Category: Grateful Heart Monday

Welcome to this week’s Grateful Heart Monday, where finding something to be grateful for is always the focus of these entries, which for today is actually for something I’ve struggled to be thankful for over the past few years and precisely why I’m choosing to rectify that by expressing a little gratitude for the city I currently live in, that being Toledo, Ohio.

When I came to Toledo, Ohio to live full time back in February of 2014, I was so excited to finally be moving in with my partner after two years of long-distance dating from over 600 miles away. The following year, as my health issues multiplied and my pain levels drastically increased, I found myself starting to bash this city. That’s when I began fixating on all the negative things I perceived to be wrong with Toledo, when in all reality, there were still a large number of things to be grateful for with my life here.

Of course, first and foremost, I’m forever thankful for the fact that Toledo is my partner’s hometown and for knowing how much this city means to him. There’s a wealth of cherished memories he has from here that he’s shared with me along the way and that’s helped me quite a bit to see Toledo in a much brighter light. But beyond that, I really do have plenty more to be thankful for when I think of the life I’ve lived thus far here in Toledo.

Thankfulness that includes, but is not limited to the many day trips I’ve taken to the Toledo Zoo, including each year for the Chinese Lantern and Christmas Lights displays, for the many enjoyable meals I’ve had at local dining establishments such as Tony Packo’s, Zia’s, The Brownstone, Angelo’s Northwood Villa, La Chalupa, San Marcos, QQ Kitchen, Hot Sizzling Wok, Jing Chuan, Mama Mary’s, The Oliver House, Al Smith’s Place, Mayberry Diner and more, for the less than a block walk I have to sit by beautiful Lake Erie’s shoreline or walk on during the winter when the ice is super thick, for the afternoon drives my partner and I have regularly taken to the Maumee Bay State Park and Crane Creek Park to see nature at its best and always for free at that, for catching a few games of the semi-professional Toledo Mudhens baseball team and Toledo Walleye hockey team, for being able to attend a number of good concerts in this area, especially Hall & Oates, Adele, and the Glen Miller Orchestra, for the many good plays and musicals I’ve seen at both the Stranahan Theater and the Valentine Theater, particularly the Book Of Mormon and The Blue Man Group, for the annual visits my partner and I have had to the Wildwood Manor House at Christmas to see holiday decorating at its finest, for visits to the Toledo Art Museum that has free admission and consistently reminds me of a mini-Louvre, for the vibrant and unique way each change of season seems to get represented here, for the fact that I pay far less in living costs in Toledo versus any of the prior cities I’ve lived, for the reality that traffic here is the least I’ve ever experienced versus any of the other cities I’ve lived in as well, for the countless times I’ve found myself meditating at the Side Cut Metropark where I actually created this website’s picture, for the innumerable fun miniature golf courses I’ve played all around this vicinity time and time again, for being only a hop, skip and jump away from Cedar Point, one of the best amusement parks in the world, for the two trips my partner and I have taken to a cozy island out in Lake Erie named Put-In-Bay, one by a friend’s tiny plane and the other by a friend’s small motorboat, for yearly trips to a city just north of here named Frankenmuth just to get Christmas decorations from the world’s largest Christmas store named Bronner’s, for the few friends I have made here who have stuck by my side and continue to appreciate my crazy sense of humor and weirdness, for the Angel’s Landing Spiritual Center that has been the first place of worship I’ve looked forward to going to in well over a decade, and last but not least, for all those I’ve met through my 12 Step recovery work here that have helped me to remain clean and sober one day at a time for over 24 years now.

So, yes, I sure do have loads of gratitude for a city I haven’t shown much love for in the past few years and for that I’m truly sorry. Because Toledo, Ohio is as much of a beautiful city and something to be grateful for like any of the other cities I’ve resided in throughout my life. Sometimes it just takes shifting one’s perspective to see it, which I’m most certainly thankful for I did…

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

Welcome to this week’s Grateful Heart Monday entry where gratitude is always expressed for someone or something that has truly touched my life, which for today is for Dick A., a humble, yet very dedicated member of my Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) home group.

There are some people who just have a way about them that exudes peace and serenity, two things that are so often sought after in this world, especially in the rooms of recovery from addiction. Ever since meeting Dick four years ago when I first joined my existing AA home group, I immediately noticed those two traits about him. Kind and considerate, friendly to talk to, and consistently shaking everyone’s hands with a huge smile to warmly welcome them there, Dick became someone I looked forward to seeing.

Not once have I ever seen Dick lose his cool, which says something, because many of us in the rooms of recovery tend to have our moments from time to time where we totally lose it. Not Dick though, he seems to be the great meditator of our group, frequently helping to resolve conflicts amongst ourselves or with attendees to our meeting as well.

I remember one time when this guy who regularly attended our meeting that wasn’t a member, came several weeks in a row with an incredibly negative attitude, putting people down who shared and noticeably hurting others in the process, including some newcomers. Finally, after seeing the growing disturbance from this guy’s behaviors, our group decided someone needed to speak to this attendee and ask them to be kinder and more considerate of those who were sharing there. We assigned Dick to the task who handled the entire situation with grace, never once breaking a sweat or showing any sort of negative tension, even when the guy got angry and stormed out.

Another thing I appreciate about Dick is the generosity the man has. He’s opened up his home to our group each year for an annual cookout where he prepares a feast for us all to enjoy. And from what I’m told, he’s been doing this for far longer than the few years I’ve been a member of the group. Along the same lines, I mustn’t forget the fact that Dick is considered the “fruit guy” at our meeting, as weekly, he shows up with several bags of fresh fruit that he personally cuts up and gives away to the attendees of our meeting.

Dick just celebrated 27 years of sobriety and is someone that I feel stands for much of what I seek in my own program of recovery. One of the first to show up each week to help set up and usually the last to leave, even at his age in his 80’s, Dick continues to demonstrate a program of recovery that is more about being selfless than selfish, giving than receiving, and unconditionally loving than judgmental.

As you can see there’s a lot to be grateful for when I think of Dick A., a beautiful man with a heart of gold whom I’m proud to not only be a member in the same group as him, but also to call him a friend as well.

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

Welcome to another Grateful Heart Monday, a time for sharing a slice of gratitude from my life, which for today is for my good friend Frank, who just so also happens to be a priest of over 40 years.

Being that I’m not Catholic and never have been, it’s almost strange to think that one of my closest friends from this area is a priest, and in his late 70’s at that. How we met actually came under some pretty sad circumstances though in that one of his nephews happened to also be one of my first sponsees here, who tragically overdosed back in the summer of 2014. I spoke at his nephew’s funeral, after which he and I got to talking, where his initial interest was to have me speak in his town about alcohol and drug addiction. While that speaking engagement never quite came to fruition, what did was an unexpected friendship with someone who has ever since become a pretty close buddy in my life.

Frank is one of those friends you can share anything with and trust it will remain with him and him only. In today’s day and age, where gossip seems to be the norm for far too many people, Frank values and respects the privacy of others at a very deep level. I’m sure his long-standing service as a priest has led to such a good personal attribute, but in all reality, I tend to believe it’s just in his nature to be this way.

Frank is also an extremely generous guy. From the start he initially consistently wanted to treat me to any of the meals we had together. Eventually we settled on alternating who treats who, yet time and time again, he’s usually the first person to offer to pick up the tab when circumstances arise for a guest to join us. But his generosity doesn’t stop there, as Frank is also extremely generous with his time. I’ve seen him volunteer on a number of fundraisers for good causes even though he’s now retired. He continues to do several services a week in his spare time as well and in addition, frequently visits people in their homes, travels long distances just to see a friend who’s incarcerated, regularly offers personal counseling for anyone who may need it, presides over many funerals and weddings, and a lot more. If anything, I think Frank is probably going to be of service until his body won’t let him anymore, as it’s just who he is. Oddly enough, Frank even still takes large groups of people on tours to places like Germany and Italy, where there he provides his groups a wealth of knowledge on the various tours they embark upon.

But, the biggest thing I treasure about Frank, that thing I’m most grateful for when it comes to him, is that I know he would be there for me in any dire circumstance. He’s told me I’d have a place to stay if I ever became homeless, would visit me if I somehow landed a stint in the hospital, provided a shoulder for me to cry on countless times, and has continued to pray for me multiple times a day for years now, all because of my longstanding bout with physical pain and suffering.

While I know that the Catholic church and priests in general haven’t had the best of reputation in the past decade or two with all the scandals that have arisen, I can promise you that my friend Frank is someone who stands far apart from all of that. Frank has been a loyal servant of God and given himself to the Lord more than anyone I’ve ever personally known. It’s a big reason why I’m so proud to call Frank one of my dearest friends and am very thankful that God brought him into my life here, as he truly has helped to curb some of the feeling of loneliness and depression I regularly feel inside.

So yes, I have plenty to be grateful for when it comes to my friend Frank, as much as I believe that God is very grateful for Frank too, as Frank is someone who definitely has helped to make this world a much better and brighter place to be in for what I can see has been the bulk of his life…

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