Category: Grateful Heart Monday

Welcome to another Grateful Heart Monday entry, something I find has been much needed to keep me positive during all the unsettledness of our current times. So, for today, my gratitude is for all those out there who are still working to keep things running for all of us on our planet.

With orders being mandated around the world for most everyone to stay home and with so many out of work right now, there are still plenty who are working in positions that are necessary for all of us in our day-to-day lives, many of whom are even putting themselves directly in the risk of contracting COVID-19.

So, for all the employees working at every grocery store, pharmacy, or convenience store that are supplying our basic needs, for all those working in hardware stores that help keep all our home projects going, for all those working in the food industry serving our take-out and drive-thru orders, for all those working at utility companies keeping our gas, water, electric, internet, cable and satellite on, for all those in the airline, bus, vehicle, railroad, and any other transportation industry who help us to get where we need to go, for all those working in hospitals, nursing homes, and other places of healthcare, for all the police, fire, and rescue squads keeping the peace and order, for all the waste pickup crews that haul our garbage away, for all the car repair shops working on our vehicles, for all the park rangers protecting our parks, for all the priests, pastors, and those in ministry visiting people in need and doing sermons online to provide hope, for all those working in addiction recovery and crisis centers, for all the researchers and scientists trying to find cures, for all those working in news and media outlets disseminating information to keep us current, for those working for Internet-based companies that supply our many needs, for all those working on repairing our roads, homes, and buildings, for all those in real estate and rental companies helping people to find places to live, and for all those working in any other position that continues to be considered essential, I honor and am grateful for each of you.

Without any of you, our planet would most likely descend into total chaos right now. So, thank you for stepping up and continuing to help all of us keep going in a time when there is so many unknowns, a time where fear pervades many of us, and a time where things seem to be changing one day to the next.  Have much gratitude for all of you who are willing to keep putting yourself out there, helping our world to function, which is why today’s Grateful Heart Monday is dedicated to all of you still working anywhere on this planet, especially in positions that might put you directly at risk to contract COVID-19. I truly honor your courage and dedication!

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

Welcome to this week’s Grateful Heart Monday, where gratitude always kicks things off on the right foot for me, especially in light of the crazy world we’re living in currently. For today, my gratitude is for my friend Tom B., for the friendship we have and for offering me a piece from his personal life recently that meant a lot to me.

I’ve learned over time that getting to know someone and truly becoming a close friend is a lot more than just hanging out and shooting the shit to put it bluntly. It’s about opening up, sharing from the heart, and at times making oneself vulnerable, especially on the mental and emotional levels. Many of the friend’s I’ve made over the years have come and gone because they weren’t able to open up with me, share from the heart, or make themselves vulnerable in any way. Walls got constantly thrown up and being I’m not one for having superficial relationships and superficial conversations as the norm, many didn’t last. The fact is, I’m a deep kind of guy, always have been, always will be, and I’m ok with that, but not everyone is, which is why so many have come and go from my life over the years.

Nevertheless, I’m thankful that my friendship with Tom has been moving more in the direction of total openness and transparency. The first time I noticed this was when he came to a funeral for a close friend of mine who had passed away late last spring. I was pretty raw when it all happened and somewhat in shock, but Tom came to the service solely to support me and also went out for brunch afterward, which really changed the direction of our friendship to one that was far less superficial. Him being there that day meant more to me than he’ll ever know.

After that, our conversations started to grow deeper and our time on the phone or in person more connecting. It was then I also noticed how honest he was becoming with me and how forthcoming he was whenever I did something that bothered him. So many friends tend to let those types of things slide until they become totally resentful and disappear from my life altogether. Thankfully, that hasn’t been the case with Tom, as we both have been able to vocalize those type of things with each other and work through them, like we did recently when we had a short period of distance that ended up with us both owning how we could have handled it better.

Last, but most certainly not least, and maybe even the most important piece of gratitude I have for Tom is that he took me recently on a drive around his hometown where he shared parts of his family life with me, including visiting his family plots at the local cemetery. It meant a lot being able to experience those moments of intimacy with him, as I know that definitely was a form of vulnerability for him. There was a time long ago, when another friend tried to share the very same things with me, but I was so deep in addiction back then, that I criticized the whole experience by telling the person I was bored, and didn’t understand why they were taking me to all these places from their past. My insensitivity that day led to her crying and ended the friendship. I learned a lot from that loss and vowed to never make that mistake again. Thankfully, I didn’t with Tom and felt closer to him because of it.

Overall, I’ve seen Tom grow a lot in the few years I’ve known him thus far and I’ve watched our friendship grow in the process as well. While we’ve had our struggles like any good friendship has from time to time, the one thing that’s been consistent is his sincere desire to connect with me, to share from the heart, and to make me laugh, which he does a great job of. And although Tom may deflect when I get too close to him at times, I know deep down how much he truly cares for me, as I for him, which is why he’s the perfect recipient for today’s Grateful Heart Monday.

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

Thanks for joining in on another Grateful Heart Monday where the emphasis is always upon a slice of gratitude from my life, which for today is for how I’ve been handling this Coronavirus and the ever changing landscape it’s bringing to the world around me.

If you watch or read the news lately on a regular basis, it’s easy to get caught up in all the fears surrounding this virus. For me, it’s strangely reminiscent of the events that took place on 9/11/2001 and after, when the media sensationalized so much of it. For months people tuned into the news and became consumed in fear, thinking every single person who looked Muslim was a terrorist and that World War 3 was just around the corner. Sadly, on some level, I was one of them as I was afraid any time a plane flew overhead or the news reported on hearsay about potential future attacks. Watching the news repeatedly display the Twin Towers coming down and the smoking plane wreckages at the Pentagon and Shanksville, PA truly gave me PTSD.

But, so much has changed within me since 9/11. Besides the fact that I don’t watch the news like I used to, or really at all these days, my faith has grown and so has my spiritual belief system. That’s why I said recently in another article that I’m not afraid of getting this virus, nor dying from it, because I truly do feel what will be, will be, no matter how many sanitizing measures I take. For a guy like me, who used to flip out in fear over the slightest notion of feeling sick, this is a huge thing to be grateful for, because I don’t feel I’m that hypochondriac like I once was. I’m also just as much grateful I’m not reacting in fear when I’m around others who are sick or appear ill, even when so many others do seem to be reacting like that.

Interestingly enough, I witnessed this last weekend when I dined out with two friends of mine, one of which was having a spell of vertigo. As he lay with his head in his hands, I felt compassion for him while I noticed the tables nearby kept pointing and fearfully whispering to each other that they thought it was “the virus”. It wasn’t though, as I learned my friend has been dealing with this condition for a number of months now, most likely related to some inner ear problem, yet you would have thought he had the bubonic plague the way others were staring at him. On some level, at least with that, it’s probably a good thing that Governor DeWine signed legislation to temporarily close all restaurants for now so that people don’t jump at every cough or sneeze or react when someone looks sick.

And speaking of that, in light of all the restaurants getting closed, my partner and I realized we needed some basic staples because we normally eat out more than not these days and had very little food in the hosue. So, we headed to the store the evening that legislation went into effect and walked through the produce and up and down the rest of the aisles, noticing all the shelves were mostly bare with the majority of staples already gone. But, we just shrugged our shoulders and took the shopping as a positive experience to try new things that the majority of people hadn’t wanted and left behind.

Nonetheless, even with grocery stores being ransacked and everything else getting closed and shuttered, I’ve decided I’m not going to hermit myself in my house and live in fear. I’m also going to keep on hugging and shaking the hands of those who are open to that, mostly because I clearly remember the stories of Jesus and the disciples always being amongst the sick and ailing and never worrying one bit about it, so why should I?

Has my faith grown that much and replaced where fear would have once consumed me with this Coronavirus? I can’t say for sure, but I can say I’m truly thankful for what I’ve learned through the teachings of Christ and other Master Teachers as well, as each have ultimately helped me to not give into all this fear, which is most definitely something to be grateful for on this Grateful Heart Monday.

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