Category: Grateful Heart Monday

Welcome to this week’s Grateful Heart Monday, where gratitude always gets expressed in my writing, which for today is for reaching another annual milestone of maintaining this blog, a feat that continues to surprise me every year it arrives again, and for all those who continue to read along my spiritual journey in life as well.

I began this blog in the 2^nd week of January in 2013 simply as a homework assignment to journal my life, past and present. I think the spiritual teacher who originally suggested I start a blog would be quite proud of me by now as I hit the ninth-year anniversary of keeping TheTwelfthStep going.

While there have been many moments I’ve considered shuttering this site and ending my writing due to having negative thoughts that maybe no one is reading my stuff anymore, I have occasionally received reminders that have helped me immensely to achieve yet another yearly milestone. I had one such reminder from a good friend in the DC area over the holidays who told me via a private message how much I’m doing a good service and how much of a good writer he felt I am. It truly was a blessing.

Ironically, this blog was never intended initially to help others, as it was more to help me get back into the habit of writing, something I had given up long before due to addiction. At first, maintaining this blog was easy, given the depth of material I had to write about from my life. But, over the years, after writing thousands of articles, and sharing countless unique quotes, questions, and even silly jokes, it’s become much harder to do so, as I’ve often felt repetitive. Yet, I’m reminded of something my spiritual teacher once told me after I began her assignment. She said there would always be someone new who would get something out of my writing, even if it was something I previously wrote about.

So, I trudge on, and will soon be approaching 3,300 published entries on this site, which if anything, truly is a major feat and something to be grateful for. Maintaining this blog for nine years shows I’m not a quitter, which is something my now deceased mother in her former state of alcoholism once accused me of from time to time.

While I may not be the most interesting writer in the world, or the least interesting, I have led a very interesting life and continue to do so, enough that I feel warrants me to keep writing and to keep being transparent with the world on TheTwelfthStep.

I’m filled with much gratitude today for sticking to this, for reaching nine years, for God helping me to find new and unique things to write about, and for all those who continue to support my writing by reading along with me, one day at a time. I love you all.

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

Welcome to another Grateful Heart Monday, where I always express my gratitude for someone or something that has truly touched my heart and soul, which for today is for all those who brought happiness into my life this holiday season.

For my partner, Chris Falbo, who made plenty of special meals, gave me loving gifts including a new suitcase to replace the one I’ve been using for well over two decades, and who kept a positive attitude through it all even when I wasn’t, I’m grateful.

For my sister, Laura Curry, who always seems to find those unique gifts that simply seem to say, “I love you so much”, including a Marvin the Martian figurine (my favorite cartoon character) and a coffee mug whose picture on it summed up our friendship perfectly, I’m grateful.

For my closest friend in the world, Cedric Saunders, who came to visit me during the holiday season for a week, providing me many fond memories during our visit to Chicago and just sitting around and making each other laugh like we always seem to do together, I’m grateful.

For my dear friend, Dexter, for being there when I really needed some reassuring words, even in the wee hours of the morning, for understanding my pain, and getting me more than most people, and for continuing to refer to me as Boo Boo, while I with him as Yogi, I’m grateful.

For my therapist, Linda Smith, who helped me through all my pain and sorrow felt during this holiday season, always finding ways to lift me up when I’m down, and for being the unconditional loving person she is, I’m grateful.

For my friend, Michael Erskine, who thought of me with a special Carruth pottery gift and who spent much of this holiday season connecting with me in person over meals and movies, on video calls, and in funny texts and messages, I’m grateful.

For my friend, Judy Gordon, who took me to J’Alexanders for a wonderful meal, and continues to share with me on an intimate level I can really relate to, I’m grateful.

For my friend, Jewel Patterson, for spending a wonderful holiday meal at Real Seafood, sharing in laughter with both my partner and best friend, breaking bread, and giving me gift cards to one of my favorite hobbies (going to the movies), I’m grateful!

For my friend, Frank Murd, for sharing several holiday meals with me, including breaking bread on Christmas Day at the Motor City Casino Assembly Line Buffet, I’m grateful.

For my friend, Tom Benner, for being willing to work through a tough piece with me, for showing me the willingness to always keep trying, and for continuing to share your heart with me on a level I know you normally don’t with others, I’m grateful.

For my friend, Allen Collette, for sharing several coffees and meals with me during this holiday season, finding caring words to brighten it a little for me, and for simply being a good friend when I needed one, I’m grateful.

For my friend, Jym Shipman, for watching the Locke and Key series on Netflix at your house, for always making me burst out in laughter over his imitation of this kid on that show, and for his loyal dog, Jeepster, who always me smile over his vigor even during his final days, I’m grateful.

For my friends, Merle Peoples and Manny Portugal, for inviting me to their annual holiday gatherings, reminding me that I am remembered when it comes to that holiday party season, I’m grateful.

For my friend, Mark Heckman, for being his plus one at his dear friend’s wedding that took place during this holiday season, where I danced for the first time in years, something I never thought I’d do again, I’m grateful.

For my friends, Tim Wojtala and Roger Van Dylan, who broke bread with us at The Townhouse Restaurant in Detroit, where we laughed over the freezing wind hitting our table, one that got us a free amazing dessert that we all shared together, and for Euchre we played afterward and all the laughter as well, I’m grateful.

For my friend, Ronn Musser, for checking in on me from time to time, for providing reassuring words when I’ve been down, and the movies and meals we enjoyed together too, I’m grateful.

For my new friend, Mike Palumbo, whom I only recently met at one of those holiday gatherings, for being a very interesting person on many levels, for challenging my thinking and making me laugh at times as well, I’m grateful.

And for everyone else, who called, texted, and left me personal messages on Facebook, wishing me a Merry Christmas or Happy Holiday, I’m grateful.

I love you all. Thank you for helping me through the most difficult holiday season I’ve ever had. I’m truly grateful for all of you on this Grateful Heart Monday.

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

Welcome to the last chapter of Grateful Heart Monday for 2021, where gratitude has remained the sole focus on my writing at the start of each week. For my final grateful entry of the year, I decided to express my gratitude for the main lessons I learned in 2021. I honestly believe that life is a constant learning lesson if we choose to see it that way. There are always opportunities for growth, and I most certainly experienced much of that in 2021.

For starters, one of the biggest lessons I learned is how much I’m a different person (and not in a good way) when I’m on high levels of caffeine. While I might find more focus and creativity with my writing after ingesting a good amount of coffee, I also find my moods become erratic, I get short-tempered, and I yell and argue more, especially with my partner. I’ve been staying away from caffeinated beverages for well over a month now, something that’s been extremely challenging, but rewarding at times, because I’ve had far more stability in not only my moods, but in my relationship with my partner as well.

Another lesson I learned in 2021 is that it’s ok to step back from a friendship that isn’t feeding my soul. I’ve gone the extra mile in all my friendships in life, but often have felt in some of them that it wasn’t mutual. I’ve held onto friendships far past their shelf life, often at my own expense, mostly because of childhood angst about always being friendless back then. This year I took a hard look at my life and made difficult decisions to stand up for myself and draw closer to those who made concerted efforts to go the extra mile for me and distance myself for those who weren’t. And I’ve felt very empowered by that.

Another big lesson I learned in 2021 as well is that not everyone’s advice is healthy for me and more often than not, especially surrounding my health, has only led to greater confusion and frustration. I’ve worked far harder this year to stop talking about my health with people I meet, something I used to do regularly, because much of the advice I’ve received has regularly taken me into troubled waters and away from trusting in my Higher Guidance. I’ve come to really see that I need to trust more on my Higher Guidance and Inner Guidance than in the advice I receive from others.

A lesson that continues to repeat throughout my life that manifested again in 2021 was about realizing everyone is on a different spiritual path, at different paces, and that’s ok. I definitely tried to push others this year, especially my partner and a few other dear friends, on their spiritual journeys only to see the horns come out of their heads. A brother of mine in my men’s group always says that I have a deep insight to other’s paths, but that I often present steps on their paths too soon, and with force, which is only ever met with resistance. Thankfully, I did much better this year backing away from this behavior and have had a far better relationship with my partner and a few of my friends because of it.

A final lesson I want to mention that I learned in 2021 deals with addiction overall. Quite a few difficult things presented themselves this year that challenged me so much I thought about acting out in addiction in several ways. In the end, this was something to be thankful for because it reminded me that I am still very much the addict and I never want to let myself believe I could go back to old addictive behaviors without consequences.

Each of these lessons, and a few others I didn’t go into but are just as important, are all certainly things to have gratitude for on this Grateful Heart Monday. I truly learned a lot in 2021 and quite assuredly will have plenty more to learn in 2022 with lessons that may repeat themselves and new ones that may come my way as well. I am grateful for the spiritual growth I’ve made in life thus far and look forward to the growth I make in 2022 as well.

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