Facing Some Fears With Traveling And Trusting God Will Help Me Through Them…

I haven’t travelled anywhere overnight since I went on vacation to the Cayman Islands in the beginning of 2016, because frankly, it became too difficult for me due to my physical pain levels and the anxiety I had surrounding it. It wasn’t fun anymore to go on any trips so I made a vow at the end of that last vacation that I wouldn’t go away anywhere until I felt a lot better.

But that all changed a few months ago when my Spirit told me during a prayer and meditation session that I needed to go see my nephew Luke for his 5th birthday at the end of August. Seeing that I always do my best to follow any Higher Guidance I receive, I opted to heed this call and am actually flying out today to the Nashville, Tennessee area to go be with my family and celebrate with my nephew. While I’m excited to see him, as he really doesn’t know me given the last time he saw me was when he was under 2 years old, I’m also having to face a few fears going on this trip.

The first deals with the whole airport and flying thing, as standing for long periods in those security checkpoints and walking for long distances around the airport is never fun on my body at all. The last time I travelled, I had to get a wheelchair to deal with the pain, which was very humbling. But even more humbling was when the airline-agent questioned me about what my disability actually was when I asked for early boarding, because they didn’t see any real signs of one at first glance.

The second is due to the fact that my partner isn’t going with me on this trip, as he can’t get out of work. Although I used to go on many trips by myself in the past and totally enjoyed them, being by myself now without any in person support by someone who understands the pain I go through is difficult, especially because odd things often arise with my health that usually require the help of my partner to deal with them.

The third relates to the last time I visited my sister’s family, which was about three years ago now, as it didn’t go over so well, because back then was precisely when all this physical pain and mental anguish really began to get to me. That in turn led me to isolate more than not while there, spending most of my time on the phone getting support from my recovery circles instead of being present with them, and they just weren’t able to understand that.

And lastly, speaking of recovery, the final fear I have surrounding this trip relates to the past addictions I’m now sober from. As sad as it is to admit this, much of the reason why I used to love traveling so much alone is because I used to act out in addictive behaviors on most of those trips. So, I’m sure that my ego will try to convince me once again to do that, especially if I’m dealing with any type of high pain levels.

So that’s all the fears I’m facing at the present moment with this trip, but thankfully I have something much bigger than I to help me during it and that’s God! Because I believe it’s God who actually led me to go on this trip in the first place and in light of that, I know He’ll be present to help me overcome any of these fears if they should arise.

Nevertheless, I would like to also ask each of you to please pray for me to receive strength, peace, and joy during this trip, as I walk through each of my fears of traveling to be with my nephew Luke for his 5th birthday. And know as well, that as I place a few “Thought For The Day” entries about trusting in God these next few days in my blog, that it’s mostly to give me some encouragement, just in case I might need a little of that while I’m away! 🙂

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

Thought For The Day

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of their skin, or their background, or their religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” (Nelson Mandela)

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

“Detroit”, A Docudrama That Will Probably Disturb You…

I hadn’t been born yet when the Detroit riots actually took place back in July of 1967. Yet watching Kathryn Bigelow’s latest film “Detroit” chronicle this tragic event of that summer ultimately made me feel as if I really had experienced it first-hand.

As the movie begins, the viewer is immediately entrenched into the growing heated tensions between blacks and whites during that hot summer of 1967 in the city of Detroit, when the local police raided an unlicensed, after-hours bar hosting a welcome home party for a black soldier. During the raid, each of the guests at the bar get hauled away into one paddy wagon after another while nearby locals begin to shout obscenities towards the police. Soon, the tensions rise to a level that eventually escalates into a full-blown riot which ends up lasting five entire days. The film itself mostly focuses on one specific event that took place during that period where three young African American men were murdered at the Algiers Motel while being interrogated by several white police officers.

Overall, I found “Detroit” to be a truly disturbing movie, not only because Bigelow directed it in such a way that felt as if the events were unfolding all over again in the present day, but also because I still see the same racial tensions going on all around our country and even in the world as well. There have been a number of “accidental” and “questionable” murders of minorities by police and others in recent years where no justice was ever achieved. The movement towards equality seems to be going in the opposite direction now with groups using religious rights to segregate all over again. And violent crimes by radical individuals that target minorities also seem to be on the rise too, like with the Pulse nightclub massacre last June where 49 innocent people were killed.

When I left the theater after watching “Detroit”, I can definitely say I felt a great level of sadness. Fifty years later, after these events unfolded, life still seems to be in a volatile state in our nation. I feel the racial tensions in the air a lot of the time these days, often hearing white people use offensive racist terms towards minorities and vice versa, the same from minorities towards whites. And living in a city where there is a high level of poverty, I tend to wonder if the events of Detroit in July of 1967 could happen all over again right here in my own backyard.

With the world at unease because of the looming threats of war and the feeling that a civil war could actually break out in my own country, my heart deeply grieves. I can’t imagine this is what God ever intended for us, yet I know it’s up to each of us to make a difference and reverse this trend. I know I’m only one person and I truly do my best to make a difference, by practicing love and compassion towards everyone, no matter what their race, religion, sexuality, etc. I just wish more would do the same because deep down within every one of us is a piece of God. Unfortunately, that piece often gets blocked by deep levels of hatred, fear, and resentment that only unconditional love and forgiveness can erase.

So, while “Detroit” may have triggered a nerve within me and brought out some definitive sadness for the state of our nation and our world as well, it truly was a masterpiece of a movie directed by a female who knows how to make the viewer feel a part of what’s taking place on the screen. “Detroit” is not for the light of heart, but it ultimately is an artistic masterpiece that hopefully will receive its due recognition come Oscar awards season.

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