Tag Archives: gifts

To A Friend Who Is Going Through Tough Times

Posted on May 19, 2013 by russtowne

A friend who is going through tough times recently wrote something along the lines that she needed to get out into nature. Dear friend: I wrote the lyric for the song linked above, and Kevin Harris wrote the music. I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Beauty, Believe, Dealing with Pain & Grief, Dreams, Feelings/Emotions, Friendship, Goodness, Loneliness, Loss, My Beliefs, Nature, Pain & Grief, Poetry I Wrote, Songs I've Written or Co-Written | Tagged believe, cares, dreams, Friend, Friendship, gifts, goodness, greatness, grieving, Kevin Harris, loss, lyric, music, poem, poetry, song, symphony | 17 Comments

The Choice

Posted on February 28, 2013 by russtowne

In response to a recent post titled, “One Of My Heroes And A Quote That Helps To Explain Why”, a reader asked, “How do you do that–leave it (Ed. note: hatred, bitterness, anger) behind? That is an excellent question. Here … Continue reading →

Posted in Adversity, Attittude, Breakthroughs, Dealing with Pain & Grief, Feelings/Emotions, Forgiveness, Gratitude, Growth/Learning, Healing | Tagged Anger, bitterness, chains, cling, Forgiveness, free, gifts, hatred, hppy, prison | 6 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 … Continue reading →

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

Abled

Posted on January 15, 2013 by russtowne

I’ve often found that “disabled” people are some of the most “abled” people I know. I’ve learned much about living and life from people who have been labeled disabled. I’ll bet that many of you have found the same. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Acceptance, Adversity, Challenges, Gifts, LIfe Lessons | Tagged abled, disabled, eye contact, gifts, greet, hello, labeled, learned, Life, living, Love, smile, talk with, welcome | 10 Comments

The Flow

Posted on November 22, 2012 by russtowne

I had a dark and haunting dream last night and awoke with a sad and jarring phrase running through my head over and over again. While these are certainly not the kinds of things I normally associate with Thanksgiving, I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Gifts, Gratitude | Tagged dreams, flow, friends, Friendship, gifts, Happiness, happy, haunting, Love, Thanksgiving | 8 Comments

What Matters To Me

Posted on September 25, 2012 by russtowne

This post is dedicated to anyone who is in the midst of struggle, heartache, pain, and grief. Dark days of any kind. And especially to those who are searching for their gifts, for the meaning of life, or even the … Continue reading →

Posted in Challenges, Choices, Dealing with Pain & Grief, Growth/Learning, Pain & Grief | Tagged choices, choose, father, fiance', gift, gifts, Grief, heartache, lessons, Life, living, lung, lungs, Mother, pain, reason for living, share, struggle, student, student of life, surgery, Whooping Cough, wisdom, wise, wisely | 30 Comments

You Are A BIG Part Of My Inspiration

Posted on September 11, 2012 by russtowne

Thank you. All of you. Those of you who read but don’t comment provide an audience for my work. Nearly all creative people want to share their work. You give to me an opportunity to do so and I’m grateful. … Continue reading →

Posted in Abundance, Adventure, Authentic Living, Creativity, Following Your Passion, Gratitude, Songwriting Adventure | Tagged Americana, being myself, blog, films, fun, gifts, heart, Inspiration, Norman Rockwell, Rockwell, sentimental, share, sharing, song, Songwriting, spirit, that's who I am, won | 22 Comments

Every Gift Has People Who Would Appreciate It

Posted on September 2, 2012 by russtowne

One rarely accomplishes anything worthwhile by hiding in a crowd. If we aren’t sticking out then we are hiding the gifts that we could be giving to the world. We all have something to share and sometime ago I decided … Continue reading →

Posted in Choices, Communicating, Following Your Passion, LIfe Lessons, Making the World a Better Place | Tagged gifts, giving, proud, sharing, talents, uniqueness | 20 Comments

Some Gifts I’d Love to Return

Posted on July 12, 2012 by russtowne

My last post where I said tough times are “lesson-rich” may have come across as glib. It wasn’t meant to be. While I believe challenging times are indeed lesson-rich and hold gifts for us, there are quite frankly some gifts … Continue reading →

Posted in Challenges, Dealing with Pain & Grief, LIfe Lessons, Observations, Pain & Grief | Tagged beloved, blood, blood transfusions, cancer, challenging times, daughter, despair, diagnosed, difficulty, gifts, Grief, happy, hospital, incurable illness, intensive care, lesson-rich, Life, pain, scare, survived, thyroid | 9 Comments

A Key Source of Light

Posted on June 25, 2012 by russtowne

“The wound is the place where the light enters you.” -Rumi We all get wounded in many ways. It is part of the experience of life. But in exchange for the the pain we are offered several huge gifts that … Continue reading →