Category: Words To Live By

It’s pretty easy to give up on dreams, especially when we experience one letdown after another, and one setback after another in pursuit of them. Yet, I have always believed that if we don’t ever fully give up on them and continue to keep our faith in God, that they will come to fruition when they’re truly meant to. And thankfully, I got to see this very thing happen just over a week ago when a bunch of men I’m in a group with under the ManKind Project (MKP) went on a spiritual retreat together.

But before I talk about this retreat, I need to go back to where the pursuit of this dream actually began, that being the early 2000’s. You see, it was then when I helped to organize a similar retreat for the original men’s group I was part of under MKP in the Washington D.C. area. The purpose of that retreat was meant to help bond the members of that group closer together with a lot stronger ties, given how estranged we all felt outside of the group from each other, and it worked. In fact, it worked so well, we repeated the very same retreat multiple times in subsequent years after that. During each of those retreats, not only did I feel much closer to the members of my group, I also witnessed a lot of spiritual, mental, and emotional healing take place in each man who attended.

Unfortunately, I eventually had to move pretty far away, which caused me to have to leave the group. Several years would go by after that where I had nothing but fond memories to live off of, because there were no other MKP groups nearby. But when my life took me to the Boston vicinity to live around 2007, I found an MKP group there and started over with an entirely new set of men. Sadly though, each time I brought up the idea of us all going on a spiritual retreat together, it was always met with little to no interest. After a number of years, I left that group and joined another in the same region, hoping things might be different there. Yet, once again, my idea of a group spiritual retreat didn’t excite the men one bit.

I’m sure some of this was a big factor in why I drifted away from the ManKind Project for a few years after that, except I never did fully give up on my dream during any of that time. The memories I had of my original MKP group kept me going long enough to try it again when I moved to Toledo, Ohio and joined a group there during my first year. Sadly, it, nor the group I started after that ever became interested in going away together for a weekend spiritual retreat.

One would think I might have given up at this point on ever seeing this dream come true, but I didn’t. Even after four groups and four attempts to recreate some of the magic that came from my original MKP group, I kept my hope alive and joined a much larger group in a thriving MKP community about an hour drive from where I lived, in a place called Ann Arbor, Michigan. And after attending that group for just over a year, I asked if anyone was interested in the idea of us all going on a men’s spiritual retreat together for a weekend, and wouldn’t you know, a resounding “Yes!” came from all of them.

Six months later, that dream finally came to fruition. And while the experience was different in a number of ways from my original group, it was still amazing on so many levels. I watched plenty of men heal from past wounds, I saw closer bonds forged, and I felt a lot of spiritual love through all the activities, meals, and free time spent together.

So, in light of all this, the lesson I learned here is to never give up on any dream, even if I experience one setback after another in pursuit of it. Because ultimately, I think that all dreams are possible, as long as I continue to pursue them. Thankfully, I did just that and am going to use that energy to not only propel myself forward to next retreat, but also to seeing my other dream through as well, that being to my health restored to a level of functionality where I can return to work and be more physically active in life.

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

Lately, I seem to find myself looking for inspiration for my blog by seeking out short inspirational stories on the Internet. Today’s is titled “A Dish of Ice Cream.”

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. “How much is an ice cream sundae?”, he asked. “50 cents,” replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it. “Ma’am, how much is it then for just a dish of plain ice cream?” he inquired further. Several people were now waiting for a table and the waitress was becoming a bit impatient. “35 cents,” she said brusquely. The little boy again counted the coins. “I’ll just have the dish of plain ice cream,” he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and departed. When the waitress came back, she began wiping down the table and then swallowed hard at what she saw. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, was 15 cents – her tip.

I truly love stories like this, ones that show the selflessness that I believe God seeks in all of us. While this boy could have gotten the ice cream sundae he wanted, he instead chose to remain humble, solely so that he could offer the waitress a tip.

Sadly, when I was a kid, I know I wouldn’t have done the same as this boy did at that hotel coffee shop. Most likely I would have gotten the sundae and not leave a tip or I would have gotten the dish of plain ice cream and kept the 15 cents for myself. Pretty sad, isn’t it?

Unfortunately, I grew up rather spoiled in a family that never lacked money, where I always felt like I deserved everything and usually got it. That self-centered mentality continued well into my adulthood, so much so that many used to describe me as having a silver spoon stuck up my ass. Thankfully, that’s not the case anymore.

Losing the bed and breakfast I once owned and a vast sum of money, seeing my health rapidly decline in the process, and choosing to deal with it all by immersing myself in 12-Step recovery and servitude to God and Christ has totally shifted me away from that selfish person to one that’s more in alignment with the boy in this story.

These days, I do my best to think more of others than I do myself. I may not always be perfect at it, but I’m far better than all those days where I used to snap my fingers and expect everyone else to do everything I wanted.

Selflessness is something I definitely had to work hard at developing and I’m grateful that a simple story about a boy and a dish of ice cream reminded me of that journey and what I continue to strive for each and every day in my life.

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

Occasionally I come across short inspirational stories from time to time that inspire me enough to re-share them in my blog. The following is one of those, which I found on the “Godwinks” Facebook page, and I’ve titled it “A Little Boy’s Ultimate Sacrifice.”

The baby girl lay near death, critically injured in an automobile accident. She desperately needed a blood transfusion, but no one could be found who shared her rare blood type. In the midst of their frantic search, the doctors actually discovered that her seven-year old little brother Kevin had the right type of blood. Anxious to proceed, one of the doctors sat down with Kevin and talked quietly with him. “Your sister is very sick, son,” he said, “and if we don’t help her, she’s not going to live. I want to know…are you willing to give your blood to help your baby sister?” His face pale with fear, Kevin seemed to struggle with his answer. But after a few moments, he said softly, “Yes, I will.” The little boy then watched sadly and silently as his blood flowed from his arm through the tube. “We’re almost finished,” the doctor smiled encouragingly. Kevin’s eyes filled with tears. “How long till I die?” he whispered back. Looking at him in amazement, the doctor realized that Kevin thought he had been asked to give all his blood to save his sister. That brave little boy had believed that his act of mercy for his sister would cost him his life. Yet…he had still been willing to do it!

When I first read this story, it brought tears to my eyes. I can only imagine what must have been going through that boy’s mind as he watched the blood leaving his body, seeing that he didn’t understand the full procedure. But that’s precisely what makes this story so inspirational. He loved his sister that much that he was willing to give the ultimate sacrifice, his life, to save hers.

It’s not often in life that people seem willing to sacrifice much of anything these days except when it might benefit them somehow. Sadly, that really does seem to be the norm with so many and it’s actually not that difficult to look around and see all the selfishness and self-centeredness that continues to pervade our world. Thankfully though, there are still individuals out there from young to old, who go against that norm and provide selfless sacrifices in their lives to help another, just like this little boy did to save his sister’s life.

In light of that, it’s my hope that when I’m called upon one day to make a similar sacrifice of my own, that I have the strength and courage to follow through and selflessly help another just like a little boy named Kevin did for his sister…

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