Russ Towne's A Grateful Man

An Eighteen Year Old Who Has Much To Teach To The World

Posted on February 15, 2013 by russtowne

Prodigy 18-year-old photographer: ‘I want to evoke nostalgia in everyone’

Olivia Bee is an 18-year old with an amazing talent. She has been sought after by some of the world’s biggest brands since she was 15 for her incredible photography.

While I agree that her work is stunning, it is her wisdom with which I am most impressed:

“You can do this for a living?!? Sign me up!”

“I’m really inspired by daily life and the beauty that can hold.”

“I love what I do, and think it really shows in my work.”

“It helps me to really appreciate evry single day.”

“Don’t focus on success in terms of money and fame. That won’t mean anything. Focus on success in terms of doing what you love and what makes you happy.”

That’s one wise teenager!

Russ

Posted in Authentic Living, Choices, Creativity, Following Your Passion, LIfe Lessons, Stories That Touched Me, Youth | Tagged Converse, fame, Happiness, happy, inspired, Love, Money, New York Times, Nike, Olivia Bee, photographer, photography, Subaru, Success | 6 Comments

A Great Valentines Day Gift From Misifusa

Posted on February 14, 2013 by russtowne

Misifusa from http://misifusa.wordpress.com/2013/02/14/lovely-valentine-liebsters/ just honored my blog with the Liebster Award. Thank you misifusa. If you haven’t checked out misifusa’s site I recommend that you do so.

Here are some questions misifusa requested that I answer:

1. What’s your favorite day of the week and why? I love every day of the week because I do what I love professionally and I do other things I love as hobbies, so since I do what I love every day, I look forward to each new one.

2. Why do you blog? To grow, connect, find kindred spirits, share, and to help to remind readers as to the goodness and greatness within themselves and others.

3. Who do you love? I love everyone who is working to make the world a better place. My family and friends (including you!) are doing that, as are many more friends who I have not yet met.

4. What’s your favorite holiday and why? My favorite holiday is the one I’m enjoying in the moment, so right now my favorite holiday is Valentines Day.

5. Do you have a guilty pleasure? Not as many as I used to! :-C! ;-D! Blogging in excess and eating too much of the wrong things are probably my two worst guilty pleasures.

6. Do you play an instrument? No. And I can’t sing, carry a tune, or read music either. So, naturally, I became a songwriter.

7. Can you please recommend a good book to read? Two of my favorites are Enders’ Game and Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

8. Do you laugh everyday? I sure do my best to fill my days with laughter, connection, growth, and kindness.

9. What’s your favorite post on your blog? “To Protect His Heart”

1o. Are you on Facebook? If so, tell us where to find you! Yes: https://www.facebook.com/russ.towne.9

Thank you, again, misufusa for the wonderful Valentine’s Day present!

Russ

Posted in Awards: Sharing The Love, Gifts | Tagged connect, connection, Ender's Game, grow, growth, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, kindness, kindred spirits, liebster, Liebster Award, Misifusa, share, sharing the love | 11 Comments

Love Always and Forever!

Posted on February 14, 2013 by russtowne

This year I decided to create my own Valentines’ Day card for My Beloved. Here’s what it said:

To My Beloved on Valentine’s Day
We started as kids playing in the street
In basketball you were hard to beat
I loved when we played Hide and Seek at night
Using the glow of a big street light
Then we met years later at the house of a friend
When we started to talk I knew it right then
That we’d be together for the rest of our lives
And someday you’d become my wife
Six months later I was down on one knee
On a little bridge on a beautiful creek
Half a year later we walked down the aisle
Thirteen months later we had our first child
And though we had a lot of growing up to do
It wasn’t long before we had child number two
And our blessings were soon doubled
As we had more good times than troubles
Since we had two boys in our family
We made sure a girl was child number three
We had great times and some tough ones too
But always together we made it through
We never gave in and never gave up
We worked together and made our own luck
We’ve made a great love as we built our life
And I still bless the day you became my wife

Happy Valentines’ Day!

Love Always and Forever!

SHMILY!

Russ

Posted in Love, Marriage, Poetry I Wrote | Tagged bloved, challenges, children, kids, Life, Love, marriage, Valentine's Day, wife | 14 Comments

Lovers’ Day for Lonely Hearts

Posted on February 14, 2013 by russtowne

This post and poem are dedicated to everyone who will be alone and wish they weren’t on Valentine’s Day.
Love,
Russ

Lovers’ Day for Lonely Hearts

This is for all the lonely hearts
Who are apart this Lover’s Day.
For those who seek their soul mate
And for those whose lover is away.

May you soon hold your love so close
That your two hearts beat as one.
May your love grower stronger every hour
And hotter still when each day is done.

May your passion burn so bright
That it’s glow lights up the skies
And may you both bask in the sight
Of undying love in each other’s eyes.
–Russ Towne

Posted in Loneliness, Love, Poetry I Wrote | Tagged alone, lonelines, lonely, Love, lover, passion, poem, poetry, Valentine's Day | 2 Comments

They Chose To Give It To You

Posted on February 13, 2013 by russtowne

“When a child gives you a gift, even if it is a rock they just picked up, exude gratitude. It might be the only thing they have to give, and they chose you to give it to.” –Unknown

I believe that applies to people who give a smile to me too.

Love,
Russ

Posted in Children, Generosity, Gifts, Gratitude, Quotes I Love | Tagged child, children, gift, gifts, Love, people, strangers | 15 Comments

Healing Words

Posted on February 13, 2013 by russtowne

“Words. They can arouse. They can make you laugh, and make you cry. But if you find the one who can heal you with their words, never let them go.” –Unknown (Source: Forever Awezome)

I love this quote. To me, it is so powerful because it is so true. I know that words can heal as I have sometimes been healed by them.

I believe there are many who can heal with words, as more than one have helped to heal me with their words.

As I think back to times when I have been healed by words, they have often come from total strangers who felt compassion and showed kindness to me at moments when I most needed them.

Sometimes you wonderful friends do that for me too.

May you have many people in your life who heal you with their words.

Love,
Russ

Posted in Abundance, Communicating, Healing, Making the World a Better Place, Quotes I Love | Tagged arouse, cry, friends, heal, healed, healing, laugh, Love, true, words | 7 Comments

Terrible Times, and Choices

Posted on February 13, 2013 by russtowne

A recent post discussed difficult times. In the comments section of that post some comments were made something to the effect that difficult times can make someone better and more kind. I agree. Below is part of a reply I made to a dear reader and friend:

Some of the kindest, most giving, and empathic people I know have experienced some pretty awful things in their lives. Then again, some people who do some terrible things also appear to have experienced many terrible things in their own live. So to a large extent, I believe it is a choice–like so many other choices we have each day, but one that often comes with much larger consequences.

Some will use their experiences as a way to help others, and some will use them as an excuse to hurt them. But many who head down the latter path can change their choices with the faith, love, hope, coaching, and kindness of others, often especially those who have walked such paths before them and know where they lead unless a different way is chosen in time.

This post is dedicated to everyone who has survived terrible times and chosen to make a positive difference in the world. Thank you!

Love,
Russ

Posted in Adversity, Challenges, Choices, Kindness, Loss, Making the World a Better Place | Tagged Caring, choice, choices, empathic, kind, loving, path, paths, terrible times | 9 Comments

A Five-Decade Stroll Down Memory Lane

Posted on February 12, 2013 by russtowne

That’s What he gets rough mix-2_12_13

I was just working on a song about friendship with my co-writers Denis Loiuseau and Kevin Harris, and it reminded me of a visit I had last week from a dear friend whom I’ve known for about 50 years. The stroll down Memory Lane that we shared last week was wonderful. Just two old friends reminiscing about the troubles we got ourselves into and out of together over all those years.

“Here’s to the troubles we got into and out of together” might even be a good line for a song…

Speaking of songs, this is one that Denis Loiseau and I have worked on and off–mostly off–for many months. We decided to ask Kevin to create a very rough draft putting the lyrics and music together and we got to hear that version for the first time this afternoon. IT STILL NEEDS A LOT OF WORK, but I know that some of you like to follow a songwriting project as it progresses rather than only hearing the finished product, so I’ve attached a VERY ROUGH DRAFT. It’s a bit like eating a cake that hasn’t yet been baked.

Love,
Russ

Posted in Adversity, Challenges, Friendship, Song Updates, Songs I've Written or Co-Written | Tagged firemen, five decades, friends, Friendship, Memory Lane | 6 Comments

Sometimes I Wonder…

Posted on February 12, 2013 by russtowne

“Sometimes you face difficulties not because you’re doing something wrong, but because you’re doing something right.” –Joel Osteen

Wouldn’t life be simpler if all our problems stemmed from doing something wrong? Then we’d know we were on the wrong track and could begin looking for the right one to make our troubles go away! ;-D!

One thing I know for sure is that whether I’ve been on the wrong track or the right one, difficulties have rarely been far behind. And if I go very long without difficulties, I seem to go out of my way to screw something up so that difficulties can quickly find me again!

I’ve either got a bad case of self-flagellation or a good understanding as to how difficulties often eventually lead to learning, growth, and hopefully, wisdom.

Sometimes I wonder which it is…

Love,
Russ