Daily Reflection

“So, in everything, do unto others what you would have the do to you…” (Matthew 7:12)

I was sitting in a Starbucks the other day (I know, I know, go figure! LOL!) meeting with someone for an afternoon coffee when I noticed an individual sitting near the front of the store with an elaborate computer set up containing multiple cords, two small monitors, and a gaming console. The friend I was meeting there attempted to make conversation with the individual, as they were amazed at the complex set-up. The individual looked over at my friend, ignored them and went back to immersing themselves in what looked to be a game. I saw they had earbuds on so I assumed they didn’t hear her. But after I sat down with my coffee in hand, I watched as another person approached the individual and asked about their setup as they were looking for some guidance and direction. The person tried several times to communicate with them, only it was obvious the individual couldn’t be bothered as they outright ignored the person, even looking at them directly and rolling their eyes, to communicate to leave them alone. I wanted to believe the person didn’t speak English or had some other inability to communicate, but that wasn’t the case when I saw them on their phone. I felt much sorrow over this.

Why do people act like this? I often ask myself this question, especially when I see people who claim themselves as Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, or follow some other devout religious path only to exhibit behaviors like this. I’m sure if this gaming individual had this happen to them when they approached another, they would have been taken aback and frustrated at the very same response.

I tend to see this happening a lot in our world these days. People like to complain about how they are being treated, yet those same individuals often do the very same behaviors and are completely oblivious to it. It only gets their attention when those behaviors come from another and affects them.

Seeing this the other day brought back the thought of the earliest golden rule I learned in life about doing unto others as I would want done to me. I’ve had many people approach me in many different coffee shops asking me about the various things I’m doing there. Whether it’s been my 12 Step recovery work, writing for my blog, or even watching a movie or playing a game, I always give them my focus because I would want the same done to me. Sadly, I wasn’t this way at all during my active addiction years. During them, I was no different than that gaming individual and might have even gone a step further to tell the person I was busy who was asking me a question.

So, if you should ever find yourself complaining about someone being rude or disrespectful to you, I encourage you to take a moment, breathe, and reflect upon all areas of your life where you may be doing the very same thing, as there’s a good chance you’ve done the exact same behavior with another and the Universe is only showing you this so that you can make a positive change on your spiritual path in life…

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

Daily Reflection

“For the love of money is the root of all evil. While coveting after money, some have strayed from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:10)

When this article is published, the Superbowl will be long over, a new champion crowned, and life will have moved on from all the annual football hoopla for one more year. But, presently, as I write this, I’m sitting at my friend Mike’s house, waiting for the big game’s opening festivities, where I’ve just learned the cost of a barebones trip to actually see this year’s Superbowl in person was around $6000, which included the cost of a ticket, parking, and food!

$6000! Just to see a game! While I love watching the Superbowl on TV every year, and while I do have various teams I’ve supported over the years in football and other sports too, I can think of a million things these days I’d rather do with $6000 than spend it on a sporting event. Truly, I think if I even had won tickets to this year’s Superbowl, I would have sold them and used the money on something far more practical in my life. Yet, I know I wouldn’t have been able to say that earlier in my life.

How often I spent money on the dumbest of things in my life looking for happiness is countless at this point. Most of those superficial purchases generally ended with me asking myself why I had wasted my money on it. Probably the silliest of which came after my father died, where I bought a brand-new Acura Integra GSR to cope with his passing and had parts of it dipped in 14K gold! Yes, I really did that. (SMH!)

If there’s one thing I’ve absolutely learned in this life in the year I’m about to finally turn 50 is that money never brings about any long-lasting happiness. If anything, it has always created for me an itch that no amount of scratching was ever able to take away.

While I’m quite sure that some great memories were probably made for those who spent $6000 to see this year’s Superbowl, especially if their team ended up winning, in the end, it, like anything else one lavishly spends money on, only will create a drive for more. An endless search for one pleasure after another in this world, where that drive itself becomes far more important than anything else, where having faith, sharing unconditional love, and even caring about others becomes second to simply pleasing oneself…

Dear God, help me to always remember that all the physical pleasures of this world will never bring about true happiness, something I’ve seen has only ever come in seeking You and in serving others rather than myself. 

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

Daily Reflection

“When you truly understand karma, then you realize you are responsible for everything in your life.” (Keanu Reeves)

“A man reaps what he sows…” (Galatians 6:7)

I was having a late breakfast in the early afternoon a few Saturday’s ago at The Original Pancake House here in Toledo, when suddenly a frantic waitress looked out a nearby window and yelled ‘I can’t believe they left without paying!’. I inquired on what happened only to discover that her party of two tables had left her with their $130 bill when no one was looking after over an hour’s worth of waiting on them. I felt sad for her and angry at the same time, but honestly trusted that everything would right itself eventually, because karma sure has a funny way of coming back to haunt a person. When I paid my bill and discussed the situation with the manager, I told her I was sorry to hear what happened but that I believed karma would fix itself through something like those people’s cars breaking down with a hefty repair bill. They chuckled. And why I felt comfortable saying that? Because I have most certainly learned a lot about reaping what I sowed in this life.

How many times I deliberately hurt another for self-gain is probably countless at this point in my life. But how many times those same things came back far more painful down the way is also countless. I firmly believe that all those years I was so selfish with the money I was given led directly to the loss of my former business and almost $700,000 of cash investments. I also firmly believe that the many health issues I’ve experienced over the past decade also correlate to how I treated others in the past. But, on a far smaller level, if one truly pays attention to how things work in this world when it comes to karma, it’s easy to see how things come back sometimes three-fold and more.

I clearly recall times when I bargained for this or that, “nickel and dimeing” my way through something, only to experience things like my own car breaking down or a major appliance going out shortly after. People often don’t see that correlation though because they are spending so much time living out of their ego trying to stay one step ahead of everyone else, often at other’s expense.

Nevertheless, all of this reminded me of the one time I deliberately did something similar in my younger years when I went bowling with a few hoodlum friends. At the end of our time at the alley, they all quickly jetted out without paying, telling me no one was going to get hurt doing so. I didn’t say anything because I was trying to act cool. But I went back later and paid the bill for all of us, because deep down in me I knew then like I firmly accept now within me, that profiting off another’s expense never pays in the long run.

I pray that all who try to profit off the expense of another will learn that what one reaps one sows, and that there is such a thing as karma… 

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