Category: Words To Live By

With all the negative news out there lately surrounding the Coronavirus, I felt it important today to share some positive news on that front. While statistics have shown that negative news sells, I say that positive news will help to make this world a far better place to live in right now!

In light of that, there are many reports of restaurants out there handing out free toilet paper with their take-out orders to help those in need who couldn’t find a single roll on grocery store shelves. Restaurants like Libby’s Southern Comfort in Covington, Kentucky, Backroads BBQ in Lebanon, Indiana, Cambridge Bar and Grill in Cambridge, Minnesota, The Beacon Tap in Des Plaines, Illinois, or the Cask & Pig Kitchen and Alehouse in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, to name just a few of the many places that have become willing to help in such a unique way.

Then there are reports of those who are helping the elderly who are at risk by doing their shopping for them. Take Rebecca Mehra for example. She was walking into a grocery store last month when she heard a woman yell to her from their car. When she walked over and found an elderly woman and her husband there with their window just slightly cracked, the woman explained in tears that she was afraid to go in the store, so Rebecca bought their groceries for them to help keep them safe. Along the same lines, Samantha Kelly set up a hashtag on Twitter titled #SelfIsolationHelp, solely for the purpose of helping people just like those that Rebecca Mehra aided.

While one of the biggest fears right now is how people are going to pay their rents for their housing, some are helping on that front like Michael Che of Saturday Night Live who decided to pay one month’s rent for all 160 apartments in a New York Public Housing complex where his grandmother lived before she died. Along the same lines is apartment owner Mario Salerno, who owns 18 apartment buildings in Brooklyn. He cancelled the rent for all of his tenants for the month of April, hoping only to relieve some stress off those living in any of his buildings during this difficult time. I found many other reports of rents being waived as well!

And as people have to at times venture out, there are plenty of reports of people sewing free protective masks for those in need like the Lachance family in Central Maine who have been creating a storm of them for midwives, priests, elderly people, and those with immunity issues from their surrounding community. Joining them are numerous others including Dr. Martina Puzanov and her 12-year old daughter Veronika in Amherst, New York, Tammara Ozee of Harrisburg, Illinois, and an 80-member Shawnee Quilters Guild in Ava, Illinois. Even businesses that normally do clothing repair such as Dang’s Alternations, owned by Nga Nguyen and her husband, have since converted their business into solely making protective masks all while working 14-hour days!

And I mustn’t forget to mention plenty of famous people who are using their wealth to contribute to relief efforts like NBA Charlotte Hornets star Bismack Biyombo donating over $1 million worth of medical supplies to the Congo, or Zion Williamson of the NBA New Orleans Pelicans covering all the salaries of the Smoothie King Center where his games are played, or Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian who opted to forego his own salary for six months to prevent layoffs in his company, or actress Blake Lively and actor Ryan Reynolds who both donated $1 million to Feeding America and Food Banks Canada, or NFL Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and his wife Ciara donating 1 million meals throughout Seattle, or Netflix establishing a $150 million relief fund, or Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation donating $5 million to relief efforts, or my personal favorite, Starbucks, who has chosen to pay workers for 30 days, even if they stay home! Credit also to Kylie Jenner for donating $1 million to L.A. hospitals, NFL New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees for donating $5 million to the state of Louisiana, Angelina Jolie for donating $1 million to children affected by the coronavirus, and Oprah Winfrey, Pink, and Paris Hilton all donating millions to the COVID-19 relief efforts as well.

As I searched the internet for other positive news stories surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, I found countless ones of where people have chosen to pay it forward by doing their own random acts of kindness, solely to help make a difference during such a difficult time. While the majority of the mainstream news seems to regularly focus in on all the drama and negativity surrounding this virus, there is a lot of positive news out there, you just have to look for it. I’m thankful I did, because I have a much better outlook now on what people in our country and around the world are doing to help us all make it through!!!

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

My friend Robb once told me politics and religion are two subjects he never discusses with any of his friends. I didn’t quite understand why until just recently, where I almost lost a new friendship over having repeated heated discussions surrounding those very subjects.

When it comes to religion, I’m a pretty open person. I’ve studied a number of them on and off over the years and would probably attend any type of religious service I was invited to simply out of interest. While I follow the teachings of Christ and believe in a Higher Power, whom I choose to refer to as God, I also regularly entail some Buddhist spiritual practices and carry some of that religion’s beliefs as well. I utilize prayer and meditation on a daily basis and repeat mantras throughout my day too. I absolutely enjoy talking about religion and exploring the many facets of discussion it can bring and attend a very open-thinking spiritual service on most Sundays. My friend Mike on the other hand is very jaded towards religion, especially lately when it comes to Christianity. He does not employ any type of daily religious or spiritual practice. He doesn’t attend any type of weekly service either. And over time, I’ve learned he’s far more slanted towards agnosticism than towards living any type of specific faith. Discussing religion with him is definitely not something he’s very open-minded about.

As for politics, I know absolutely nothing really on the subject and honestly, I don’t care about it either. I’m not pro or against our current president or any candidate running against him either. There are many elections I’ve never even voted in and at this point, I’m not sure if I’ll even vote in the upcoming ones either. And up until just recently, I actually didn’t even know who my state governor was or who my local mayor was either. One would be safe to say I’ve become pretty close-minded about the subject of politics, mostly because it just doesn’t matter to me. My friend Mike on the other hand is deeply entrenched into politics, is extremely dedicated to keeping up on all the hot topics and issues, and totally despises Donald Trump and his whole administration. He posts dozens of political things on his Facebook daily and I think it’s safe to say he’s very knowledgeable of anything political related and could successfully carry on a conversation with someone who likes to talk about that sort of thing.

So, as you can, we couldn’t be more different on the subjects of religion and politics. Yet, that didn’t stop us from initially trying to have conversations surrounding both. Unfortunately, all they resulted in each time we did, was negativity and tension. For as much as I will probably always remain open-minded when it comes to religion and spirituality and close-minded when it comes to politics, Mike will probably always remain close-minded when it comes to religion and spirituality, and open-minded when it comes to politics. In light of that, trying to force each other to see it from each of our own perspectives, has only been met with arguments and polarization.

Here’s the good thing though. There are many other subjects to healthily discuss in every friendship and thankfully, Mike and I have continued to explore a number of them. But, just as important, we’ve recently had to set some boundaries that have kept all religious and political discussions off the table because of that negativity and polarization it was creating in the both of us. And the last thing I personally need right now is any increased feeling of negativity in my life when the world is already filled with so much of that presently.

The bottom line here that I learned with my friend Mike is that religion and politics are two subjects that often become taboo to discuss amongst friends. They tend to be loaded discussions at times and ones that frequently lead towards argumentative battles. Battles that in the end are only going to end a friendship, rather than connect them deeper. I would prefer not to lose my friendship with Mike or anyone really, so, Robb, I agree with you! I’m glad I learned that these two subjects are maybe best left off the table when it comes to exploring a new friendship!

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

Two weekends ago, my partner and I, along with a few friends, were sitting on a couch at a Mardi Gras party having a great time when a woman sat down near us and abruptly asked if any of us were watching the television coverage of the Democratic conventions. Two nodded their heads. She then asked if we all were backing candidate Pete Buttigieg because he’s gay, as she knew we were all gay individuals. Immediately, I could feel where the conversation was going to head, as I’d been down this path one too many times in my life with others, especially when politics or religion was the topic of conversation.

As I looked over at the woman and read her body language, it was pretty clear judgements were forming within her. When one of my friends responded that he liked Buttigieg simply because he seemed like a good candidate, she quickly exclaimed, “That’s exactly the problem with you Democrats, none of you have any valid reasons you can offer as to why you are for any of the candidates!” Instantly, all the positive energy and enjoyment of the party went away for us, causing each of us to get up one by one and leave the situation and shortly thereafter, the party as well.

It’s sad when people in society, like this woman, think the answer to their problems or our country’s problems is with someone or something “out there” like the president. For as long as they choose to believe that, judgments will continue to form within them with everyone else who doesn’t buy into their beliefs. Divisions will in turn continue to be made along the way between them and those who don’t agree with them, and society overall continues to drift apart as more and more people take their sides on issues.

The same negative principle holds true with Christians who continue to believe they are the only true path to God, who place judgments on other religions and the people who follow them, while the people who follow those other religions in turn do the same with them. It’s true with whites who feel superior over blacks and other races, and the other races who feel that whites are the problem. It’s true with pro-lifers who feel abortion is wrong and pro-abortion individuals who feel it’s their choice to make. It’s true with pro-second amendment advocates who feel the right to bear arms and pro-gun-control supporters who feel the need for laws banning guns. And it’s true with all the other hot issues too, such as health care, the environment, immigration, marriage, welfare, etc. Whatever the issue, judgments are constantly being hurled at those who have opposing views from them, with each feeling their viewpoint is the correct one. So, how does this ever end? How does it ever get better? The sad reality is it doesn’t, so long as people continue to judge one another for the stances each take on those various issues in life.

People seem to think that if all of those issues got fixed in the way they imagined they should be fixed, that their life would be grand. What they don’t realize is that even if the person they wanted for president got elected, that even if everyone suddenly started supporting their belief system, and even if all the laws somehow got changed to support every single one of their views, they still wouldn’t be happy and instead, would find something else to judge. Why? Because happiness doesn’t come externally, it comes internally, from letting go of the past, from forgiveness and release of all resentments, and from loving oneself unconditionally, which, in turn, leads to loving everyone else unconditionally. And the more one is able to love unconditionally, the more the world becomes the one they find peace with. But, not working on any of those internal disturbances and keeping them pushed down, only leads to judging others with unloving comments like what that woman said to all of us at the party the other night. The fact is, hurt people continue to hurt people through their judgments, all because they keep on avoiding doing the work within to fix themselves.

I honestly just wish people would wake up and realize that the person they want for president isn’t going to make their world any better, because it’s not the world that’s broken, it’s they who are broken. And no matter how many people they may convince or pull onto their side of an issue, there’s always going to be someone else just beyond with a different opinion, causing them to get disturbed with judgments all over again.

Fix yourself, heal your inner wounds, love your inner child, and in doing so, you’ll help to fix the world, because the more your inner world is able to be at peace, the more you’ll be at peace with the outer world, even when it doesn’t quite align with your views.

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