Grateful Heart Monday

Welcome to another Grateful Heart Monday, where expressing gratitude kicks off my week in writing, which for today is for all those who have forgiving hearts, who are willing to do that hard work of freeing themselves from grudges and resentments and fully letting them go.

Holding onto resentments is probably one of the most toxic things a person can do on their spiritual journey in life. It benefits no one, especially themselves, something I came to know very well during the 12+ years I remained sober from alcohol and drugs but did little to change myself from the former life I lived of alcohol and drug addiction. During all those years, I harbored one grudge after another, looking at so many people, places, and things with total disdain, suffering immensely in the process. When I finally found the gift of the 12 Step recovery program and really worked it to the best of my ability, I learned how much the amends process that comes out of it is a gift not only for those I made amends with, but for myself as well. Forgiving others has brought out many blessings and healing to my heart and soul. It’s why I’m sad when others struggle to do the same with me, because it’s only making this world a darker place for both them and others.

When I recently made a serious attempt to connect with an individual who blocked me on Facebook many years ago, that had developed a resentment with me that I had no idea what it was ever about, they remained uninterested in working through whatever it was. This left me with that sadness I’m speaking of, because I know the freedom that comes through letting all those grudges and resentments go, no matter how big or small they are. Typically I’ve found that the people who struggle letting any of them go become very angry people in life, walking around in this world with an invisible dagger ready to strike at the slightest thing that doesn’t agree with them.

I truly have found such freedom in my life by not being this way. By learning how to have a forgiving heart and working diligently every single day to remain free of resentment, I have healed much of a heart and soul that felt pretty broken for plenty of years. This is exactly why I’m so thankful when others who’ve copped serious resentments with me have become willing to work through them and move beyond them. I have seen the gift it gives them when they’ve done so. There are several people in my life now who have done that very thing with me, who have moved beyond the anger they one held towards me and gotten to the core of what really matters, and that’s loving unconditionally.

So, I’m grateful today for having a forgiving heart and for all those who have the same as well, who don’t like to harbor grudges and resentments, and do the work regularly within themselves to let any of that go whenever it arises. The process of doing this daily not only frees oneself from living in bondage bound with so much anger, but also frees the world a little more from all the hatred that still consumes itself so greatly…

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

Thought For The Day

Always remember that you reap what you sow and karma always comes back around. That is the subject for today’s quotes and yesterday’s Daily Reflection.

“Life is an echo. What you send out, comes back. What you sow, you reap. What you give, you get. What you see in others, exists in you.” (Zig Ziglar)

“If you want kindness, be kind. If you want friends, be friendly. If you want help, be helpful. If you want love, be loving. If you want respect, respect yourself. You will most often get more of the things that matter in life by giving them first than you ever will by trying desperately to get them or asking for them.” (Zero Dean)

“Everything you do, everything you say, every choice you make, sooner or later comes back around.” (Rich Simmonds)

“Remember, what you do now will come back to you in the future. Life has a funny way of making yo deal with what you make others go through.” (Unknown)

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

Daily Reflection

“When you truly understand karma, then you realize you are responsible for everything in your life.” (Keanu Reeves)

“A man reaps what he sows…” (Galatians 6:7)

I was having a late breakfast in the early afternoon a few Saturday’s ago at The Original Pancake House here in Toledo, when suddenly a frantic waitress looked out a nearby window and yelled ‘I can’t believe they left without paying!’. I inquired on what happened only to discover that her party of two tables had left her with their $130 bill when no one was looking after over an hour’s worth of waiting on them. I felt sad for her and angry at the same time, but honestly trusted that everything would right itself eventually, because karma sure has a funny way of coming back to haunt a person. When I paid my bill and discussed the situation with the manager, I told her I was sorry to hear what happened but that I believed karma would fix itself through something like those people’s cars breaking down with a hefty repair bill. They chuckled. And why I felt comfortable saying that? Because I have most certainly learned a lot about reaping what I sowed in this life.

How many times I deliberately hurt another for self-gain is probably countless at this point in my life. But how many times those same things came back far more painful down the way is also countless. I firmly believe that all those years I was so selfish with the money I was given led directly to the loss of my former business and almost $700,000 of cash investments. I also firmly believe that the many health issues I’ve experienced over the past decade also correlate to how I treated others in the past. But, on a far smaller level, if one truly pays attention to how things work in this world when it comes to karma, it’s easy to see how things come back sometimes three-fold and more.

I clearly recall times when I bargained for this or that, “nickel and dimeing” my way through something, only to experience things like my own car breaking down or a major appliance going out shortly after. People often don’t see that correlation though because they are spending so much time living out of their ego trying to stay one step ahead of everyone else, often at other’s expense.

Nevertheless, all of this reminded me of the one time I deliberately did something similar in my younger years when I went bowling with a few hoodlum friends. At the end of our time at the alley, they all quickly jetted out without paying, telling me no one was going to get hurt doing so. I didn’t say anything because I was trying to act cool. But I went back later and paid the bill for all of us, because deep down in me I knew then like I firmly accept now within me, that profiting off another’s expense never pays in the long run.

I pray that all who try to profit off the expense of another will learn that what one reaps one sows, and that there is such a thing as karma… 

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