenhearted, the suffering, and the like, unsolicited advice like this can have the opposite desired effect and do greater harm instead. So, maybe the only thing we should be doing when we see another hurting person is to say three words, “I love you” and leave the rest with God to figure out.

I pray for the wisdom to know when the advice I want to offer is coming from my own ego or from God and when in doubt, to refrain from sharing it, knowing it could be me just trying to play God.

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

“He who is slow to anger has great understanding and profits from self-control. But he who is quick tempered exposes and exalts his foolishness for all to see.” (Probers 14:29 AMP)

“Hot tempers start fights; a calm, cool spirit keeps the peace.” (Proverbs 15:18 MSG)

“The slap heard round the world.” It’s been a few weeks now since Oscar night landed Will Smith on everyone’s radar and not in a good way. I’m pretty sure everyone knows by now what happened, but for some reason if you don’t, Chris Rock made a tasteless joke that night about Smith’s wife, Jada Pickett, and her lack of hair, telling her he was looking forward to seeing her in “G.I. Jane 2”. At first Smith laughed it off, but, after seeing his wife react negatively to the joke due to her having a skin condition called Alopecia that causes one’s hair to fall out prematurely, he quickly ran up on stage and slapped Rock in front of the live audience and about 15 million viewers that included me. He then returned to his seat and verbally swore at Rock twice saying to keep his wife out of Rock’s mouth. Since then, Smith has resigned from the Academy and became banned from attending any Oscar event for the next 10 years. While I’m very sad over Will Smith’s demise due to his Oscar night’s physical assault and expletives, the spiritual lesson continues to remain very clear to me when it comes to uncontrolled anger.

Having personally suffered the consequences in life from many acts of uncontrolled anger as well, especially during my alcohol and drug addiction days, I came to realize the cause was always allowing my ego to be more in control than God. It was abundantly clear that Smith was allowing his ego to do the talking on Oscar night, rather than God, which I found surprising when Smith talked later that night about his devotion and gratitude to God during his Best Actor acceptance speech.

Nevertheless, there are countless days I feel people make me angry. The most recent was a client lashing out at me during one of my alcohol and drug presentations, shouting obscenities my way in front of 50 others. How I handled it was simply talking in a calm and collected voice, one I feel came from my Spirit, that simply showed the individual he was loved even in his anger and judgments of me. In the past, how I would have reacted to it would have been far less humble, probably shouting expletives in defense.

Thankfully, I see now that the more I humble myself before God and not let my ego control my actions, the more I’m able to remain at peace and refrain from anger when attacks come my way. I wished Smith had allowed God to remain more in charge on Oscar night than his ego, because in the end, the cost of his uncontrolled anger will have far worse ramifications on both his personal life and career than if he had simply just prayed to God for help…

Dear God, I know how easy it is to become angry in this world and lash out, especially when we feel unfairly attacked. May you always help me to control my tongue and my actions and lead me more to acts of peace and love, than letting my ego be in control.

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