Category Archives: Gratitude

Tiny Fingers

Posted on May 1, 2014 by russtowne

One of my favorite rituals between my two year old grandson Thomas and me starts when he rings the doorbell at our front door and My Beloved answers it. Thomas runs in yelling “Papa! “Papa!” (that’s what he calls me) … Continue reading →

Posted in Blessings, Children, Family, Fun, Grandparenting & Grandkids, Gratitude, Joy & Happiness, Love, Making Memories, Miracles, Observations, Random Thoughts, Unexpected Pleasures | Tagged childish, fun, giggles, grandfather, grandparenting, Grandparents, Grandson, laughter, papa, transforming | 23 Comments

I Just Opened a Window

Posted on April 25, 2014 by russtowne

It began to feel a bit stuffy in my home office, so I just opened a window. It only took a moment, but in the space of a heart-beat magic happened. My senses were aroused by the sumptuous melodies of … Continue reading →

Posted in Abundance, Animals, Awareness, Blessings, Connection/Connecting, Contentment, Feelings/Emotions, Gifts, Gratitude, Heart, Joy & Happiness, Miracles, Nature, Peace | Tagged beauty, birds, blessings, carressing, connectednes, connection, flowers, miracles, nature, Pleasure, songbirds, touuching, writing | 26 Comments

Gifts

Posted on April 24, 2014 by russtowne

Yesterday I saw a lone Canada goose in the middle of the day, honking non-stop as it flew across the sky. Seeing geese fly is one of my favorite sights and normally brings a smile to my face. Not this … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Beauty, Blessings, Gratitude, My Beliefs, Nature, Observations | Tagged beliefs, Canada, Canada goose, geese, gifts, joy, mate, nature, presence | 16 Comments

Inspiration and Replenishment

Posted on February 20, 2014 by russtowne

My Beloved and I have been on a mini-vacation and plan to return home today. These photos were taken from the enclosed balcony adjoining our bedroom of the place we love to stay when we’re in the Monterey/Carmel/Pacific Grove Area. … Continue reading →

Posted in Abundance, Believe, Gratitude, Nature | Tagged bay, beauty, California, Carmel, Carmel by the Sea, Monterey, Monterey Bay, ocean, Pacific Grove, sea, waves | 16 Comments

Falling

Posted on January 2, 2014 by russtowne

My mind often flows in mysterious ways. I’m in Illinois visiting family. Snow fell last night. Outside my window is a beautiful white vista. My grandtwins are making delightful experimental sounds with their mouths in the background. One crawled for … Continue reading →

Posted in Adversity, Challenges, Dealing with Pain & Grief, Friendship, Gratitude, Healing | Tagged Anger, compassion, daughter, despair, desperation, frindship, Grief, Illinois, illness, kindness, Love, man, men, parenting, poison, power, strength, wretch | 21 Comments

Priceless Gifts from a Homeless Stranger

Posted on December 25, 2013 by russtowne

I almost didn’t notice her as I drove by on the way back from a last-minute shopping run for forgotten items for Christmas dinner with extended family. She was all alone laying on a sidewalk on Christmas Day. The sight … Continue reading →

Posted in Gifts, Gratitude, Healing, Hope, Loneliness, Loss | Tagged Christmas, dinner, gifts, homeless, humble, Love, meal, priceless, Trust, woman | 49 Comments

No Star In All the Heavens

Posted on December 18, 2013 by russtowne

A Most Unusual Christmas Tree Visitors who come to our home near the holidays are often struck by the sight of a most unusual Christmas tree. Instead of a fir or some other traditional kind, we have a palm tree … Continue reading →

Posted in Abundance, Adversity, Beauty, Challenges, Children, Creativity, Dreams, Family, Family "Fun", Gifts, Goodness, Gratitude, Illness, Ingenuity, Kindness, Loss, My Written Works Misc., Non-fiction Stories I've Written, Non-Fiction Writing I've Done, Pain & Grief, Parenting, Photos I Took, Strength, True Stories I've Written, Writing, Youth | Tagged adversity, beach, challenges, chemotherapy, children, Christmas tree, compassion, daughter, despair, Dog, dreams, Family, friends, Friendship, gift, gifts, heavens, illness, intenive care, joy, kindnes, Love, pain, palm tree, poor, sadness, star | 18 Comments

A Fire Hose Through a Drinking Straw

Posted on December 12, 2013 by russtowne

A reader recently commented that it takes courage to rise above the pain by your true self. I agree. In my case, it did take courage, though at some point, it wasn’t just that I wanted to share what I … Continue reading →

Posted in Abundance, Authentic Living, Breakthroughs, Change, Choices, Courage, Creativity, Fear, Gratitude, Love, Observations, Uncategorized | Tagged courage, encouragement, fear, frieds, Friendship, ideas, Love, support, writing | 9 Comments

Living Life Inside Out

Posted on December 12, 2013 by russtowne

A recent post by Peter Wells at Counting Ducks mentioned a phrase something along the lines of “Living life inside out”. That reminded me of a post I’d written some time ago with a similar theme and I decided to … Continue reading →

Posted in Acceptance, Authentic Living, Friendship, Gratitude | Tagged acceptance, authentic living, authenticity, friends, Friendship, gratitude, Life, living, Love, Peter Wells | 13 Comments

A Simple Act

Posted on December 3, 2013 by russtowne

Here is an excerpt from my soon-to-be-released non-fiction book, “Reflections of a Grateful Man”. A Simple Act When I was in my late teens I thought I was having a heart attack, but it proved to be a collapsed lung … Continue reading →