Day 32: Byron Thompson
What do you do for a living?
I’m retired and I write and I speak. I’m giving a talk tomorrow morning at the Rio Rico Rotary Club at 7am.
What do you do to feel alive?
I pursue my passion in life which is to assist a maximum number of people in realizing their potential. In other words I help people grow and I don’t do it for money. I do it because it’s who I am. It’s all in pursuit of my passion, which ultimately creates that passion in me.
A lesson you learned from your mother:
The first thing that comes into my mind is to work hard. She was a hard worker and my brother, sister and I all inherited that from her.
A lesson you learned from your father:
To laugh and to love.
What’s the most beautiful thing you saw today?
As I sat in my garden early this morning meditating I saw the Santa Rita mountains to the east as the sun was coming up and the whole experience of that magical time I spent there was the most beautiful thing I saw today.
What’s one thing you wouldn’t want anyone to take away from you?
The most precious thing in my life – that’s my sense of passion – my purpose – which is my wanting to make a difference in the world by helping people.
What’s a thought you would like to never have again?
I’d like to be less job centered – less ego driven. Thoughts like: “What’s in it for me?” or “How can I benefit from thus situation?” are thoughts I’d like to be completely free from.
If you could become an inanimate object what would it be?
I would like to be transformed into the Statue of David. When I was in Florence and I saw the Statue of David after turning a corner it was such a life inspiring moment. What Michelangelo accomplished with that sculpture – he communicated a feeling of lasting – of the eternal.
When do you feel most loved?
In those special moments with my family. My daughters never fail to tell me they love me.
If your life were to end tomorrow what would be left undone?
That’s an interesting question. Last Wednesday my mentor died at 90 years old. I idolized him. I modeled a lot of my behavior and goals around his influence on my life. So in a sense there is nothing left undone. My life is complete. There are some books left undone. I’d like to finish my next book “Fulfillment after Fifty” – it’s essentially what I want to pass on. I don’t want to take that to the grave. I want to leave those lessons. You spend a lifetime acquiring information and wisdom – it would be a shame to take that with you.
What global issue would you take on if you didn’t have to worry about how?
I know it’s going to sound trite, but world peace. I’d like to find a way to stop the killing. To stop the fights. We operate within duality in a non-dual universe – if we could realize we are one and stop the killing.
What’s the scariest thing that ever happened to you?
Back in the 70s I was living in Barcelona. I was living there with my wife and two daughters. We were just about out of money and I was offered a job with the UN. I sent my wife and two little girls to Halifax, Nova Scotia where my wife was from while I gathered all the paperwork in order for all of us to move to Kenya where I was to train business people for the UN. While I was alone I completely shut down. I couldn’t complete the paperwork. I was really frightened – I was paralyzed. My wife was expecting me to take care of things – to take care of us – and I just blew it. I was afraid of her reaction and what would happen to us. That story is in my last book.