Stories - FD Thornton

I was sitting here today sending out a few notes and making some calls for my business. When I started thinking about the current stage of life I am in today. Gone are the days of boundless energy and the recklessness of youth. Gone too are the days of parenting and maturity that comes from rising a family. I guess now my wife and I are starting the next stage of our lives where it’s just me and her again. But considering how quickly we started a family, we kinda never had a just me and her phase to begin with so this should be interesting.  I’ve wrote a number of times about maturing and observing how in my own life my taste and outlook have changed. I’ve written a lot about while growing older never really loosing that spark of adventure and improvement. But ever since our daughter’s announcement she and Cody were becoming parents. It has made me aware that me and my wife to are entering new territory ourselves. At first it was a bit scary, at least for me, to think someone we br

Well it's 10:15 AM here and the rain is falling, we had three beautiful sunny days this past week, so I will not complain too much. Here in rural Southern Georgia where I live even on a good day it's an effort to go anywhere populated. So I'm happy my wife and I did our shopping and other business this past week. It gives me a day like today to just lay here and listen to the rain fall and have a moment of peace. It's important for us to do that, because in our American culture so much emphasis is put on running, running, and more running. That sometimes I see family and friends doing so much running, I don't see how they ever enjoy everything. It makes me wonder how long it's been since they've stopped or even listen to thunder? I guess my point here is why do we run so much? Is it just to keep up with the Jones or is it something within ourselves we don't like? Do we look at ourselves disappointed with what we see? Believe me, I can look in the mi

It’s not hard for us to do a favor for a friend or family member. It’s not so hard to think you would do something for a neighbor or a person on your town. But it might be hard to do something for a complete stranger. Yet there are people out there who every day that do just that. They put their own lives on hold to help a complete stranger. What is it that makes a person do that? What drives the charity they feel for others? Is it a conviction of the heart? Or is it empathy for those without? Whatever the reason, it is the light of those individuals we can all learn from. Nearly every day I try and leave an encouraging word with those I met. Rather it’s online or in person, I don’t really expect any kind of reward back. I truly believe each of us have gifts we were given. And it’s with those gifts that we should give back to the world with no desire or expectation to profit from it. So I guess the question I should ask is this, are you willing to give without expectation

Recently I've had a run of bad luck prospecting for new clients for my business. As anyone in business knows without sales and without clients you don't eat. Now if you know me or look at my picture, you've figured out, I like to eat. So I would think it's needless for me to say, man I need a pep talk.  Dealing with anyone in sales you know it's all about "closing the deal" . In my situation I believe the product I offer is a really good one. I mean, I pay my monthly fee and use it myself. So I have no lack of faith in the service I sell. It's just sometimes the best of us can lose faith in our abilities and we need Knute Rockne to prop us back up. But at the moment Knute not taking my calls and even the best of self-affirmations just ain't cutting it.  So what are you to do?  One thing that comes to mind is no amount of worry or fear is going to change a situation. If you are at a point where all you can do is put one foot in front of the ot

Last night I watched an interesting video bio of a young artist whose music I love. The artist, Melody Gardot lived through a traumatic accident that still affects her quality of life. Yet at the same time it matured and redefined her outlook of music, art, and life. In the bio she spoke of how music, while important to her before the accident, helped her to reconnect with herself physically and mentally. Watching this it reminded me of my own journey and how my illness separated me from who I was. In my long journey back to rediscovering myself and my passions, the treatment I was taking to manage my illness, had robbed me of so many emotions and in my life. It came to a point similar to Melody that I had to stop medicating the problem, so I could feel again. What I have discovered since that time is the richness and passion of emotion that was lost while on that treatment. When I first ended that treatment my renewed emotions were all over the place. I had to relearn how to

Once again it’s one of those days where I’m simply not feeling it, which usually means today’s gonna be a pretty productive day. The reason I say that is because, on the days where I don’t hang any expectations, any move forward move exciting. This may sound like a silly may to actually motivate oneself but living in the moment means to focus on now and not ten minutes down the road. You may ask, does this mean living your life without dreams or plans? No, it simply means being focused on the task at hand or what you’re doing now. John Lennon said it best, when he wrote, life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. So as I sit here feeling a bit uninspired and ill, it does not mean the day is lost. As long as I focus on each thing as it comes. Even now as some of you read my opening statement of not feeling it. That didn’t stop me from putting together what I’ve done so far. Living and working in the moment for me achieves a kinda peace. A peace where no e

Often times I can close my eyes and see ghosts in my mind. Those individuals I grew up loving, that loved me and waited nothing but the best for me. And I wonder do other people do the same? Do they see their loved ones like a ghost in the mist reflecting in their dreams? For the people in my past, that’s how I see them, that’s how they appear to me. I guess the reason I'm mentioning this is because I wonder how well I reflect those from my past to those I now love. Because for them those that are real in my mind are nothing more than images and faint emotion to them. Maybe the more curious thought is how will I be reflected in their minds? Will they remember the good or will they remember the bad too? I guess that’s something that I can’t really control. All I can do is walk in the direction I believe is right and pray my steps are good. Maybe that’s why the ghosts linger in my mind, to show me the way to go. And who knows, maybe someday I'll become a ghost. Guidi

I don't know if this happens to anyone else, but after some 350 posts, I tend to lose track of what I've written about. So recently, I've been feeling pretty good. So much so that a few good habits I had quit, I've picked up on again. I see the world now in a brighter light and my normally critical self has been taken over by a degree of optimism.  It's not like this hasn't happened to me before. Usually when I experience a positive feeling of optimism there is still a small part of my mind that's waiting for the other shoe to drop, hence the title of this post.  What make's me feel this way? Why does my optimism end up being clouded by a sense of impending doom?  I guess the answer lies in my mental/genetic make up. The way I was raised, the social environment I grew up in, the people I surrounded myself with, and the traits passed to me by my parents. Still in my mind I don't really think you can blame everything on outside influences . Meani

I am a child of the sixties and seventies, meaning that while I have embraced technology and social media. I grew up in the age when all the average family had was one phone on the kitchen wall and social media was when you and your friends got together at the Tastee Freeze. My kids on the other hand have had computers and Internet access since before preschool and will answer a text from me much faster than a phone call.  Since the explosion of social media, any controversial comment or thought that may have stayed among friends, can now be seen instantly seen across the world. Leading to ruined reputations, loss of friends, alienation from your family, losing of a job, or worse.  Now I could sit here and say, be careful how you word professional and private communications on the Internet, just ask Mrs. Clinton. If anyone remembers Business English class, you know that was sage advice given to you by that cranky English Teacher (A note to all teachers out there, please do not send

For anymore who actually reads my stuff (Thank-you, Brian) knows I usually try and keep it light and on the subject of a business/life balance. Well to be honest, over the past number of months I've been keeping my workload light. I've been working to get some personal issues in order, so that I can fully return to work/life energized and focused.  I suppose I could continue this by spouting the virtues of keeping yourself in balance. Or that when setbacks occur, focusing your energy on correcting that problem. Because, what good are you to others, when you're not good to yourself. I could say those things, but Lord knows, you should know that already.  My point is, once you've focused on that situation, when that situation is over don't forget how to swim . By that I mean, I've been dealing with a long term problem. It's required me to take off periods of time from school and work. I say this now because a long time ago, I lost the fear of being as less

As the title says, it's the middle of the week! Don't everyone jump up and cheer at once, will you. I mean half the work weeks over and "Easters on it's way." For some maybe's that's a three day weekend, right? Anyway, it's been a few days since I posted. It's not for lack of trying, it's just sometimes I got more questions than answers spinning around my head. Which itself could make for a good posting or not as the case may be. Thinking about the idea of Easter and Spring, it's a time of renewal. A time that the greens of the grass and the trees come back. The early flowers start to bloom and pollens so thick, you can cut it with a knife. But that's the way it should be, all those little spores and seeds being moved about creating new plants and feeding the insects and the birds. Around my own front porch our red tip hedges are coming out with their bright red leaves of Spring. The song birds are coming back eating from the feeder a