Category: Grateful Heart Monday

I’m so glad that I added this new category last week, because as I’m typing this, I haven’t been feeling much gratitude today and that is exactly when I know how important it becomes to find something to be grateful for.

That being said, what I’m most grateful for today is that I still have my eyesight and hearing. Knowing there are over 285 million people in this world who have disabling visual impairments and over 360 million people who have disabling hearing loss is something I’ve thought about quite a bit lately. Sadly, I think far too many people usually take things like their sight and hearing for granted until something happens that negatively affects one or the other with significant loss. I honestly can’t imagine a life where I wasn’t able to see God’s beautiful canvas anymore that’s around us all the time, like the flowing rivers here that soothe my soul every time I’m by one and find myself staring out into their churning waters. It’s also difficult to imagine a life where I wasn’t able to see the faces of those I love anymore like my partner, my sister and her family, or my dearest friends. Similarly, it’s just as hard to fathom a life where I couldn’t hear those sounds of nature anymore, like the roars of the ocean or the chatter from all the living creatures. And frankly, I definitely have a really hard time fathoming a life where I couldn’t hear the voices of those I love anymore, which also includes the purring and tiny meows I regularly adore from my cat. These are all things I once took for granted and never gave much thought to. But through all the suffering I’ve been through in recent years, I’ve discovered a pretty serious amount of gratitude for things like my eyesight and hearing, which I’m sure those 645 million people on this planet who are disabled with one or the other would gladly have restored. So, thank you God for my eyesight and hearing and for having a much greater appreciation for two things that I never used to.

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

Recently, I felt a push from my Higher Power to begin something new in my blog that I’m starting today and will be called “Grateful Heart Monday”. With Monday often proving to be a difficult day for so many to find any bit of gratitude, I’ll be using this day of the week from now on to write about one specific thing I’m personally grateful for and why. And it’s my hope that those who read this each week will then in turn come up with at least one thing that they too are grateful for on every Monday and will share what that is back with me.

Thus, moving forward, my gratitude for my first of many “Grateful Heart Monday” entries to come is this. I’m grateful to God that I’m still maintaining this blog, because as of January 14^th, 2018, I hit a major milestone. It was on that day I achieved something I never thought I’d be able to, which was to write for five consecutive years. And with this specific entry, I’ve now published 1,844 days in a row, never once giving up on my writing, even when my ego has attempted to convince me at times it would be better to, like on those days when I’ve been in terrible health, or on those days when my articles have mostly gone unread, or even on those days when I’ve received negative comments about something I passionately wrote about. That’s a pretty large accomplishment for a former addict like me who used to rarely follow through on anything while in the deep throngs of plenty of addictions. But I must never take credit for that, for the only reason why I’ve been able to achieve five consecutive years of writing is due to the passion God has continuously given me for this. So, thank You God for helping me to keep writing, to never give up on myself with a talent I know you gave me, and to continue believing right on through my very first “Grateful Heart Monday” that I’m doing Your will and serving a Greater purpose with this very blog for as long as I have…

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