Category: Words To Live By

For as much as COVID-19 has caused so many negative issues to occur on the health front, the financial front, and even the domestic front in our very homes, there has been a noticeable blessing around the world that’s come from it as well. Our air has become cleaner and clearer and so has our bodies of water too, which are two things we absolutely need for survival in this world, and two things that up until this pandemic, have worsened year to year because of our utter disregard and neglect for the Earth.

I personally witnessed this COVID blessing recently with something I never thought I would at the Marblehead Lighthouse on Memorial Day in Marblehead, Ohio, when I walked over to the water and saw how blue it actually was, given every other time I’ve been there or at any other part of the Lake Erie Shores where it’s always been cloudy, murky, and generally dirty in appearance.

All around the world there have been plenty of reports of things just like this with cities that normally are filled with pollution having much fresher air. Views of mountains off in the distance that haven’t been visible for decades now in crystal clear view. Smog disappearing from cities that normally are quite clogged with it. And water qualities becoming translucent in places it never was or hasn’t been in a very long time.

You would think experiencing this would be a strong wake-up call for all of us to see how easily it could be for our planet to have better air and water quality in our lives. But I was grossly reminded of the ignorance of the human population in general when it comes to protecting nature with the amount of people I’ve seen during this pandemic throwing trash out their car doors and windows, including far too many of those protective masks people have been asked to wear when out in public. It’s sad to say, but watching people just throw their trash upon our Earth with no respect for it tells me that we haven’t learned our lesson yet. A lesson that has led me to believe that COVID-19 didn’t come from some lab, or some bat soup, or from 5G towers, or anything of the sort. Rather, I’ve often pondered whether it actually came from the Earth itself. Some may think I’m crazy for even suggesting that, but I have truly wondered if the Earth was trying to get our attention.

If it was, it feels like we still aren’t listening as a whole, because beyond the constant littering I keep seeing, people seem to be more worried about life resuming back to the normal we had, then thinking about these two key elements we need for survival, that being air and water, and how much better both have been in the past bunch of months all around the world. The fact is, why aren’t more of us focused on protecting these critical life staples instead of being mostly focused on our economy and money getting restored?

I mean seriously, purely hypothetically speaking because of course I have no proof, but what if all this pollution we put into our air and water over the years is precisely what did cause COVID-19 to occur? And what if COVID-19 could be just the beginning of the Earth getting our attention? Even worse, what if there was a COVID-20, or 21, or some another pandemic to follow only because we aren’t getting the message? The message that what’s most important in the world is the very nature we live off of, not the money that goes in our pockets or the things we purchase with it.

Here’s the simple reality of my argument here that so many of us seem to be forgetting. The more unclean our air gets and the dirtier our water becomes, the unhealthier our animals, plants, and vegetables get that require both for survival, and the unhealthier we get as a result as well, since each are the food we need for survival.

So, in light of that, maybe our focus shouldn’t be on life getting back to the “normal” we had before COVID-19. Maybe our focus needs to be more on what we are going to do to keep this beautifully cleaner air and water around for longer than just a stay-at-home life that brought it about. Because there might come a day where our air and waters are so polluted that there will be far worse pandemics than COVID-19 to ravage our planet as a result…

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

Every now and then I feel really compelled to write an entry that explains my blog and the writings I do for it because quite often people seem to question me surrounding it.

There’s a simple answer what this blog is at its very core.

It’s an online “Dear Diary” of sorts and nothing more.

Look, I don’t have that many creative talents, but if there is one thing I do feel I’m good at, it’s composing my thoughts in a clear manner on paper, or as in this case with my blog, digitally.

When my spiritual teacher suggested back in 2012 that I should start writing all the things I’ve gone through in life and continue to go through, by way of a diary or journal, I balked. I’ve never been the “Dear Diary” type. Although I was a small-town columnist in prior years for a few local newspapers writing inspirational stories for readers to digest, the idea of writing for myself about my life experiences in a diary and being told it could actually help heal myself, seemed a little absurd. It just didn’t quite make sense how this could do anything good for me, especially in some type of notebook with my handwriting always being so atrocious. So, when my spiritual teacher recommended that I start an online blog instead, which I learned was basically an online version of a “Dear Diary”, I decided the only thing I could do was at least try it out.

I officially wrote my first post for this blog on January 14^th, 2013. It was nothing more than me stating an intention for myself to begin something new in my life. After that, I made a commitment to keep posting something every single day from then on out, in the hopes that it may indeed help myself spiritually heal and grow. I never thought that anything I wrote though would ultimately connect much with anyone else, that was until I began seeing people discover my blog on the Internet, and even sign up for the free subscription to it. As time moved forward, some suggested I repost the links to my articles on social media. I was a little hesitant at first, but eventually I did and soon found more were finding connection to my spiritual journey and musings via my blog’s words. But more importantly was that it did seem to be helping me somehow with my healing, as there were days I felt far better on the mental, emotional, and spiritual levels after composing my thoughts in an article. Unfortunately, along with all these benefits this online “Dear Diary” was bringing me, came some negative energy as well, or should I say a peanut gallery of people who felt the need to tear down and question my writing, rather than uplift and appreciate it. Dealing with that has probably been the only hard part of maintaining this online diary.

Nevertheless, this blog is still mainly for me and my healing. It began that way and will continue to remain that way. It’s a tool I use to express my truths in a way I understand. While they may not be anyone else’s truths and while others may not understand at times what I write either, I’ve begun to accept that’s ok because a blog in of itself is simply one person’s opinions and viewpoints in life, which in my case is a diary of my life, of all my ups and downs, my storms and sufferings, my triumphs and failures, and everything in between. The fact is, I write for me and only me, to help me go within, and to communicate to my inner self. While my words at times may indeed come off as preposterous to others, I accept that, because this is my “Dear Diary”, and is something meant to help me. If it helps others, I’m thankful to God for that, but ultimately, it’s still at its very core for me and my spiritual journey in life. While some may not like what I write and judge my content, I’m thankful I keep beating to my own drum by maintaining this because it’s been helping me heal and spiritually grow. And, if in the process, it helps any of you as well on your own spiritual journeys, I’m blessed to know that too.

So, “Dear Diary”, as I complete one more entry in you for one more day of my life, I credit the Spirit within me and the God of my understanding, for giving me such a strong drive to keep on doing something that has truly helped me on my spiritual journey, even when others may harshly judge me and my words from time to time.

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

There are a lot of people in our country who absolutely despise our current President, just as much as there are still a lot of people in our country who absolutely love our current President. While I’m not on either side of this coin, and truly do my best to live neutrally surrounding this ongoing heated debate, I do struggle with all the negativity out there constantly directed at him. It seems as if every conversation that comes up around me is always about something that was said recently by him that has caused another great uproar. Because of all this negativity, I tried my best recently to shift the focus away from it by asking a purely hypothetical question in my blog. My question was if you woke up suddenly one day and found yourself in our current President’s body, as in Disney’s Freaky Friday movie, and had one day to live as him, what would you do to inspire our country through this ongoing pandemic.

My sincere honest desire in asking this question was to create some positive discussion surrounding what people might do differently. But sadly, the majority of the responses I received ended up being just as negative, although I’m quite sure some of the actions suggested probably would indeed inspire those who are filled with anger, resentment, and frustration towards him. Actions that included a number of ways they’d kill themselves or disappear or resign, some of which involved the deletion of their twitter account as well. What I found quite interesting though is that there was one person overall who actually did leave a fully positive comment by saying they’d do what they could to offer hope and show empathy. I was thankful for that comment, because it’s exactly what I’d do if somehow this purely hypothetical situation ever happened to me. Because while taking my life as the President or running away or resigning might inspire one set of people who despise our current President, it won’t with the other set who continue to support him, thus leaving our country in the same divided boat.

Look, while I’m not well versed in politics, which most know about me, I personally wouldn’t find it inspirational during this pandemic to see our current President take their life or run away or even resign. Just as much as I wouldn’t find it inspirational if our current President was assassinated either, which I’ve often heard people wishing for, because I respect all lives, including his, as I believe everyone, including him, has some good in them somewhere.

I’m sure there are some who might argue this point with me incessantly when it comes to him, but here’s how I see it. If you took a snapshot of me about a decade ago on backwards, one might argue there was nothing within me that was good or worth saving, as I constantly made decisions that were solely based upon ego and self, something that so many continue to say about him. But deep down within me there was good and there was a person worthy of redemption. It may have been grossly hidden, but it was there.

So, that’s why I won’t condemn our current President, because I’ll condemn myself in the process, being that I’ve hurt many people myself in my life through totally selfish actions. So I can’t point any negative finger at him, nor wish to participate in any negative discussions surrounding him, because I’m just as guilty. This is exactly why my answer to this question from the other day would NEVER be to take my life or run away or resign or do anything of the sort.

So, what would I do then if I woke up in the body of our current President and only had one day to try to inspire our nation through this pandemic? Well, my best answer without really knowing politics, and with knowing that any decision I made on any policy level would probably still create two factions, one for and one against, would simply be to tell the world that I’m truly sad for all the lives being lost in this pandemic. I’d then visit and call as many families as I could in a single day who’ve lost someone from this virus, and I’d show each of them as much empathy, love, and support in their time of grief as I could.

Nevertheless, all the answers I received to this hypothetical question made me realize one thing. I personally have no business complaining about our current President because I’m not better than him, or anyone else for that matter, nor do I believe I could do the job of him any better either, as I’m quite sure my actions would only polarize people, just like I already seem to do so much through my daily blog writing. That’s why the only viable answer I can give here is exactly what the one reader suggested, and that’s to offer some form of hope and empathy, which in a nutshell, means showing love, something that really needs to begin with all of us, and something that negativity towards our President will never accomplish…

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