 I opened the door and the assortment fell on my head. I picked them up off the floor, grabbed the step stool, and climbed up to shove them all back into the overflowing cabinet like I had done hundreds of times. As I jostled and pushed the bowls, pitchers, and pickle containers back into the black hole of plastic, it occurred to me –WHY don’t I let go of the Tupperware? Thirty years ago Tupperware parties were the acceptable girls-night-out. We all took turns hosting the gatherings where we listened to the sales pitch, ate cake, drank coffee, and shared the secrets (okay, gossip) of the day. Then we ordered the obligatory plastic items. At the time it seemed expensive, but the justification came with the durability of it, the perceived usefulness of it, the cool factor of the new products, AND the lifetime guarantee. It was virtually indestructible, but if some major mishap did occur it would be replaced. Along with this came a free add-on with every item - guilt. I am convinced it was molded into each piece during the factory creation. It was an unwritten code that you WOULD keep it forever. After all, the investment... the lifetime guarantee…and someday you will need it! What do you have in your home that you won’t let go of? What ties up the space in your heart and mind that is bound with the guilt of investment and a someday but, never-to-be-used promise or guarantee? Is your closet overflowing with clothes? Is there an unhealthy relationship in your life? Are you in a job you hate? Do you hold a victim story in your heart that you retell over and over? The Tupperware of our lives comes in all forms. We invest in all of them with time, money, and energy in the hope of a future payoff. And then there is the elusive guarantee of need –someday, of weight loss – someday, of love – someday, of a promotion – someday, and someday this victim story is going to explain why everything happens to me. Maybe it was the 700th time of having a load of hard plastic fall on my head that finally spurred me to make a change. Maybe it was the recognition that it will never wear out, so the guarantee doesn’t matter. Maybe it was the realization that I will never use it – not even someday. The 'why' doesn’t matter. Now it is packed in a box ready to be donated. My cabinet is organized, clean, and clear. My guilt is gone. I feel free! What is the Tupperware in your life? When will you let go of it? ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie's Life Lesson: We have things in our closets, hearts, and minds that we hold on to in hopes of "someday." YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.
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 I have been called Pollyanna, Susie Sunshine, optimistic, positive, and perky throughout my life. I accept all of those as terms of endearment, when actually at times they have been said in a teasing way. I will admit to being a glass-is-full kind of girl. You know that saying, “Walk a mile in my shoes?” Well, I am asking you to, “Walk a Mile in My Smile.” I am far from perfect, and I am not perky and positive every minute of every day. I have down times, sad days and occasionally become angry. But I am asking you to join me in the upside of walking in my shoes. I will admit to having the advantage of being blessed with a high happiness set point. This means I seem to keep a fairly high stance of happiness no matter what. When I do have the occasional gloomy, sad, inner rain, my body fights to regain its natural value of happiness. But above that, I have learned to live with the habit of happiness. I have several rituals that I have used over the years to support this habit and they enable me to stay fairly true to my happiness set point. Here are just a few of these happiness enhancers that you may like to try. Begin each day with gratitude. When your eyes open in the morning, take some time to lay there and be grateful for waking another day, for the bed you slept in, for the sleep you enjoyed, and for the day ahead. As you swing your feet off the bed for that first step of the day, say “Thank” as you place one foot down and “You” as you place the other foot. As you walk throughout your day, say “Thank you” with your steps. Subconsciously your mind will begin to fill in the blank of thank you for _____. As you are driving to work or to a meeting say, “Thank you” out loud for the meeting you are about to have, for the successful outcome, and for the positive interaction you will have with those involved. When you go to bed at night, instead of lying there running through the list of things you didn't get done or should have done differently, go through a mental list of thank-yous for all the people, places, and things that enriched your day. An added bonus to this is if you have problems sleeping this will help with that too. Why would you count sheep- that you don’t even know – when you can count the people, places, and things that you love? I bet you are noticing a pattern here. Yes, I believe the secret to my glass-is-always-full outlook is appreciation. If we appreciate every step we make, every breath we take, and every interaction we have there will be little space left for negativity and anger. Even if you have little to appreciate – begin there. Appreciate that. Be grateful for that. Say thank you for that. As your appreciation grows so will your happiness. As your happiness grows the love you hold on the inside will spill to the outside and soon you will be walking miles in your own smile. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie's Life Lesson: ““As your appreciation and gratitude grow so will your happiness!” YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.  I fell down. I am not sure how, but my entire body fell to the ground. My knees took a hard hit followed by the rest of my body as it stretched out on the dirty concrete, sliding (less than gracefully) until I put my hands out to stop myself. My suitcase and purse fell over next to me. Lying on my belly, arms reaching forward, and my legs behind me in a childlike Slip-n-Slide position, I stopped. I was confused and stunned. There were no signs of a hole or bump, nothing that I slipped on. I just fell. By definition, a free-falling object is an object that is falling under the sole influence of gravity. That was me. One minute I was thanking the shuttle driver, handing him a tip, pushing my suitcase, and the next minute I was flat on the dirty concrete. I felt like a fish that had just been taken out of the safety of its pond and thrown floundering on the shore. I quickly got up, told the shuttle driver I was fine, and moved toward the curbside check-in. Every step I took was slow and precise. After dropping my suitcase off I found the first restroom in the airport to see if my knees were intact under my jeans and wash the dirt off my red sore hands. Minor scratches were all my body incurred, but my ego and confidence were silently damaged. I sat on the plane during my flight reliving what happened -how it happened and why it happened. I didn’t have the answers, but I knew I felt vulnerable. I thought about all the falls I have taken in life. Memories of my struggles, the setbacks, the self-inflicted pain, and the pain from uncontrollable circumstances raced through my mind as I relived the years of my life. This fall reminded me of all of them. It also reminded me of all the tears, the fears, and the lessons learned from each one. There is no such thing as a free fall. All falls come with a price. They all hurt. None of them are easy. Lessons don’t always come easily. The price of a lesson is often the pain of our falls. I am grateful that I wasn’t really injured. I know a broken wrist is common when you put your hands out to stop a fall. The way my knees hit I could have damaged them. I could have hit my head. My scuffed knees and sore hands will heal, and my confidence and ego will recover. Another lesson learned. We have all fallen in many ways. Falls happen in life. Most happen when we least expect it. We don’t see it coming. We free fall, pulled by the force of gravity landing face down in the dirt. We aren’t prepared. The best we can do is slide through it as gracefully as possible, pick ourselves up, wash our hands, and keep going. This is how we learn. It is in the falling, failing, and floundering that we move forward. Pennie’s Life Lesson: “The price of a lesson is often the pain of our falls.” YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.  I had just completed a deep conversation with a group of people I trusted. Trusted enough to share a personal situation in my life that I just could not wrap my head around. I told them how I had tried everything to manipulate it into a good outcome. It wasn’t working. During the lunch break as we were going through the buffet line, a woman’s voice in my ear said, “You think you are pretty dang powerful, don’t you?” I was startled as I turned to see a woman from the group that just heard my story. She saw the look on my face and then went on to say it again. “You think you are pretty dang powerful. So powerful that you can change people, change their situation, change how their story will end. Well, you don’t have that kind of power.” Before I could gather my thoughts enough to respond, she turned and walked away. The nerve of her! Who does she think she is, saying something like that and walking away, I thought as I plunked a large scoop of potato salad - that I had no intention of eating- onto my plate. Her comment was shocking. Her comment was rude. Her comment was hurtful. Her comment was 100% correct! I didn’t have the superpower that could control another person. I didn’t then and I don’t now. None of us do. Believing that we can, will only create stress and tension between people. Everyone does have one superpower that we use every moment of our lives, but we don’t always use it for the highest good. We all have an amazing, powerful ability to capture emotion – and by doing so, we can spur emotion in others. With one word, one action, or one small gesture we can stimulate happiness and joy. Our words and our actions hold a superpower of expressing contagious emotions. When we allow this power out, we can create emotions in others. Today, it seems, that many people are using this superpower in a negative way- spurring anger, hate, and fear. Then in turn the person who receives this uses their superpower to pass it on and it spreads like a wildfire burning and destroying all the joy and happiness in its path. After that buffet line smackdown, I went back to my situation and stopped trying to manipulate the outcome. I put my energy into the one thing I could control – me. I became mindful of how I was using my own superpower. I couldn’t change the path or outcome of the others I was worried about, but I did change how I reacted to it and how I interacted with them. My friend was wrong about one thing… I do believe we are all pretty darn powerful. We all have a superpower. We need to learn how easy it is to put our power in motion to create a positive effect in our lives and project that to others. Be very careful with your power. It is strong. Don’t use your superpower in a negative way. Use your power for good. Concentrate your energy on kindness, joy, and love. And soon you will see just how powerful you are! Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Use your superpower for good. Promote kindness and love, then watch how it magnifies and multiplies in your life.” YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.  Marion is an eccentric combination of Annie Oakley, Gloria Steinem, and Shirley Temple. Like Annie Oakley, Marion understood tough times and learned to work hard in order to become financially successful. In the 1860’s Annie, changed ideas about the abilities of women. A century later, Marion did the same. Both had the courage to prove that a woman could stand her ground in the world that men controlled. Marion, a single, teenage mom with an 8th-grade education began waitressing in a small cafe bringing tips home to provide for her infant son and mother. Over the years she gained her PhD in the ways of life eventually purchasing the cafe, bars, supper clubs, and even a construction company. Like Gloria Steinem, she was not afraid to speak up and voice her opinion -even when it was unpopular. She continues to be a strong advocate for women and doesn’t shy away from a discussion about her political views. I’ve seen Marion lock in a business deal during dinner, strongly expressing her opinion about the details of the agreement and then, just as easily changes her composure, blinks her flirty eyes, and giggles with the impish playfulness of a young Shirley Temple. Marion is a force to be noticed. Marion is my mother-in-law. I delight in listening to the stories of her younger years when purchasing property was done with a handshake and over-bearing men were no match for her. She tells of how she has made money, lost money, felt success and experienced desperate times. It was during one of these stories that I heard her make this profound comment, “I never really looked at my glass as half full or half empty. I always thought my glass was filling up!” That statement should be on T-shirts, coffee mugs, and tattoos! That is not just optimistic – that is living a life of expectation. A life of adventure. A life of anticipation-- of learning from whatever waits around the next corner. What if we could all see life that way? The next time you believe you are having a bad day or living through a challenging time think of it as your life just filling up. Filling up with experiences to learn from. Allow your cup to fill with all life has to offer- the good and the challenging. I hope for Marion, for me, and for everyone that our cup of life continues to fill until that very last drip tickles the rim and runs down the side. And when that happens, we all wink, giggle, and with an impish smile know that our life was full! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson- “Your glass is not half empty or half full – it is always filling!” YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.  Those brown eyes. I will never forget those brown eyes looking at me. He was sitting in his truck as I told him I loved him, said goodbye, and walked away. It was the last time. We were at a gas station, my car parked in front of his truck as we both filled our tanks. I paid for his gas. It was the last time. We met for breakfast that morning. IHOP was busy as we slid into our booth. I don’t remember what spurred it, but I remember the conversation. Every. Word. Of. It. I told him how I believe we are all energy, and we shouldn’t look at people for how tall or short they are, what their weight is, or how smart they are. We should look at them for their energy. What the energy of their soul looks like.  I had a scrap of paper in my purse that I took out and drew a star. “This is what I think I look like,” I said as I added sparkly dots to the star because I like jewelry and sparkly things. Then the game began. On the edge of the morning newspaper, we drew people as they entered the restaurant. Not their face or body, but the way we thought their energy looked. Pancakes arrived and the paper was pushed away, but the conversation continued. “You know, I believe our energy never dies,” I said, thinking about my dad who had passed just two years before. I pinched my thumb and finger together, leaving a whisper of space between the two. “I believe grandpa is still here. I believe there is only this much space between where he is and us.” His eyes looked intently at me as I patted the seat of my booth and explained that I believe he is right here next to me all the time. “The energy of grandpa is always close to us and we can talk to him and be with him whenever we want to. “I said. “Do you really believe that?” he asked. “Absolutely! I think grandpa is in a magical place that we can’t even understand… but we will someday.” He was enthralled by this conversation. I was thrilled that he was interested in my beliefs and my way of seeing life, death, and everything in between. When the pancakes were gone and the waiting area was bustling with energy-filled people, we decided we should let someone else have our booth. As we walked out, I said, “I need to get gas in my car, if you follow me, I will fill your tank too.” “Are you sure?” he said with one of his huge smiles. I watched him in my rear-view mirror as he drummed his steering wheel and bounced to the music he was listening to. The vision of the energy that was the soul of my son struck me as a shining light bigger than I could draw on a piece of paper. I never felt more connected to him than I did in that moment. Our tummies, our tanks, and our hearts were full. We hugged. A deep hug that neither of us wanted to let go of. Then he got in his truck. I walked to my car and got in looking back at his eyes still looking at me. It was the last time. I often think of memories of my son and the trail always takes me to the last time I saw him, the last time I touched him, and the last time I heard his voice. I knew the value of that moment was life-changing at the time, but I didn’t know the profound memory that it would become. It has been 14 years. Every year I write about him on his birthday and the anniversary of his relocation to heaven. I will always talk about him, write about him, and remember him – over and over again. It will never be the last time. Pennie’s Life Lesson: “The true value of the moment is in the memory it becomes." ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.  Have you experienced an event that seemed like an amazing coincidence? One that you couldn't shake from your mind and you believed there was more to it than mere chance? I believe that when occurrences happen without a direct trail of cause and effect and yet make a profound impact of significant connection that there is more to it than chance, happenstance, or accidental association. Carl Jung studied these meaningful coincidences and coined the term “synchronicity.” I watch for these moments in my life and recently one of my readers shared her experience. She wrote: " . . . I totally believe in signs and such. Went to my local Goodwill and there was a Pennie Hunt "Good Enough" coffee mug, right there calling to me and reminding me that I AM Good Enough. Thank You for being, well, you and sharing your story and message. . ." She went on to explain that she took the mug home and interpreted it as a very positive sign during a challenging time in her life. My Good Enough mugs are peppered across the country and some have even traveled across oceans. The idea that this person was a follower of my work, found herself struggling in life, and came across one of my mugs with the message that she IS Good Enough at just the time that she needed to hear it - is lovely synchronicity! Yes, I did wonder who was giving my mug to the Goodwill, but even that has a magical synchronicity to it. Obviously, someone had passed on the mug without knowing it was at just the perfect time for it to become available to the person who needed to hear the message of hope. There was no intentional cause-and-effect in motion, yet it was a trail of simultaneous events with no discernible connection, and the outcome was significantly and meaningfully related. I know there are those out there who will bring out their calculators to argue statistics and probability theorems of how this mug traveled to her community and ended up on the shelf at her local Goodwill. I feel compassion for them and honor their beliefs, but I see a magic of life that they are missing. I believe that our outer world will lie before us what our inner self requires. When this realization is adopted, our job is to listen and pay attention. Pay attention to the magical, meaningful coincidences that become the serendipitous synchronicity that brings life to life. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Watch for meaningful coincidences that relay messages of significant connection – Synchronicity!” YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.  As I was unloading my groceries, I talked into the speaker of my phone spilling out all the errands, work, and obligations that had filled my day. Pulling out a box of tissues from a shopping bag, I realized I had purchased the wrong kind. “Oh good grief, I ranted. These aren’t right. These aren’t the cooling lotion kind we like. This is just great!” My ranting was interrupted with the voice on the other end of my phone conversation saying, “Well, if that’s the worst thing that happened to you today, I’d say it was a pretty good day!” The understanding of that comment stopped my rant mid-sentence. I have had days that the worst thing that happened was devastating. I have had days when my life changed in an instant and my normal never returned. Most of our days are not that horrible. Most of the things we get upset about are not worth ranting about. Yet, we all do this. We allow small things to build into bigger issues than they are. They steal our serenity and suck our joy- because we allow them to. I know the warning signs in myself. When I back myself into a corner of overwhelming commitments there comes a moment when I crack. If I am overtired. If I am hungry. If all of these are combined, I can fly into a rant about something as simple as buying the wrong tissues. Occasionally we need to treat ourselves with the same care as we would treat someone we love. If I am overtired, I need rest. If I am hungry, I need to be nourished. Most importantly I need to know my limits of what I can handle in my life and keep commitments within reasonable and doable limits. When the days of unchangeable tragedy hit, allow yourself to let go. These days are worthy of ranting, crying, and screaming. But when you catch yourself flying into anger over small events pull yourself back. Compare what is happening now to those tragic days in your past. Compare what is happening to the reality of the whole picture of your life. Look at your day. Is what you are upset about the worst thing that happened in your day? Is it that bad? Ask yourself this question, “Is this the worst thing that happened in my day,” and then evaluate if it is a catastrophe or if your mind is giving it more importance than it deserves. Come to a point of realizing - if that’s the worst thing that happened to me today, I’d say it was a pretty good day! You may be embarrassed that you allowed it to control you in a bad way – especially when you know the struggles you have lived through in the past and the struggles others are living through now. Concentrate on what is good about your day and not the little problems that are not important. You may just laugh at yourself for being upset about such a small issue. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Remember this, if that’s the worst thing that happened to you today, I’d say it was a pretty good day!” YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.  This is the way the conversation went... “Who orders the pizza?” “Well, she calls and orders it.” “No, I mean who decides what kind of pizza to order?” “We always have sausage.” “Does she like sausage?” “Sure, I guess.” “But you are not sure. Maybe she is conceding to you. Maybe she is resenting it. Maybe she hates sausage pizza.” He pondered this the rest of the afternoon. That evening during dinner, my husband asked me an unusual question. “What kind of pizza do you like?” He had never asked me before. I had to think about it. It took me a while to answer. I had picked sausage off the pizza for so long I didn’t remember what kind of pizza I really did like. I began questioning myself. If I could order any kind of pizza, what would I choose for ME? I don’t think this is an uncommon scenario. Many times it is easier to concede and let another person have what they want. We do it out of love for them – we want them to be happy. We do it out of avoidance- we don’t want to argue. We do it because it really doesn’t matter that much to us. We do it because we have done it for so long it becomes a habit. – A dangerous habit. On the other side, it is easy not to notice that someone is always giving in to our needs. That their needs are not being met. That resentment may be building under the facade of agreement. Maybe it is just pizza. Maybe it is pizza, ice cream, what movie to go to, where to have dinner, where to vacation, which car to buy... This could go on and on and the layering of conceding to another’s wants and desires can create an issue much, much larger than a pizza. What is the “pizza” in your life - in your relationships? Are there issues you need to talk about? When we begin paying attention to this kind of give and take.... or give and give situation, it becomes obvious that there are solutions. Simple solutions. My husband and I now order two pizzas. One sausage for him. One chicken and pineapple for me. Yes, I LOVE chicken and pineapple on my pizza. Preferably with extra sauce and extra cheese. The solution was so easy. Now we both get what we want. There is no conceding. There is no resentment. There is compromise. There is cooperation. There is respect for both of our needs and wants. And there are always leftovers for lunch the next day. Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Pay attention to “give and take” vs “give and give” situations in life. Don’t be afraid to order your own pizza!” YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.  I was terrified. My toes curled around the end of the diving board. I closed my eyes so I couldn’t see the deep water below. The board was small, but I felt as if I was on a 30-foot-high Olympic diving platform. My swimming instructor held a long pole with a net on the end blocking my escape route off the board. It was clear. I had no choice but to jump. I froze in fear. This is the memory of my childhood swimming lessons. I hated them. On Friday nights I would sneak into the linen closet to find a feather pillow to sleep on. I knew my allergic reaction to the feathers would create a stuffy nose and cold-like symptoms by morning. When I woke up, I would plead with my mom that I couldn’t attend the weekly Saturday swimming lesson because obviously I had a cold and felt terrible. I love water. I have enjoyed a life of water skiing and boating. I love streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans. The thought of soaking in a warm bath brings joy to my heart. I swim with my children and challenge my grandchildren to beat me in a race across a pool. I have experienced the energy of a pod of spinner dolphins’ race around me in the ocean. The sound of water features fills my home with peace. Water calms me and cocoons me in contentment… and yes, I love to swim. I didn’t learn to swim in swimming lessons. I learned to swim by putting a towel around my shoulders and riding my bicycle to the community pool and jumping in. I learned to swim by jumping off the side of a boat so that I could slide my feet into skis and skim across a lake filled with water that looked like glass. I love swimming, but my fear almost kept me from ever doing it. That swimming instructor believed that standing me on a diving board and waving a pole at me would somehow force my learning. What it did was force me into a space of fear. A space that blocked me from doing what I wanted to do. It didn’t work for me and in fact, almost separated me from one of my lifelong pleasures. The lesson I learned from this is to find another way. If something doesn’t feel right to you- if something causes more pain than pleasure- find another way. Be creative. It is our nature to move away from pain and move towards pleasure. That feather pillow helped me move away from a swimming instructor's painful teaching technique that didn’t fit with my way of learning. I wanted to be in the water. I wanted to swim. Learning by fear was not my way. My way was through the fun and enjoyment of water. I found another way. Has this happened in your life? Has fear kept you from trying, learning, or doing something you know you would love? Can you find another way to work around the fear? Don’t allow fear to win. Find your own way. Jump over the fear and into the water. Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Don’t allow fear to keep you from doing what you love to do. Find another way.” YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.  It is the time of year when the excitement of a new school season is approaching. New clothes and shoes are purchased. Backpacks are filled with supplies. Butterflies tickle young tummies as children wonder about which friends will be in their classroom and who their teacher will be. It has been many, MANY, years since I have been in school, but I do remember all of this. School memories can fill your heart with nostalgia and wistful thoughts of experiences, successes, and a few failures. Do you remember in school when your assignments were returned to you after the teacher made corrections with a red pen? Those red checkmarks, circles, and comments cut right to your heart as if a neon sign was flashing “FAILURE!” Could this be where we learned the concept of judging? We have been conditioned to point out what is unacceptable, wrong, or incomplete. We all have a mental red pen that constantly searches and rates everything within our focus. We judge others on their clothes, income, status, and even the behavior of their children. We judge restaurants by how good the food is, how clean the floor is and how immediate the service is. We judge the weather by the temperature, wind speed, and humidity. And the mental red pen does double duty when we judge ourselves. The number on the scale is too high; there are too many gray hairs; accomplishments are not grand enough; on and on and on. What if we stepped back from the mental red pen? Stop the checkmarks, circles, and comments and adopt the phrase, “Isn’t that interesting?” The next time you see a girl with blue hair, tattoos, and piercings or want to thrash yourself for the two pounds you gained on vacation, step back, take a breath, and say, “Isn’t that interesting?” This is not saying you condone everything you see and every action you or others make. It is just the calm acknowledgment of observation. Not good. Not bad. Not negative. Not hateful. The phrase, “Isn’t that interesting?” may become a buffer between you and confrontation. It may become a kinder frame for self-talk instead of the negative chatter we are used to hearing. It may become a new perspective into non-judgment of others. The mental red pen can become the means for feedback and not failure. Can you live one day without judging yourself or others? Try it. You will notice just how often you do engage that mental red pen of acceptability or failure. After you complete one day, try for two, then three. You may just step back from this exercise and say, “Isn’t that interesting?” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: "Put down your mental red pen. Instead of judging yourself and others say, “Isn’t that interesting.” YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.  I snuck away with my Grandson, Dylan, for an afternoon of feeding the ducks in the park, picnicking, and a little shopping. After the ducks were fed and our tummies were full we moved on to shopping. My shopping cart spilled over with the arms and legs of a three-year-old. As I maneuvered through the aisle, I asked him, “What should we buy for you today? Maybe a shirt, a book, a……” My list was interrupted when he said, “I have everything I want.” My cart came to a stop as I looked at his sweet face. I couldn't hide my smile at his remarkable comment. “You have everything you want?” He may have been three, but he knew from the expression on my face that he must have given the million-dollar answer. He flashed his killer smile and said, “Yeah, I do! I have EVERYTHING I want! ” I proceeded to tell him how lucky he was that he was so happy and had everything he wants. He smiled bigger, sat up taller, and was very proud that yes, he must be lucky! I have to say it stunned me. What little person (or big person for that matter) can say they have everything they want? I was still pondering this as we paid for his new football. My idea – not his. Later, we stopped by my house to feed my dog, Yogee. Yogee was much more interested in dancing around the floor with Dylan than eating. After about the third time I told Yogee to go eat her food Dylan looked at me and said, "Maybe she just isn't hungry." Again, I stopped to breathe in what he just said. I sat down and watched as Yogee’s tiny feet continued the happy dance as she circled around him. As every inch of her body wriggled and smiled, I realized – she, too, in this moment of time had everything she wanted. We took Yogee to the back yard and this time it was Dylan’s turn to do the happy dance. He ran to my garden box. He circled it, hands clapping and sang, "Oh, this garden is BEAUTIFUL!!!" That was it! Three strikes to my heart! Lessons learned! At 3 years old, he could see the beauty in a garden and understood that "he" wasn't hungry for anything. -- He had everything he wants! This tiny boy had just demonstrated to me the simplicity of life. That as long as we are loved we do have everything we want. That sometimes we don’t hunger for anything - we just need to dance. And if we look we can find beauty in our own back yard. I learned that right now, in this moment, I do have everything I want! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: "When we are surrounded by love we don’t hunger for anything -- we have everything we want." YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.  What questions do you have that you wish you had the answers to? What questions do you have that will forever be unanswered? Are there some you hope to have answered in the future? What questions do you NOT want to know the answers to? Are you afraid to know the truth? Are they best left alone? I have all these scenarios. The ones that I may never learn the answers to are tangled with regret of never asking them when I had the opportunity. I will never know how my grandmother felt when her baby was stillborn or her grown son was taken in a truck accident. I will never be able to ask my dad what it felt like to win his high school track meets or if he got down on one knee when he proposed to my mom. When these questions began flooding my mind my grandparents and dad had already passed. In her last years, my mom’s dementia kept her from answering or she would answer with a creatively imagined story that was far from the truth. I regret not asking when the answers were crisp and available. So many questions will remain forever unanswered. The ones I don’t want the answers to are tucked in a place I don’t visit often. I don’t want to know the exact day I will leave this Earth. I don’t want to know when my loved ones will leave. And I certainly don’t want or need to know how the departures will occur. My biggest list may be the questions I hope to have answered in the future. Why are we here? What is our purpose? Why is there pain and suffering? Why do loved ones die young? Why isn’t happiness universally and equally experienced? Why are all the best-tasting foods bad for us and filled with calories? Why are we given such deep connections with dogs, but only allowed to have them for such a short time? Why do mosquitoes bite and cause such irritation? Why does time go so fast? Why do some people have luck and others seem to tumble in a circle of misfortune? Will peace ever be the natural order? Will the world ever be a community of mutual contentment? I had this writing almost finished when I shared with my daughter and son-in-law what I was writing about. My daughter left the room, returning with a book they had just purchased for me titled, “My Mother’s Life- Mom I Want to Know Everything About You.” It is filled with 200 questions and the space to write the answer. I plan to answer every one of them. When they purchased the book, they had no idea I was writing on this topic. This is the serendipitous magic of life. We can hope that there will come a time and space where all answers are given. But for now, ask the questions. And, if you are the one holding the answers share your truth with others who want or need to know. Don't be responsible for leaving a trail of unanswered questions. Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Ask the questions when you have the opportunity. Don’t be responsible for leaving a trail of unanswered questions." YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.  So much has happened in our world in the last couple of years. Currently, we are struggling with the stories of devastation and loss due to illness, fires, tornados, hurricanes, drought, buildings collapsing, and destructive choices that humans make that hurt others. I do not have the words or understanding of why these things occur. Because of my own past experiences, I do have empathy for the grief and sadness these tragedies induce. It is easy to become so overwhelmed by the news reports and the shock of all this sadness that we miss the beauty life holds. I try to find the good in my day. I look for things I can be grateful for. I search for moments. Moments of joy. Moments of happiness. Moments of gratitude. These golden glimpses of love are, at times, easy to miss. What was your golden moment of the day? That moment when just for an instant life is quiet and the spectacular happens. Can you think of one? Magnificent Moments occur all the time -- right in front of us. They happen when we least expect it in soft miniature ways and grand glorious ways. They happen as bold aggressive attention grabbers and as mystical whispers. Watch for the best moment of your day. That moment when grace brushes by you. That moment when just for an instant life is quiet and YOUR spectacular happens. That is your Magnificent Moment of the day! It may be the unexpected bonus at work; the call from a friend you haven’t heard from in months; or the crisp perfume of morning as you water your garden in the early hours of dawn. It may be the breath of a baby as they lay sleeping on your shoulder; the excitement of your dog’s greeting when you walk in the door; or the sun as it ripples diamonds across the ocean. You see, Magnificent Moments are everywhere and given to everyone. When we are children we live in the time and space of Magnificent Moments where everything seems magical. As we age we are blinded by commitments and responsibilities. We hurry through time and space tripping and stumbling right over the magic. Begin watching for your Magnificent Moment of the day. Catch that one moment when magic moves you to a place of still; a place of awe; a place of wonder. When spectacular happens stop to breathe it in. Savor it and at the end of the day remember how delicious it tasted. We must all be mindful of the sadness and devastation in life. We will all have our turn when it touches us in deep and personal ways. We must all help others when we can. At the same time, nurture yourself by searching for the magnificence of life. When you are on the lookout you will begin to notice that you are surrounded by golden moments. The challenge will become choosing the one that is the most magnificent! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Be aware of and grateful for Magnificent Moments.” YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.  There is a poem by *Mary Oliver that begins, "You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on." Forgiveness is a big word and grows to the status of huge when it is prefaced with the word, self. Forgiving myself is easier to whisper than to accomplish. I say whisper because I would not be so bold as to shout to the world, I FORGIVE ME! What confidence that would require to be so egoistic as to forgive ourselves! However, this is the most important kind of forgiveness. Self-forgiveness is a demanding process. We must learn to step carefully on the stones of compassion and acceptance while shame, guilt, regret, and judgment swirl around us. The stones are sharp and jagged as we maneuver our way, growing stronger through the struggle; learning a little here and a little there as we come closer to the green field of forgiveness that waits for us. We don’t have to be proud of what we have done – and we have all done “it.” The “it” always relates to hurting others or ourselves. Then we put ourselves in a continual critic mode of how bad we are and deserving of punishment. We chastise ourselves with ruthless determination holding ourselves to a higher standard than we do others. We replay a grander drama in our minds than the reality of “it”, believing that what we did was catastrophic. We create a self-imposed illusion of what others think of us. We construct ideas about ourselves from this illusion. The perceived assessment of others about our actions creates the vulnerability of outside judgment. At times our true fear is not our offense, but that someone will find out that we are living in shame. Self-forgiveness is not easy. It is not healed instantly or permanently with the wave of a wand. However, we deserve to treat ourselves with the same compassion we would someone we love. Each time you slip into the murky darkness of shame and guilt you are withholding love from yourself. Pull yourself back. Make amends to those who deserve it. Then move forward. Stop holding yourself as a hostage to the past. Believe that external opinions are out of our control, none of our business, and should hold no influence on our own self-acceptance. Choose to love YOU. See yourself through your own unconditionally loving eyes. Remember these words from Mary Oliver… "You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on." Pennie’s Life Lesson: “When you surrender to shame and guilt you are withholding love from yourself.” *Poem quote From Wild Geese by Mary Oliver YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.  It happened in Kmart. It was one of those moments that I can never reproduce, but I will remember it forever as an opening point-- a moment that opened my heart, my understanding, and my eyes to the power of forgiveness. “I blame you for nothing, I forgive you everything, and I will always love you.” He looked shocked, confused, and stunned as he stopped to look at me. “What?” I repeated with a little more importance on always, “I blame you for nothing, I forgive you everything, and I will always love you.” This time the face of my grown child turned to a delicious mixture of relief, acceptance, and love. He dropped the bundle of socks, toiletries, and food that he was holding in his arms into the shopping cart. The hug was long, the tears honest, and the meaning understood. This is how forgiveness works. I can easily forgive others for cutting in front of me in line, taking the parking spot I was clearly heading toward, or for a snapping comment that I seem to be on the receiving end of. I assume they are having a difficult day. You never know what the bubble over their head is holding, what is going on in their life, or what hurt they carry. I am happy to report that I have successfully accomplished forgiveness with most people and circumstances in my life. The disclaimer here is that I am a soul in progress. My humanness allows for human emotions. I have tried countless forgiveness methods, such as: The Bury and Forget It Method; The If I Don’t Talk About It, It Didn’t Happen Method; And the popular, This Person Doesn’t Deserve Forgiveness, So I Am Going To Lock Them In A Box, Put Them On A Shelf To Occasionally Take Down And Kick Them Method. Forgiveness is a life lesson I continually attempt to perfect. The forgiveness challenge for me has been with those who have harpooned my heart in a penetrating way. When I helped someone, cared for them, and trusted them to hold my heart in friendship or love, only to have them rip it from my chest, pierce it, and then hand it back to me. Is the expectation that I will not feel the scar? Even more difficult is when a perceived injustice is done to someone I love. Is the expectation that I watch with no malice felt toward the offender? That day in the shopping isle the answer became a clear, YES. I came to understand that when you forgive, relief, acceptance, and love become a two-way effort. My heart no longer carried the heavy weight of anger, betrayal, and disappointment. I no longer had to continue the painful circle of picking the scab to feel it bleed and begin to heal, only to begin the picking again. When I felt the relief in me that day, the lightening of my spirit, and the release of the burden of carrying all those negative emotions, I realized that forgiving is a gift to myself. I emptied my heart of the dirty work of bitter resentment and opened more space for love. When he heard my words and dropped his bundle into the shopping cart, he also dropped his fear, shame, and regrets which opened more space in his heart to love and be loved. By forgiving, I am not condoning, excusing, or pardoning another’s actions. I am not saying that in every circumstance I will forget or remove all awareness of the offense in an effort to reconcile a relationship. Some relationships are best left as a lesson in our past. I am suggesting we begin looking at things differently and open our vision to see that blaming, resenting, and revenge do more harm to ourselves than to others. We are all learning from our humanness. We all make mistakes. We all feel shame. We all inflict hurt. None of us can say we haven’t wronged another. It’s time we start seeing the power of forgiveness. Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Forgiveness is a gift that opens more space for love – in you and others.” YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.  Before he said hello, I blurted out, "Do you have any coffee over there?” This was our code for – I need to talk, can I come over? I drove the 6 blocks to his office. He was sitting at his desk, happily surrounded by pictures of his fishing adventures. These coffee conversations began with the same ritual. First, he would show me the photo of his most recent “biggest catch.” The fish always looked huge in the photo. Once he told me how he had mastered the perfect angle and focus of his camera to make it look larger than life. I oooh and aahed and called him the mighty fisherman. Next came the pouring of the coffee. It was thick, strong, and served in a cup from his mismatched office collection. No cream. No sugar. No asking if it was too strong. It was the expectation that it was to be enjoyed - as is. Finally, with the ritual complete, he would sit back with his cup, his hair framing his face, and with a familiar silence stare at me. His eyes locking on mine without words said, --What do you need to talk about it? This was a scene we played out many times. The problem of the day was hashed out with laughter, at times tears, but consistently with his calm and clarifying wisdom. I walked away feeling stronger, smarter, and grateful for having him in my life. His name was Dan. One day during a work meeting, Dan was exceptionally quiet. Not his quipping, sharp-witted, entertaining self. While chatting during the morning break, Dan mentioned that he had a headache that wouldn’t go away. Soon the black moleskin calendar that he carried in his chest pocket, once filled with meetings, appointments, and deadlines, began to mean very little. Painfully I watched my mentor, colleague, coffee mate, father, brother, teacher, friend slow down with the ending of life. I would call his wife to arrange a visit and drive to his home to talk. Our talks were shorter now with fewer words. No fish photos, no oohing, no aahing, no ritual. One sunny day we walked slowly to his front yard patio. Silently we sat with the sun on our faces, listening to the birds and looking at the sky. His wife brought us coffee. Like Dan, the coffee was thinner, weaker, and held in a smaller container than I was used to. Breaking the silence, he said, “Are you happy?" Before I could respond his weakened voice followed, “You need to go fishing!” I started chattering about how, yes, I was happy and all was going well with me. I told him I wish I could slow down and enjoy the sun more like I was doing with him right now. He said, "Oh, I don't know if you need to slow down like me, but I want you to relax. I want you to have fun.” And adamantly ended with, “I want you to go fishing!" Again, I began talking about how I had fished as a little girl and had taken my kids fishing when they were young, but really didn’t think it was something I would do now. His piercing eyes stopped my chatter. I have learned life lessons in many ways; through experience, through suffering, through joy, but this time it was sitting on a patio with the sun on my face through the locking of eyes. Silently his determined eyes told me Wake up! This isn’t about baiting a hook or holding a fishing pole. This is about finding what you love...coming alive with joy…. Being happy… this is about Living! The stare-down continued until the communication of the moment was solidified. He knew. I knew. I got it! I understood. He loved fishing. Fishing was his worship; the river was the sanctuary for his soul. Fishing was where he found joy, peace, and contentment. That is what he wanted for me. I never forgot the lesson. And the amazing part is…. I found it! When I write, when I speak and look in the eyes of someone touched by my words, and when I help people, I am fishing. I feel it! I feel the contentment. I feel the peace. I feel the joy. I have found what I love to do… and I am doing it! Yes, Dan, I am fishing! Pennie’s Life Lesson: "Find the river in life that brings you joy, peace, and contentment. Swim in it, splash in it, and fish in it!”  YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.  I hugged him, kissed his forehead, and said good night. As I turned to walk away, he grabbed my arm and said, “This is a good day, such a good day!” It was a month before he passed away. On a day that was circled with oxygen levels, medication, and a sheepskin-covered recliner – the things that became his life toward the end—I marveled at those words. I looked at him in amazement and smiled at this incredible man. His mind was bright and clear but, it was as though his body was wilting as the determined disease gained control. Even though he knew he was dying, he continued to be grateful and look at life in a positive way. But that was my Dad, Charlie Hunt. He was a teacher. Every day that he walked into his classroom filled with students he felt he was making a difference in their lives. But, outside of that, I am not sure if he knew he was teaching and making a difference to others in the grander classroom of life. He demonstrated lessons in humility, kindness, dedication, and compassion. Once when I had treated him to a special gift he said, “Oh, I don’t need anything this fancy; you know we are just simple people.” My Dad was teaching even in his last days. The final lesson he taught me was that no matter what life brings your way, always remember to begin and end every day knowing, “This is a good day, such a good day!” Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all live life as simple people who celebrate every day in this way? What if we looked past the worries, the discontent, the struggles, and the disappointment in our lives? What if we reached for the good, the simple, the small and special moments? These are what matter. When my dad spoke these magic words, he wasn’t thinking about what would happen to his truck or his home. He wasn’t thinking about what might happen tomorrow. For him, he knew there may not be a tomorrow. He was living in that moment. He was taking that breath. He was sinking into the safety and softness of the sheepskin on his chair. He was enjoying the touch of my hand. He was feeling the contentment of his life accomplishments. I am ashamed to admit that it took that moment for me to realize this space of uncomplicated simplicity. It took this lesson from my father for me to notice what is important. The words he spoke have become a meaningful mantra in my life. It is the message on my answering machine. It is taped to the front of my computer screen. It is the way I respond to life every day. It is my gift to you today. Learn this mantra. Speak it. Live it. Because… This is a good day, such a good day! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie's Life Lesson: “No matter what life brings your way, begin and end every day knowing ~This is a good day, such a good day!" Pennie Heart to Heart THIS IS A GOOD DAY, SUCH A GOOD DAY! YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.  I want to tell you about my new best friend. I love everything about her! I love her gorgeous home. I love her decorating skills. I love her cooking tips. I love her fancy coffee maker that steams the milk perfectly and creates a luxurious latte on the coffee bar of her Better-Homes-and-Garden's kitchen. She is kind and funny. She is wickedly smart and shares her life in an open honest way. Even though I am older than she is, I want to grow up and be just like her! She checks in with me every morning as she is making her coffee. I can almost smell the aroma as I hear her coffee maker grind the beans and she tells me about her plans for the day. I love seeing photos of her kids and grandbabies. I ride along with her as she drives to get her hair and nails done or drops her grandchildren off at school. I’m invited to her holiday gatherings, and she teaches me how to set the perfect table and decorate with themes and dramatic flair. Although she hasn’t been in my life long, I feel like I have known her forever. She includes me in every way. I laugh with her. I feel the joy in her life and understand the pain of her past. I feel like we are sisters on a deep level. I have never met her. She is my social media friend. A faux friend. A person that I follow through her stories, photos, and videos. I see her through the screen of my phone. I am not the only one. She has thousands of friends like me. We comment on how lovely her landscaping is. We dream of having a lake house to go to on the weekends like she does. We follow her recipes and enjoy new ways of cooking with our InstaPots and air fryers. We ask her questions. We follow her links to buy items that she uses and suggests. We trust her recommendations because we trust her. She influences our lives. She is an influencer. A social media influencer has established credibility, has access to a huge audience, and can persuade others to act based on their recommendations. But wait, I want her to be my friend! I believe she is my friend. I am convinced if we lived close to each other we would hang out together. We would have lunch at quaint outdoor cafés. We would share secrets. We would take girl trips together. Yes, I know what you are thinking… she has me hook, line, and sinker. I saw the movie about the fake side of social media influencers. I saw how they rent yachts and fancy hotel rooms to make you believe they have a fabulous lifestyle and manipulate you to buy expensive sunglasses and beauty products in the hopes of becoming just like them. I can pick out those fake people with fake lives and I delete them from my social media quickly. My friend is different. She is down to earth. She is normal. She isn’t flashy or obnoxious. I do love her and I do trust her. She has never guided me in the wrong direction. She probably does not even know who I am in the sea of followers that reach out to her, but she is important to me. She may be a faux friend, but I feel connected to her. I believe we are friends. And, now when she is making her coffee and telling me about her day, I am making my coffee in the same coffee maker smelling my own ground beans and enjoying the perfect latté from my own kitchen. Maybe someday she will say to someone, “Hey, let me tell you about my new best friend. She is an author and a speaker- I love everything about her!” Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Best friends come into our lives in different ways and for different reasons.” YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.  My car has a feature called the Blind Spot Monitor. When turned on, this life-saving invention warns you when a vehicle is detected in your blind spot. You know, that spot to your side and just over your shoulder that you can’t see. When a vehicle is detected, a warning light flashes in the side mirror to indicate a potentially hazardous lane change. The light stays on until the vehicle in the blind spot is safely ahead or behind you leaving you free to change lanes. Wouldn’t it be nice if we all had a Blind Spot Monitor? Think about all of the things we don’t see that are hidden in our personal blind spots. You know that spot to your side and just over your shoulder that you can’t see; OR choose not to. This spot is probably overflowing with items in three categories: actions or failures to act, tolerations, and grace. Actions or failures to act. When was the last time you did something, even unintentionally, that caused direct or indirect pain? This is the cause-and-effect syndrome. Examples of this include: not following through on promises, telling small untruths, or arriving late for an appointment or event. Hidden in our personal blind spot is the hurt we cause others by our broken promises, untruths, and undependability. All of these types of actions, that we either take or don’t take, fall into this first category. Tolerations. Yes, I may have just created a new word. Definition ala Pennie: Tol-er-a-tions: the people, places, circumstances, or things that cause us to participate in the act of tolerating. This could very well put us on the opposite side of the scale from the first category. We permit people to take advantage of us by breaking promises or telling lies. We tolerate laziness, sloppy work products, and misbehavior from ourselves and others by pushing it into our blind spot and telling ourselves it isn’t a big deal. We ignore our own health, fitness, and happiness. All of these tolerations fit nicely into our blind spot. Grace. This may be the saddest and most important category of all. The idea that so much love, laughter, and goodness in life slip into our blind spot where we don’t appreciate them. They become wasted grace. Close your eyes and feel hugs from your partner, the laughter of a child, the smile from a stranger, the smell of morning coffee, and the wag of your dog’s tail. Yes, I said feel because I want to intentionally stir the emotion these examples of love and grace create. How many times does grace go unnoticed in a day and huddle in our blind spot? Now imagine with me what life would be like if we turned on our personal Blind Spot Monitor. It would flash a beacon in our mind to indicate a potential hazard and guide us into the lane of safety. When we came close to not following through on a promise the beacon would spark to warn us to change course. When we tolerated our slipping health or unhappiness the beacon would remind us that loving ourselves is a priority. And most importantly, with every act of grace we encountered the loving light would spotlight the event so we wouldn’t miss it. Yes, I believe we all have the capacity for this personal life-saving feature. We all have a Blind Spot Monitor. We just need to turn it on and watch for the flashing beacon. Pennie's Life Lesson: “Turn on your personal Blind Spot Monitor to enjoy all of life through open eyes.” YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.  I remember the first time I ate one. My friend told me it would be the best old-fashioned cheeseburger I could find. I tried it that day and she was right! When it was placed in front of me, the smell circled me as I devoured the deliciousness of the best cheeseburger of my life. It wasn’t fancy or foofoo. It was just as she said, an old-fashioned cheeseburger. Over the years, time after time, the consistency of quality and taste never disappoints me. It is always just as good as it was the first time. It is my favorite hamburger spot. I hope it is there forever! I also have a favorite coffee shop where I know my latte will be hot – not too strong and not too weak, with just the right amount of creamy foam. I love it. I can zip in and zip out quickly with wonderful coffee in my hand. I count on the shop being there for me. They make the best coffee. There is a place that I pick up scones. I dream about their scones. They are not dry or day old. They are always fresh, and the orange-flavored frosting forms a soft covering that puddles around the edges. As I write this I can see those scones in my mind, and my mouth waters for the taste of them. I will never get tired of them. They are the best scones. And then there is the Italian Restaurant that makes the best chicken parmesan that I have ever tasted. My husband and I have celebrated many meals by candlelight inside the wine bottle-covered walls of this charming hideaway. Our daughter’s rehearsal dinner was held there the night before her wedding. We know the owners. It became our place. We planned on eating chicken parmesan there forever. Sadly, a few years ago, after being in the family for generations, that charming Italian restaurant closed. Our place was gone. To be honest, there has been a time or two that my cheeseburger was greasy at my favorite hamburger place. I have had a rare bitter cup of coffee from my favorite coffee shop. And, yes, once, (okay a few times), the scones were a bit dry from my favorite bakery. But I overlook the occasionally unsatisfactory service or quality because my mind is convinced that they are all the best. When we find a place we love and depend on, we assume it will always be there. We may not visit the establishment for some time, but when we return, we expect it will be there with the same service and quality we remember. We want to believe it is the best. We want to believe it will ALWAYS be the best. One thing that is certain, in life change and loss happens. We as the consumer have changing wants and needs. Our favorite places may come and go. Owners and staff change. Coffee can be occasionally bitter. A scone can be occasionally dry. Restaurants will close. Change happens. Nothing remains the same. And – no one can make the best cheeseburger forever. Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Change happens. No one makes the best cheeseburger forever.” YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.  The store was busy. I was in a hurry. When I hustled to the front to pay for the few items I had in my cart, I thought it was my lucky day! Many checkout lines were open and the lines were long, but line number 13 had only one customer. I quickly zipped my cart into position. The clerk was happily smiling and scanning the purchases for the couple in front of me. Then I realized the struggle. The clerk, who was hearing impaired, was trying to communicate with the couple through sign language and loud hard to distinguish words. I watched as she demonstrated unlimited patience and began pointing to the screen on the register to communicate. The couple, relieved to be done with their transaction, hurried away. I realized why her checkout line was short. People were avoiding her. I pushed my cart forward, unloaded my items, smiled and waved “Hi,” to the clerk. Her grin was huge, her happiness bold, as she waved back and said, “Hello” in her loud grating voice. Knowing only a few words in sign language I awkwardly did my best to speak her language. Her motions asked if she could put my items together in one bag. I put my fists together, thumbs up, and pulled them away from each other in what I remembered to mean “apart.” She paused and looked at me with the excitement of a child. Her smile widened, her eyes connected with mine, and I saw her face grow into a sparkle. I was speaking “her” language. We moved through the payment process with a few circles on my chest to communicate, “please” and as we finished, I put my hand to my lips and then brought its down palm up to her and said, “Thank You,” in both her language and mine. Whose language are you missing? How often do we miss the opportunity to really see someone, look in their eyes, connect with who they are inside and speak their language? Do you get down on the floor and talk to a child at their eye level? Or do you talk down to them from a height they can only imagine being? Do you speak their language? Do you take the time to talk to those in your life circle about what is important? Do you know what makes them sing in the sunshine and cry in the dark? Do you know their pain? Do you speak their language? Do you show kindness to the elderly, homeless or marginalized people? Or do you sweep by them feeling like they are a nuisance? Do you speak their language? Do you stop when you come home and acknowledge your dog’s tail wagging dance of love when they see you? Or do you brush right by them to a task you feel is more important? Do you speak their language? It was my lucky day. By the clerk’s reaction to my clumsy effort at sign language, I believe she felt acknowledged, seen, heard, and validated. Isn’t that what we all want? What she didn’t know was that she had given me a gift. Because of her, I stopped long enough in my busy day to really look at another person, to notice our differences and yet stand on equal ground, to blend her form of communication with mine-- as she did her best to speak my language and I did my best to speak hers. Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Take time to acknowledge others. See them, hear them, and speak their language!” YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.  Years ago, I led an organization that recruited physicians. It was a time when the shortage of medical professionals was becoming very real. I would receive calls from legislators and leaders asking, “Do we really have a physician crisis?” My response was, “When you can’t find a doctor or it’s your doctor that moves away it is a crisis.” Isn’t that the truth? We don’t worry about our weight until we can’t zip our jeans. We don’t worry about our cholesterol until we have a heart attack. We don’t worry about care and help for the aging until our parents (or we) age. We don’t worry about handicapped accessibility until we become handicapped-even temporarily. We don’t worry about distracted driving until a texting person collides with us. We don’t worry about the opioid crisis until our child dies from an overdose. We don’t worry about a shortage of toilet paper until we don’t have any. Why do we wait until something touches our heart, our life, or our pocketbook before we pay attention to it? Because for the most part we are ingrained with an out-of-sight-out-of-mind mentality. If it happens to someone else, we may feel sorry for them momentarily. If we see a news report, we may think it is sad. We may try to see things from their point of view and imagine ourselves in their place, but we can never feel what they are feeling from our outside perspective. True empathy is a difficult emotion to feel deeply until it happens to you. Once you do experience it personally, you become one of ‘those’ people. We all know them. The one who is the first one to give support when your crisis happens. The one who knows what to say- and what not to say. The one who holds your hand and comforts your heart. They show up. They show up because it has happened to them, to their family, or to their community. Their crisis may have been a different level, a different experience, and a different circumstance, but they have walked a similar path. A path that taught them understanding. A path that gave them the gift of empathy. They have learned how to do the things they don’t have to do – because it matters. Maybe we can learn a lesson here. None of us knows what our future will bring, but we can dig a little deeper into what a crisis is. We can stop the out-of-sight-out-of-mind habit. We can learn to see what is happening and not just ignore it. We can deeply look at it so our mind has a chance to evaluate the situation. We cannot take on every cause, donate to every fundraiser, or support every effort. But we can begin one person at a time. Help one person. Understand one family’s heartbreak. See one organization’s struggle. Learn what the issues are in your community. Grow your empathy muscle. Become one of ‘those’ people. Do the things you don’t have to do – because it matters. Just because it hasn’t happened to you (yet) doesn’t mean it isn’t a crisis. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: It’s the things you do that you don’t have to do that makes the difference when it’s too late to do anything about it. YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.  Pennie with two of her children and pregnant. At 19 I jumped in the front seat of the craziest, scariest, most exhilarating roller coaster ride of my life. BAM! I Became A Mom! I was mature, smart, and ready to take on the world. (Weren’t we all at 19?) Little did I know that being a mom would be the most rewarding, life-changing, ride I would ever jump into. And jump I did, not once, but four times. Everyone watched me do it. And no one warned me about what was ahead – the ups, the downs, the jerks, the curves, and the whiplashing shocks. My own mother didn’t even hold up the "CAUTION“CAUTION PROCEED WITH CARE” sign! She never told me the BAM of Being A Mom was a life jolt. She never told me the secrets. She never told me that being a mom opens your heart to a love that you could never imagine. The birthing and cutting of a physical umbilical cord that attaches you human-to-human in no way cuts the invisible golden cords that attach you heart-to-heart. Their body may birth to the world an independent being, but a piece of this new soul is forever kept inside and connected to you. She never told me that being a mom makes you vulnerable in a way you have NEVER been before. You open yourself to being dropped to your knees by your child’s tears, broken hearts, and disappointments. Their pain is your pain. She never told me that being a mom means you will never sleep again. Well, never the same way you slept prior to the BAM. You may be prepared for the first months of sleep deprivation caused by night diaper changes and bottles that will soon pass. What you aren’t ready for is the rest of your life sleeping with one ear half-open to hear their cries from a nightmare, moans from a fever, and footsteps as your teenager sneaks in the house past curfew. What you don’t know is long after they have grown and moved out of your home, you will sleep with a part of your heart open hoping they are safe, happy, and loved. You will never sleep fully again. She never told me that being a mom is a 24 hour, 7 days a week, forever occupation. No vacation days, No sick leave and No quitting! Once you accept the position you are locked in heart, mind, and soul – FOR LIFE! **She never even whispered that it is a job you will love with all of your heart – and some days you won’t. On those days, you will peak at their sleeping faces and then wrap yourself in a cocoon of guilt and shame for allowing yourself to hate the job you love. She never told me that being a mom brings you trophy words like Pride, Joy, and Happiness that you can hang on your wall in an expression of motherhood. It also brings you words like Anger, Hurt, and Exhaustion that, in an attempt to hide your fear of inadequacy, you swallow and tuck in your belly hiding them so no one sees. She never told me that being a mom makes you strong enough to endure the unthinkable. You take on the risk of being told the baby you carry no longer has a heartbeat and you must be strong enough to walk out of the hospital carrying an empty blanket. You take on the risk of birthing, nurturing, and loving your child for years and then receiving the phone call that they are gone. In both cases holding tightly to the golden cords that now reach to your angel child. She never told me that being a mom makes you understand that you will be joyous when your daughter is grown and has children of her own. You will watch through tears and laughter as she learns for herself, the unspoken secrets of being a mom. Looking back, I would tell that naïve, 19-year-old girl, who thought she knew it all, to jump. Jump with all the love, anticipation, and joy she has because through all the ups and downs being a mom is the most amazing ride she will ever be on. And through it all, she will learn the unspoken code of never saying out loud the secret lessons of Being A Mom. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Moms are the gentle holders of our hearts. Hold theirs in return.” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.  Can you describe yourself in three words? How do you see yourself? How do you believe others see you? When I was asked these questions I thought of words like mom, grandmother, wife, speaker, writer, but I wanted better words. I wanted words with more grandeur. I wanted words that carried with them not just a superficial description of looks or my job(s) in life, but a feeling, a purpose, and a mission. After weeks of rolling this idea through every wrinkle of my mind and struggling to create a short list of three, I decided I was not the most reliable person to ask. I wanted to know how I was doing and if others would give me a passing grade - or if I needed to study harder and practice more in order to be described in the way I hoped. So, I sent out this email: Hello, I am working on a project and wonder if you would take a second to help me out. It is easy - all I need you to do is send me a few adjectives that you would think of to honestly describe me. You can send me three or twenty or as many you wish to share, but make it easy for you. No, this is not one of the silly email "forwards" -- I really am working on a project. Thank you so much in advance for doing this! - Pennie This is not an exercise for the faint of spirit. As I hit the send button, bubbles over my head began filling with words I would not like. What if the responses were negative? What if they were less than flattering? What if no one responded, what would that mean? But there it was, heading through the mysteries of the Internet and landing smack in the middle of 100 computer screens! I sent it to close friends and to acquaintances. I sent it to family members. I sent it to people who see me daily and ones who had not seen me in 10 years. I sent it to those who I was confident would say glowing things and I sent it to those who I feared might not. From young adolescent friends of my son to legislators, they held my life image at their computer keyboards. I waited. The first response came in minutes, other came weeks later. They came in clusters of pings to my computer and in single messages late in the night. They came in short emails with just three words. They came in lists of adjectives depicting my impression on them with long elaborations of why they chose the words they did. The fear of what would be given me as the mirror of myself became a life-opening experience. I was humbled by the response as an ultimate washing of appreciation and love came through in the words given to me. Some made me laugh. Some made me cry. Some made me cry more. Only three people asked me why I wanted to know. It didn’t seem to matter. They just responded. I created a spreadsheet to track the words. Repeated words were given a tally mark. The spreadsheet grew with a list of 197 words. Very quickly 13 words began creating a pattern of repetition. The top three winners were Caring, Thoughtful, and Kind. These were followed closely with Compassionate, Honest, and Loving. What a lesson I had learned! These are simple words, but I realize these are my words of grandeur; my words of feeling, purpose, and mission. These are my words to live by. Now I have a standard to uphold. This is how others see me and I don’t want to let them down. Can you describe yourself in three words? Pennie's Life Lesson: “When you create a standard of compassion, kindness, and love to live your life by- you will receive compassion, kindness, and love from others.” YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information. |
AuthorThere is a certain magic about where I live both physically and spiritually – on the crossroads of Spirit and Brave. Archives
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PLEASE NOTE: This page does not provide medical or legal advice, professional diagnosis, opinion, treatment or services to you or to any other individual. Through this site and links to other sites, Pennie Hunt provides general information for inspiration, encouragement and educational purposes only. The information provided in this site, or through links to other sites, is not a substitute for legal, medical, or professional care, and you should not use the information in place of a visit, call or the advice of your lawyer, physician or other healthcare provider. |