Category: Grateful Heart Monday

Thanks for joining with one more Grateful Heart Monday, where expression of gratitude remains my ongoing sole focus of my writing, which for today is somewhat of a follow-up to a prior article a number of months back, one where I truly thought a friendship with a couple I care about was over, and can say now that thankfully it isn’t.

I think all relationships go through a number of ebbs and flows, but to see them successfully navigate through them all , it means all parties involved must be willing to work on themselves. I’ve had many friendships that have failed because either myself or the other person, became caught up in ego and self-pride, holding onto righteous beliefs and feelings of “I don’t have to change” or “It’s all their fault and not mine.”

I don’t care whether a person is 11, 31, 51, or 91, all people are capable of change no matter what their age, me included, and as soon as I close my mind to that, and hold on to what I think is the only right answer to things, it puts me at odds with those who care about me, which is precisely what happened with my friends Bill and Tom when we all came down with Covid back in January.

The finite details of what happened back then don’t matter now, because it was those finite details that led to all of our ego’s going into opposite corners, rather than coming together with forgiveness, love, and the like. Regardless, for the past six months, I really missed the dinners and game nights we used to have regularly with them, so I finally broke the silence by reaching out to Bill to make my amends for my part in what happened, who in turn did the same with me. I took a second step in sitting down with Tom and listening to where my actions had negatively affected him, and I owned them, even learning in the process how I could be a better friend to him. It’s something I am truly grateful for about my personality, that I’m always willing to spiritually grow, where change is something I accept with grace, rather than fight it with ego.

Thankfully, my actions led to a huge blessing, with Bill and Tom becoming open to breaking bread with my partner Chris and I again, which we finally did just over a week ago now. After an evening of dinner at Carraba’s and coffee at Starbucks, I can thankfully say we all found the desire to move on from our ego’s and frustrations, to forgive, and move forward with connection again.

I am so very grateful that God pushed me forward to own my part in all this, to move beyond my ego and any selfish viewpoint I had on the whole matter, as it ultimately helped to begin the process of reconnection with two friends I do love dearly.

And as I end today’s Grateful Heart Monday, I am thankful for all the friends who remain a part of my life today, because the addict I once was had no friends whatsoever, except my sister Laura and my friend Cedric who never gave up on me. Both believed in me and showed me how to become humble, humble enough to ask God for help, humble enough to say I’m sorry, and humble enough to forgive. It’s those traits that truly keep my friendships going, with loving people who care about me, people just like Bill and Tom.

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

Welcome to another Grateful Heart Monday, where gratitude remains the sole focus in my writing, which for today is for being able to have a friendship today with someone that is mostly the opposite of me.

I used to think that having a good friendship meant the person had to be just like me or quite similar to me. But honestly, I’ve learned that can be quite boring at times when that is true. Contrary to that, one of the biggest rewards I’ve found when it comes to friendships is when I challenge myself to look beyond my ego and what it thinks it needs when it comes to a friend, which is very true when it comes to a friend of mine named Rob.

While he and I do share a common interest with superhero-type stuff, chiefly Marvel, and a few of the same type of foods, much of the similarities stop there. Beyond a glaring fact that he is heterosexual, which I of course am not, he’s mostly atheist to agnostic, while I’m more of a man of faith, is relatively political, whereas I detest politics, believes and swears in the power of science and medicine, something of which I tend to avoid these days, and well you get the point.

At first glance, to an ego like the one I continue to try to smash within me, it might seem like he and I wouldn’t stand a chance to have any type of healthy, let alone fun friendship, but ironically, we do. We tend to laugh a lot when we hang out and click far better than what my ego initially judged. The level of Rob’s compassion is second to none, as is his tendency to listen with the hopes of understanding, rather than judging. I’ve come to learn quite a bit in spending time with Rob and lately, on most of our hangouts, I’m even watching a show now that I originally didn’t want to give a chance, that being Star Trek Discovery on Paramount Plus. It actually is really good and I am enjoying watching it with him immensely, especially in all the little jokes we make during each episode.

Because of my growing friendship with Rob, I’ve thought quite a bit lately about how many potential friendships I’ve never even given a chance throughout my life with people who didn’t act, or look, or like what I thought I’d need to have a good connection. Sadly, I was very superficial in much of my younger years, hanging only with people who shared my views or likes or were my physical type, thinking that’s what was important. It wasn’t, as some of the best moments in my life have come by going against the grain of that and with Rob, I’m glad I did.

While he continues to challenge me at times, like I do with him, there has been incredible spiritual growth on both of our parts in spending time with each other cultivating our connection. I tend to think that’s precisely what God would want for us in this world, to make friends not only with those who are similar to us, but also, and especially with those who seem exactly the opposite of us. Because in the end, I believe we become far more well-rounded individuals when we do, learning to love and accept much that is outside our norm and different than us.

I’m truly grateful for giving Rob a chance and am so thankful to God for bringing him into my life to teach me not just a few lessons, but many.

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

Welcome to another chapter of Grateful Heart Monday, where gratitude continues to be the sole focus in my writing for the day, which for today is for getting to play the oldest miniature golf in continuous operation in the United States, one that’s been around since 1924 and one that actually resides in the state I live in of all places!

It’s no secret that I love playing mini-golf. I’ve written about my love for this silly sport a few times already in my blog and in recent years have played upwards of more than 100 courses around the country!  Sometimes I even search them out solely for day trip possibilities and have been known to drive up to 3 hours in a single day just to say I was able to check out another course! So, when I learned that the oldest miniature golf course in continuous play wasn’t actually the one Google initially listed in upstate New York that began in 1930, and was rather in a small little lakeside town called Geneva-On-The-Lake that dates back to 1924, I was ecstatic. Why? Because I also learned it was only a few hours from where I lived! It’s called Allison’s Mini Golf and reviews on the web for it were quite favorable when I first checked it out online. Why it took me over 7 years of residence here in Ohio to finally drive there to play an actual 18-hole round on it is beyond me?! But, on a rather sunny and perfect weather day of 75 degrees over July 4^th weekend, my partner Chris and I finally headed east on Route 90, taking the 2.5-hour trek there, for the main purpose of playing the historic course and boy, was it worth it!

I’ve played quite a number of amazing miniature golf courses around the world, but knowing one was still around from its inception in the mid 1920’s and seeing how great of shape it was in was pretty incredible! While the course itself wasn’t specifically overly or underlie challenging, it was the nostalgia itself of playing the oldest course in the country that really brought me joy. How many people must have played this course over almost a century in operation is countless I’m sure. The grounds there were still immaculately kept and although the two quaint fountains in the middle weren’t necessarily working as best as they could, it honestly didn’t matter because I felt like a kid again as I played each of those holes. One such hole had some bowling pins moving up and down that I had to avoid as I hit my ball through them and another had me narrowly avoiding a metal bridge filled with brightly-colored stationary golf balls on tees! Overall, I truly enjoyed my 18-hole play and actually ended making par there as well!

Nevertheless, I’m not sure if my fascination for mini-golf is simply because it’s one of the rare childhood memories I have where my family never fought or if it ultimately just helps me revert back to being a kid again so easily every time I try to knock a ball around some weird angle, or through some moving contraption, or to avoid some obstacle. Regardless, I love mini golf a lot and I really loved this quaint little course in a town I’ve never been to on the eastern shores of Lake Erie. I sincerely felt like I stepped back in time both on the streets of Geneva-On-The-Lake and at Allison’s Mini Golf as well. I’m so thankful I can now say I’ve played the oldest course in this country and got to do it with my partner Chris on a day where the weather truly was perfect for it!

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