Category: Grateful Heart Monday

Welcome to Grateful Heart Monday, a time to reflect on a piece of gratitude to start the week off on a positive note, which for today is for the Thanksgiving I enjoyed last week at the home of my friend’s Clark and Shannon.

Before I get into that though, I want to mention that while growing up, Thanksgiving was always one of my favorite times of the year. It was spent at my Grandmother’s house in Glen Cove, Long Island, NY. There, I’d watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade to start my day and then play some games of ping pong with various family members to pass the time by until it was time for our huge feast, which was always spent in a rarely used dining room at a very ornate wooden table that my sister now owns. And once dinner was complete, it was then time for family games, which was always completed with us enjoying those holiday scrumptious desserts.

Frankly, I don’t have a single bad memory from the many Thanksgivings we had at my Grandmother’s house. But sadly, once she passed away, the same can’t be said of where and how I’d spend each of my future Thanksgiving’s. Much of that tended to be because of all the drama I brought in due to addictions I succumbed to. Once I found sobriety in 2012 from the last remaining one that plagued my life, my Thanksgiving days began to return to a much healthier sense of normalcy. For the first few years after that, my partner and I usually dined out at restaurants that had bountiful holiday meals to offer. Last year became the first year I spent one at home, as my partner decided to cook for us. But this year became the first one in a very long time, where it was spent in another’s home, that being someone I’ve sponsored through the 12 Steps. And I must say, it was a great time and a wonderful reminder of the days of old spent with my Grandmother in her home.

One of the best benefits of sponsoring in 12 Step recovery is the friendships that can sometimes arise from working so closely with another over a long period of time, which is the very thing that arose with Clark and eventually his wife Shannon. The two have become great friends to both me, as well as my partner, and the same can even be said with their three children too. During our time at their home this Thanksgiving, there was tons of laughter, love, connection, and warmth shared with each other. Food was plentiful and delicious as well. Games were enjoyed too. But, the most important thing I feel I gained and am grateful for from this year’s Thanksgiving spent at their cozy home is how I now have new blessed memories from a holiday that once held such importance to me as a kid, but lost that importance somewhere along the way in my addiction fueled years.

Hopefully this tradition of creating new beautiful memories will continue on future Thanksgivings as well. But for now, I can at least say I’m truly filled with a lot of gratitude to Clark, Shannon and their family for inviting us into their home this past holiday, as it has left a very warm place in my heart and soul and is now stored right alongside the many great memories I still have from those childhood holidays spent with my Grandmother on Thanksgiving in her home…

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

Welcome to another chapter of Grateful Heart Monday, which for this week I’m starting it off with a slice of gratitude for one of my AA home group members, Chris C.

Living a life of recovery in AA is so much more than simply abstaining from alcohol and drugs, yet many do just that, and much of their demons from the days of addiction remain active, especially the core behaviors of selfishness, self-seeking, dishonesty, and fear.  But there are those who choose to go far above and beyond in their sobriety to live a life of recovery that is more about helping others than themselves and one such person is indeed my AA home group member Chris.

From the moment I met Chris, I’ve witnessed someone who’s always willing to help out, especially to those in need. He’s generally the first to offer his hand in support when someone is hurting. I see him constantly reaching out to newcomers as well, ensuring they feel welcomed. Chris isn’t afraid to show his emotions either, and has openly shed many-a-tears that has helped people just like me not feel so alone in the suffering they’re going through.

I actually feel that Chris represents much of what my first sponsor tried to mold me into from the first day I began my recovery work. I say that because I see him living a life of humility, servitude, and kindness to all, that’s free of judgment, and full of unconditional love for others.

Chris goes well above and beyond just showing up, like so many tend to do when it comes to getting sober. Far too many simply do nothing but stop drinking and drugging and maybe show up at a meeting here and there. Yet, that is so far from who Chris is and I first noticed that early on when I joined the home group he was already a part of. Each week, he was and usually still is, the first to show up, to begin the set-up process of putting the tables and chairs out, and even getting the coffee started if no one else is there yet. If we are out of supplies, he’s frequently the first to volunteer to go get what’s needed and when there’s a group social he makes sure to do his best to always be at them, showing his full support.

But, Chris’s dedication to recovery doesn’t end there. He’s also quite active in our local AA community, which is Area 55. There, he’s served in many positions, on multiple committees, and immersed himself in volunteer opportunities wherever he can. Chris has a joy about him when he serves in AA. I’ve personally witnessed this one night about a year ago when I joined him on a speaking engagement at a local detention center. There, his words were filled with a lot of passion and I could feel his heart and truth through his words, which I know was much-needed that night for those there.

Finally, on a much more personal level, I appreciate Chris because he has made sure to go out of his way on many-a-occasion with me, offering his support and companionship, knowing how much I’ve been hurting, depressed, and ready to call it quits. While I’ve never taken him up on his offer as of yet, mostly because I’ve become more of an isolator than anything these days, it’s still been comforting to know that he’s there for me, just a phone call away. And believe me, in a world where no one seems to answer their phones anymore when you try to call them, that isn’t the case with Chris. He’s always either answered me on my first attempt to call or called me back in an exceptionally short period of time.

That’s why I believe that Chris is a living, breathing example of the recovery life that Bill Wilson, one of the founders of AA, first set forth for all of us. But, even more importantly, I see Chris carrying a zest to serve God, which is overly apparent in so many of his words and actions. I’m grateful to have gotten to know him, to be in the same AA home group as him, and to witness someone who continues to grow spiritually, mind, body, and soul…

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

It’s Grateful Heart Monday, and today I’m starting my week off by showing a little gratitude for the evening I had on this year’s Halloween.

There are two holidays I look forward to the most during any given year, one of course is Christmas, but the other is Halloween and that’s mostly because I grew up enjoying not just getting a big haul of chocolate, but also because I like haunted houses, scary things, and cool costumes. Ironically though, none of those things are what I am most grateful for this year, given that I didn’t wear any costume, nor eat any chocolate, nor visit any amazing haunted house.

Rather, I’m extremely thankful for this Halloween because we finally had one where it wasn’t utterly cold, downpouring, or exceptionally windy. You see, the weather here in Toledo, especially in my neighborhood that’s a mere hop, skip, and jump from Lake Erie can often be rather chaotic. Over the past four years, we’ve had very little trick-or-treaters, all because it wasn’t pleasant enough to even be outside for any length of time for anyone, which thankfully wasn’t the case this year.

Instead, the weather was a cool 50 degrees, yet no wind, and no rain, leaving a perfect evening to put my firepit out in the middle of my driveway so that I could enjoy not only my last bonfire of the season, but also to add more of that Halloween ambience for those going door to door to enjoy as well.

This year we entertained approximately 115 trick-or-treaters, which was frankly astounding. I got to see many cool costumes because of it and ultimately was able to appreciate a holiday that I do try to put some work into with my own decorating inside and outside my home, which many of those trick-or-treating complimented on.

I was also quite grateful when one of my neighbor’s kids came over with his wife and daughter and sat with us at our fire for a bit. I always thought they didn’t like me because they never said two words to me anytime I waved and said hi. So, that was a big blessing for me as well.

In addition to that, several of the parents out walking with their kids told me that my yard was the nicest in the neighborhood and that they always appreciated the hard work I put into it. That alone was well worth the many hours I spent heading into Halloween cutting it and cleaning up yard debris and leaves.

On a final note of gratitude, and honestly, the most important to me, I feel the need to mention that I prayed for weeks ahead of Halloween, asking God to help the trick-or-treaters this year in our area to have the perfect night of weather, given how bad it’s been in prior years. When we ended up actually getting good weather, I was able to not only feel some joy on an evening that I haven’t had much of in previous years, but also experienced some moments of peace as well, as I sat around the fire with my partner and felt a little more connected to God, something I haven’t felt much of in a good, long, while.

So, as Halloween has now come and gone for yet another year, I at least am filled with good memories and gratitude and a lot of thankfulness for my Higher Power…

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