In the last month we have had our master bedroom painted and new carpeting installed. This was the last room in our home that we needed to refresh since we purchased our home eight years ago. For some reason we kept putting this one off. But it was time.
Synchronizing the furniture moving, the painters, the carpeting and the furniture movers again doesn’t sound difficult, but for us it was a lot. Mostly because of the closets. We have two walk-in closets in our bedroom. His and Hers. They both needed to be emptied, but more than that, they needed to be cleaned out and de-cluttered.
About a month before the project was to begin, we started seriously looking at our closets. The words, “keep – throw away – donate,” became embedded in our minds. We would take out a pair of shoes here and a sweater there. Then my husband decided to take out 10 items a day. I watched him do this for a few days. As his closet began dwindling down, my guilt for not doing it and the fear of not being ready increased.  
Every year I pick a word for the year. This year my word was a phrase. I wanted to, “Release to Find Peace.” I wanted to release many things in my life this year, but mostly I wanted to live in a clutter-free environment that feels peaceful. I wanted to be at peace with my relationships, my health, and my body. From my closets to my heart and mind, I wanted plenty of space for peace.
 
I remembered this phrase as I looked into my closet. I tried to do the 10 items a day. I admit to struggling a bit. Then one day I put 12 pairs of shoes into a garbage bag and tied it up to donate. I was so proud of myself, but it really didn’t seem to make a dent in giving me more peace. The closet still held more shoes than I needed and enough clothes for me to wear something different every day for a couple of years. (Don’t judge.)
 
Every day I took out more and more items. I made more and more trips to donate my filled bags. It seemed to get easier for a while – until it wasn’t. I began feeling like I was purging things just to say I did. Things I might need someday. When those thoughts crept in, I repeated to myself that phrase, “Release to find Peace.”
 
Finally, the process began. Furniture was moved and all the items that were left in the closets were laid over couches and chairs around the house. The painting turned out perfect and the new carpet was soft and cushy to my bare feet. When the furniture was back in place, we began putting our closets back together – adding a few more items to our donation bags as we worked.
 
The bedroom is now a calm and restful space. Just standing in the doorway and looking at it makes me happy. And the closets? All the trips to drop off the donations of clothes were worth it. I think all together I ‘released’ 25 pairs of shoes. (Again, don’t judge, some of them were just flip-flops.) I lost count of how many bags full of clothes we donated, but I did take a photo of the basket of empty hangers so I would remember how much we ‘released.’
 
My husband’s closet looks like a display in a fine men’s clothing store. To be honest, my closet still holds too much, but the improvement is drastic. I can see what I have, and I know where everything is. I am no longer overwhelmed and frustrated with the visual noise of my closet. Now my closet brings me a sense of quiet calmness.
 
When I picked my word for this year, I asked myself a big question. Why? Why is releasing important to me? Why do I want to release these things? The answer was loud and clear - to create peace. I can’t think of one item that I got rid of from my closet that I miss or regret letting go of. But I can think of one thing I am happy to have found space for. My closet now has the space to hold peace.
                               ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                 Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                             When you release, you open space for peace.
                                 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Are you always chasing problems, cleaning up life messes, and repairing troubled relationships? If so, I bet you are exhausted!

We all have problems, life messes, and a relationship that isn’t perfect. That doesn’t mean you should spend all your time on these negative areas. What if you looked at this differently? What if instead of working so hard to take the bad things out of your life, you tried adding more good?

You know how when you fill a tub full of water that is too hot and then you add a little cold water it cools down quickly, but if you have a tub of cold water no matter how much hot water you add it never really gets hot?

Think of the hot water as all the good stuff available to you in this life. Think of the cold water as the bad problems, messes, and troubles. If you have a tub that is a stable environment and full of happy times, and good relationships, (the hot water), then a few drips of problems, messes, and relationship trouble, (cold water) will never change the warmth of your life.

What do you want? Of course, you want your life to be boiling over with good stuff. The stuff that makes you happy. The people that lift you up. The experiences that bring you joy. When the temperature of your life is hot with all good things, one little bad thing here and there will never cool it down. You want the pot of goodness to pop the bad bubbles right out like a drip that isn’t allowed to disturb your simmering happiness.

So, isn’t it logical that you should spend more time increasing and nurturing the good? More time adding to the hot water?

When you meet someone who is positive and passionate about life, intentionally work to add them to your life. People who encourage you to succeed, lift your spirit, and increase your happiness will add warmth to your life. Seek out these types of people. Work to build these friendships and add them to your life circle.

What experiences bring you joy? When you are hiking do you lose yourself in the wonder of nature? When you are painting does time slip away as you immerse yourself in the creation of art? When you are sailing does the ocean air fill your lungs and your life with energy? Look for the experiences that bring joy to your life.

The experiences that you can’t wait to do again. Do them over and over.  Every time your heart will open wider, and your spirit will feel alive. Yes, all of this will add more heat to your life. And don’t forget to try new things. You never know what experience will open a new meaning of joy for you. Keep adding to the hot water.

On the other side of this, you can’t totally ignore the problems and issues in your life. You will always have big and small messes that need attention. They will rotate in and out of importance. That is how life works. When they occur, keep an eye on them, do what you can to solve the problem, and encourage solutions. At the same time, continue to spend time on adding the good stuff. Always have your tub full of good hot water so you never allow the occasional drips of cold to freeze you into exhaustion.

Keep adding the good.
                                ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                      Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                          Spend more time adding the good things to your life
                                      than you do trying to get rid of the bad. 
                                 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt #YouAreGoodEnough #IAmGoodEnough
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 © 2013-2023 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 don’t like roller coasters. Some people love them. They get off the ride enthusiastically saying things like,
“That was the best! So Cool! Let’s do it again!!!”

Not me. If you ever get me on a roller coaster, I get off saying,
“I am glad that is over! Never again!”

I am uneasy with the clattering sound the track makes as my body is jolted and shifted from side to side and I am shaken in a way no body is meant to be shaken. I don’t enjoy the open-air insecurity. I clutch the safety handle (I use that term loosely) as the coaster moves on a slow ride up --knowing the entire time that soon I will be drastically dropped. The feeling of pending fear does not blend well with me.

After a devastating accident in 2018, a Highway Patrolman sat next to my emergency room bed. I don’t remember much about those chaotic moments, but I do remember him saying,
 “You have just experienced the most horrifying roller coaster ride
    you will ever be on.”

He had no idea how much I disliked roller coasters or how true that statement was. By all accounts, reports, and eyewitnesses, (including my own) it was a miracle that I survived. This ride included all the sounds and feelings I mentioned above - magnified a thousand times.

We all have ups and downs in life. Joyful times and tragedy. We all have events and circumstances we love and we all dislike a few. That is normal and it is normal to experience some jolts and fear in life.

But I don’t like roller coasters. I like a steady life of peace, security, and calm simplicity. (Que Disneyland’s It’s a Small World song – if you know you know.)
I like a life of certainty. I like knowing that over the years I have created a solid standard for myself and my personal mission statement is firmly engrained in my heart. These create a sturdy and steady foundation for my life. Life would be boring if there were no surprises thrown in, so I do enjoy those. What I don’t enjoy is drama and chaos. I don’t enjoy fear. I don’t enjoy pain.

Some people seem to love living life on a roller coaster of drama. Their continual moodiness and ups and downs of problems feed them. Their internal dichotomies of hate and love, joy and despair, are aired externally on a constant rotation. It is as if they require the drama in their lives and enjoy the attention it brings. They enjoy the jolts and shakes. The uncertain painful climbs and drastic drops become certain to occur in their lives. They expect it, so it continues.

Which one are you? Do you jump in line for the biggest roller coaster or are you happy to walk by the crazy ride? If you step back and see yourself living life in constant drama and chaos it could be time to change. The jolts and pain wear on your body and your soul. How much of it is real and how much of it is embellished catastrophizing on your part? Do you enjoy exaggerating and expanding a story so that it is exciting to tell it over and over? Do you enjoy the attention it brings to you? 

The first step is realizing that you are doing this. Look at yourself, your life, and your stories from an outside perspective. Be the person that watches and listens to you – what are they thinking and seeing? It takes a deep objective look to see the truth, but once you do you will have the power to slow it down and be realistic about what is worthy of drama and what isn’t. You can get off the crazy ride.

I don’t like roller coasters. Do you?
                                  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                     Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                                     Don’t live in a constant state of drama.
                                                  Get off the roller coaster.
                                            ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt #YouAreGoodEnough #IAmGoodEnough
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 © 2013-2023 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 phone flashes up a reminder to me every morning telling me how much screen time I had the day before. It gives me a bar chart of my screen time for the entire week and the average time per day I spend on my phone. Then it breaks it down between social media sites, photos, messages, and surfing the web. It also tells me how much time I spent listening to my newest audiobook, writing emails, and meditating – yes, I have apps for guided meditations and meditative music. It is then calculated by categories. My top three are typically Social, Creativity, and Information/Reading.

I love to dabble in photography and enjoy editing my photographs. I also do a fair amount of research and reading on my phone, but Social will probably always be the category that receives the most attention on my screen time chart. I post daily thoughts and updates on my social media accounts pertaining to my work and occasionally post photos of my cute Shih Tzus.

I will admit that I “follow” and “like” more than a few Influencers. In case you do not log hours every week on your screen time chart, an Influencer is a person with the ability to influence potential buyers by promoting or recommending a product or service on social media. I follow people who share my love of writing and speaking. I follow people who share decorating ideas and wonderful recipes. And yes, I follow a few Shih Tzu lovers. I will admit that I have been influenced to purchase several items and have tried many recipes posted by influencers.

Sometimes I am surprised by the amount of screen time I have built up, but I love my new latte maker, (recommended by my favorite influencer), and my husband will attest to the delicious meals I have made from recipes I have found on social media.
Here is the truth- we are all influencers, and we have all been influenced. When I post my motivational thoughts and quotes, I hope to influence my followers to have a happy day and a more joyful life. My goal is to touch hearts. But influencing goes deeper and broader than that.

We influence and are influenced in every moment of every day. Babies watch us and are influenced to talk the way we do, walk the way we do, and eat the way we do. They watch how much time we spend on the phone and reach for the hypnotizing machine.

Teenagers influence and are influenced by their peers. They see someone wearing the newest and coolest shoes and clothes and immediately they want the same ones.
We see commercials on television and ads in magazines and are influenced to buy products. We watch what books are on the New York Times best-seller list and are influenced to read them.

Watch couples when they are out to dinner. If one is looking at their phone, the other will do one of two things… stare at the person in hopes of them putting down the phone, or they will mirror the other person and pick up their own phone. When you mirror someone you have been influenced.

We are even influenced by our language. When two people are in a conversation, and one is cursing, many times the other person is influenced to curse more than they typically do.

Social media is the playground for Influencers. Social Media is where photos and filters have become the new smoke and mirrors that create a fictional world that we all want a piece of. We think we must be missing out if we don’t have those perfect shoes, eat at that amazing restaurant, or decorate our home exactly like Martha!

​Be very careful how you allow yourself to be influenced. And watch how you use your own power to influence others. Be cautious with your actions and words…someone is watching.
                                 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                  Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                      We are all influencers, and we are all being influenced.
                                            ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt #YouAreGoodEnough
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 © 2013-2023 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 the buffet line. I heard a whisper from behind me say,
“You must think you are pretty darn special, to control everything.”

I dropped the spoon back into the bowl of Caesar Salad and spun around to see a woman from the group I was with. I knew her, but not well. We had never had a one-on-one conversation. I am sure the expression on my face and the speed at which I turned was surprising to her, but she didn’t show it. She looked at me with an emotionless expression and softly repeated,  
“You must think you are pretty darn special to control everything.”

I couldn’t respond. My brain was quickly trying to process what she meant and what to say in return. I wasn’t fast enough. Before I could speak, she went on with,
“No one has the kind of power you think you have - to control everything. You are not responsible for everything. And you cannot control other people. Stop believing you have that much power.”

With that, she stepped around me in line and continued to fill her plate.
I froze looking around to see if anyone else heard the lesson I had just received. Stepping out of line I took my plate with one small spoonful of salad and sat down at a table.

We were at a three-day meeting with a group we met with once a month. That morning we had broken into small group sessions. During my session, I shared what was happening in my personal life. I teetered on a downpour of tears as I told how I felt like a failure because I couldn’t control the situation and felt like it was my fault that my loved one was struggling. Moments after I told my story we broke for the buffet line.

Staring at my plate I felt the hot tears building again. Yes, I blamed myself for the life circumstance my loved one was in. Yes, I felt like a failure that I couldn’t turn it around and create a happy-ever-after ending to the situation. Yes, I felt like I should have the power to fix it.

In that brief moment, everything changed. With a soft whisper, the words I needed to hear gently flowed into my mind and made their way down seeing into my heart. In a buffet line, I received a message that changed my beliefs, my outlook, and the way I was living my life. I changed.

Life-changing words don’t need to be shouted to be heard. It was in the soft whisper of truth that I received the message I needed. I realized there was only one life I could control and that was mine. I could guide and support others, but not control them, their path, or the outcome of their choices. I was not responsible for the decisions they made.

As much as I thought I was a superwoman with a magic cape and all the answers to give - I could not ‘fix’ anything. I didn’t have a magic wand or special glitter to sprinkle that would turn a pumpkin into a white coach or someone’s mess into a perfect life— my vision of a perfect life.

It was as if in that moment I was filled with understanding. I was able to accept the reality of the situation and release control of the outcome. It was in a buffet line moment that the weight lifted from my heart, and I understood that we all walk our own paths in life. No one else can walk it for us and no one else can control the direction we go or navigate our journey. No one has that much power- not even me.
                                  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
                                                    Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                  Life-changing words don’t need to be shouted to be heard.
​    It is in the soft whispers of truth that messages are sent, and lives are changed. 
                                            ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt #YouAreGoodEnough
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 © 2013-2023 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. ​

​Do you watch a movie all the way until the credits end, or do you click off your remote the minute they start? Do you sit in the movie theater and read the credits or jump up and leave to be the first one out the door when the drama ends?

I will admit I was never a stay-to-the-last-word kind of person… until recently. I am not sure why I began reading them, but now I find them fascinating. I watch the list of the main actors. Then the cast of names roll by of everyone in the movie even if they had the tiniest part. Sometimes I see names I recognize, and I didn’t catch their face during the film.

After that, I like to see the music that is played in the background – the title, the composer, the singer. Many times it is meaningful music that I find later and add to my own life’s playlist.

The writers of the words, the directors of the motion, the designers of the costumes, choreographers, sound experts, set designers, stunt people, catering people, assistants, and assistants to the assistants. No one is left off the list of credits. Even the animals in the film and those who take care of them are listed. It takes more than a village to create a motion picture that imitates life.

What about our life? The real moment-by-moment adventures of our life create the drama, tragedy, love story, and comedy that folds together into the movie of us. Who would be on our list of credits at the end?

Can you imagine how big the cast would be? At first the stars of the show were our parents and us. The cast was much bigger. There was a team of doctors and nurses that brought us into this world. As we grew the list of cast members grew. Siblings, babysitters, teachers, coaches, friends, and pets filled the big screen of our lives.

Soon girlfriends, boyfriends, spouses, partners, employers, and employees were added. Our life was choreographed as we danced to our drums and sang with our hearts. And when events were celebrated or tragedy knocked us down, remember those who celebrated with us and picked us up when we fell. Remember the doors of family, churches, and places of support that opened and invited us in.

Over the years, there were service people who sold us the items we use every day and the people who served us meals. Writers, editors, and publishers who created the books, newspapers, and magazines we read. The computer wizards that gave us the ability to access information at the touch of a keyboard and helped us work in this world. If you pull back the curtain and look behind the scenes, you would see the contractors that built our homes, the farmers that grew our food, and the companies that produce the electricity and gas that powered our lives.

If you really think about it, would our list ever end? Everything we use, touch, and see in life is here because of someone other than ourselves. They don’t show up in our daily routine, but they deserve mentioning on our roll of credits.

Maybe when our lives end, we should roll our credits. All of these people should be on it. It isn’t just us in this life. There is much more than a village that is responsible for all that happens in our life story- from the first cry to the last breath.

When our life is over, I hope that someone will honor me by acknowledging all the people who made my life possible. After the tears, the speeches, and the goodbyes, I wonder who would stay until the last credit rolled.
​                             ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                 Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                        It takes more than a village to create the life we live. 
                                        ​~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When I was a child, my friendships were created by walking together to school, sitting next to each other in the cafeteria, and being chosen for the kickball team at recess. 

Later in my life, I remember having coffee with my friends as our babies played nearby.
I wouldn’t think of going a day without talking to my friends on the phone.

I made friends sitting next to other moms as our children played soccer and baseball. I have had coworkers who became close confidants and soul connections.

Now in our fast-paced world do we know what having a close friend is? Do we confuse friendship with acquaintance? Is friendship defined by a blue thumbs-up on social media? Do these cartoon thumbs really represent a person that touches our hearts or are many of them there for self-acknowledgment – the more the better.  
I asked the question- “What is your definition of a Friend?”  to a progression of ages.

 A 6-year-old answered, “They are nice and funny.”

A 9-year-old responded with, “They are nice and they like who you are, not for how you look but for who you are.”

A 12-year-old reacted with, “Best pal, your forever buddy, someone who will be there if times get tough.”

Another 12-year-old replied, “Friendship is a bond that can’t easily be broken. Friends know what you’re going to say/do before you do it. They know what you are feeling.”

A 17-year-old reacted with, “Friends are people that are loyal to each other.”

A 47-year-old answered, “Friends are people who make your problems their problems so you don’t have to go through it alone.”

A 69-year-old said, “Someone I am always there for and they are always there for me.”

An 86-year-old said thoughtfully, “I tend to like people I have always been friends with. If you live to be old and can count your friends on the fingers of one hand- great! If you have more, that’s a bonus!”

An 87-year-old answered – “Somebody that you can rely on to ask personal questions and she won’t tell anyone else, and you do things together.”

I would agree with all these definitions.  
My definition would be someone that I hold mutual support, encouragement, and trust with. Someone I can laugh with and cry with. Someone, the first one, I would call at 2 AM to tell good news or bad.

Friendship morphs, grows, stagnates, or disintegrates during different stages and circumstances in life. There are many reasons for the ebb and flow, closeness, or detachment of a friendship.

Location plays a huge role. As a child moving across town changes the dynamic of friendship. For me, growing up in a military family, moves across the country plunked me into new schools and new populations. I learned how to make friends on the playground or stand alone.   

Divorce will create a situation of dividing property, belongings, and yes, friends.  
 
As we age, death and illness become a reality of life. Friends may pass away before us or become physically or mentally unable to participate in a friendship.  
                        
I have lived in many places and I have had many friendships. Some are lasting like my oldest friend in life – shout out to Kristi. Some have faded due to relocation. Some have been shattered by broken trust. Some have been lost through the division of divorce and separation of death.

I wonder if, as our friend circle shrinks, should we be trying to make new friends? Or is my small inner circle of trusted friends enough? 
No matter where you are in this cycle of life or what your definition of a friend is, my hope for you is that you have at least one. 
                                                          ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                          Pennie’s Life Lesson 
                      “When you find a friend hold them close to your heart.
​                             A true friendship should be valued and honored.”
                                                            ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt #YouAreGoodEnough
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 © 2013-2023 Pennie Hunt
                             This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
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It happened quickly. I was leaving the store and passed a mom with her small son. They were followed by a young girl walking a few steps behind them. It wasn’t an unordinary sight except for one thing. The sadness in the girl’s face and the single tear rolling down her cheek.
 
On the way to my car, my mind painted many scenarios. Maybe she was fighting with her brother and scolded by her mom. Maybe she wanted to buy a toy and was told no. Maybe she wanted to spend the night at a friend’s house and her family had other plans. Maybe she fell in the parking lot and skinned her knee. Maybe it was a small incident that hurt her heart and caused her pain. Maybe it was bigger. 
 
I have raised my children and spent enough time with my grandchildren to know that on any given day children can cry many times, for many reasons. I am sure I was in several stores when my children were young and they had tears on their faces for the scenarios I imagined about this little girl.
 
But on this day, this girl was giving me a bigger message. How many times do I rush through life walking right by people without giving any thought to the pain they carry? We all do it. The barista at your favorite coffee shop, the clerk who brings groceries to your car for curbside pickup, the barber who cuts your hair, the server who brings your food, your teacher, your student, your employee, your boss... do you know what pain they carry?
 
We all carry pain. It isn’t always carried with a sad face and a tear. Sometimes it is the people with the biggest smile and the loudest laugh that carry the most pain. How do we know? What can we do?
 
It just takes the one thing everyone seems to have the least of. Time. We are all busy and rushing so we don’t notice. We don’t have to notice. We don’t want to notice.
 
It just takes a second to smile at someone and let them feel seen. It just takes a minute to be kind, friendly, and wish someone a happy day. To make them feel like you care. It just takes a little time to ask someone how they are and not just as you walk away but ask and wait for the answer. The real answer.
 
We have all created a habit of being busy. A habit of rushing. A habit of avoidance. Think about what we are missing. We are missing connection. Communication. Caring. It just takes a little time to care enough to connect. To communicate and learn about others. To show interest in their feelings and share in their happiness - and their pain.  
 
I tried to make quick eye contact with the girl that day and smile at her. I don’t think she noticed. If she had stopped crying and wiped her tears two minutes before I walked by, I would not have noticed her. I would have never spent time wondering about her sadness. Wondering about her pain. I would not have received the message.
 
The message is that we all carry pain. We don’t get through life without hurt, loss, or tragedy. We don’t get through life without pain that we carry deep in our hearts. The tears and the scar tissue may not be visible, but it is there.
 
Once we experience this type of pain and learn the lessons that accompany it, we become more aware of the pain others carry. Hopefully, we share some of our time to wipe a tear or two, give a smile, or have a conversation when it is needed.
                                                        ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
                                                              Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                                 We never know the pain others carry in their hearts.
                                                      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt #YouAreGoodEnough
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 © 2013-2023 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. ​

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt #YouAreGoodEnough
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 © 2013-2023 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 am not sure how it happened. We did some landscaping. We added some rock work and a few trees and plants to our yard. A year later a single branch sprouted from the rocks. Then a second one stretched out of the ground. I wasn’t exactly sure what it was but for two years I watched it grow slowly. Last year it looked like a bush. I thought it was quite lovely as the leaves rustled in the wind. The green added a lovely touch to the corner of our driveway.  My neighbor asked me what it was and said it was the most beautiful thing on our street. A strong compliment for something that grew by accident.

The mystery sprout became a tree, so this year I snipped off all the lower branches and it grew with a power I never expected. Taller than me. Much taller than me and well on its way to becoming a large strong tree.  

How many times has something happened in life that caused us to unintentionally grow? We didn’t plan it. We may not have wanted it to happen, but it did and caused a growth spurt that we never expected. We grew in strength. Grew in experience. Grew mentally, emotionally, or spiritually.

In school you may have let your grades slip and the consequences were painful. You may not have been able to participate in sports or you may have enjoyed a little summer school time. Learning to be more responsible in the future with your schoolwork and appreciating the benefit of playing your favorite sport was the unintentional growth you gained.

You may have lost someone you love. The pain of grief can be unbearable. Living through, and with, this kind of pain can create growth in powerful ways. Your empathy and compassion for others grows. Your kindness and attention to the simple things in life grows. Your love for the time spent with family and friends grows. With deep pain comes deep (unintentional) growth.

You may have been laid off from a job. The panic of this type of situation causes stress, worry, and loss of confidence. As you search for a new job you begin to realize that you can find success elsewhere. In the future you plan your savings in case this happens again. You learn to be prepared for the unexpected. The learning and growth that comes from a stressful situation leads to confidence and strength. With time you realize it may have been the best thing that ever happened to you. What seemed to be the end of the world opened the door for a new beginning. The most difficult of times can cause the most dramatic growth.

I am not sure how our new tree happened to find us. Maybe a seed was dormant in one of the plants we intentionally planted and with the water and attention it decided to burst into its glory. Maybe it was a seed that blew from a neighbor’s tree swirling and dancing until it nestled into the safety of our rocks. How ever it came to live with us, its accidental growth has been a magical process to watch.

In the same way, our own unintentional growth can be a magical process to experience. We may not understand why it happens to us. It may take years before we fully realize the growth we have experienced because of it. The process may be painful, but as it expands our hearts it can become a beautiful benefit to our lives.
                                   ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                   Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                The most difficult of times can cause the most dramatic growth.
                                   ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt #YouAreGoodEnough
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 © 2013-2023 Pennie Hunt
                             This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
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​Fear is a big word.
A big bad four-letter word.
How many times does this word stop you? Probably more often than you realize. It stops you from taking a risk. It stops you from moving forward. It stops you from reaching for your dreams.

Try these 7 suggestions to help you be in control of fear:
1. Discover your hidden emotions. We have many emotions in our lifetime. Guilt, shame, anger, grief, love, joy, serenity, and so many more. Many times, we hide these in the deepest part of our being. We hide guilt and shame because we are afraid others will find out about our past. We carry grief in secret spots of our hearts. We may not want to seem too happy, too joyful, or too serene because we are afraid we will look a little wacky. We may be afraid to tell people we love them, so we hide our emotions. Dig deep into what emotions you are hiding and why. Step over the fear and share them. You will soon realize how bringing emotions into the light helps you connect with others and lessens fear. When we share our hidden emotions, we realize just how similar we all are.

2. Love. Allow yourself to love and be loved. I believe this is the reason we are here in this life. When you show love and accept love you will live in a loving way. When love is your guiding light, it outshines the darkness of fear. 

3. Failure is part of life. Accept that you will fail and stop fearing failure. Don’t fear making mistakes or taking a risk. Some will work out. Some won’t. But, with every failure you learn. With every step back you open space to see a new path forward. With time, you will realize that every failure comes with a reason why. 

4. Accept change. One absolute in life is change. Babies grow up. Our bodies age. Loved ones pass away. Warm summer days will turn into the cold blizzards of winter. We may not like the change we experience, but we cannot stop most of it. Learn to control the controllable and learn to accept the uncontrollable changes in life. 

5. Be grateful. Gratitude and fear are not compatible. When you feel the negativity of fear creeping in, be grateful for all you have. Start with the smallest of things and continue building your courage through the positivity of gratitude. The more gratitude you feel the less space you have for fear.  

6. Live your own dream. Everyone has an idea about how you should live your life, but no one except you will actually live it. Don’t live your life for someone else’s dream. Don’t allow others to fill you with their opinions about your life. Be smart. Do your research. Create a plan. Look at all the angles. A mentor is helpful, but don’t allow negative voices to create fear.  Don’t allow the opinions of others to stop your dreams.

7. Align your dreams, desires, intentions, and actions. When you do everything you can do to mold these together you will hold a belief that it will happen. Release the fear of how it will happen or if it will happen. Remember this quote:
        “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to                   achieve it.” ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

Yes, FEAR is a big word and disguises itself in many ways. It holds you back from your full potential. It creates anger, hate, depression, isolation, shame, guilt and so many versions of negativity. You will never be 100% free of fear, but you can control and minimize your fear. Fear can become a small word that holds very little power over you. You can replace Fear with words like Love, Acceptance, Gratitude, and Dreams.  Now, those are big words!
​                                        ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
                                             Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                               Don’t allow fear to block your dreams. 
                                         ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt #YouAreGoodEnough
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 © 2013-2023 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 hated them.
He loved them.
The small, knitted beanies were always on his head. He had them in a variety of styles and colors. In the early 2000’s they were not all that common. I thought they looked funny and much preferred him wearing a baseball cap, but beanies were his thing.

After he passed in 2007 photographs became important. In almost all the photographs taken of him during his last few years, he was wearing his beanies. The brown one he wore most of the time. The baby blue one that a friend gave him. A light brown wool one that he never wanted me to wash because it would shrink. And the striped Guinness one he was wearing the day his daughter was born.

I realized the beanies were part of his personality. He never cared what people thought. He played his own drum and walked to his own beat. The beanies were packed away with his special belongings. Carefully stored in a Rubbermaid tub full of memories.

Now, 16 years later everyone wears beanies. When I see a young man wearing one, I think of my son and how he was ahead of his time. Ahead of the fashion curve. This summer when my granddaughter, (his daughter) came to my house wearing a beanie I smiled and said,
“You know your dad always wore beanies.”
Her excitement was obvious when she responded with, “Do you still have any of them?”

Yes, yes, I did.
I thought about it for a few weeks and then I knew exactly which one I needed to give to her. The one he was wearing the day she was born. I wasn’t sure it was appropriate to give a 16-year-old a beer beanie, but it was the right one.

I washed it. I bought a pill shaver and spent a couple of hours carefully shaving off the tiny dots of fuzz that accumulate on knitwear over time. My granddaughter and I were out for dinner when I gave it to her. I told her it was a special beanie and showed her the photo of him wearing it and holding her just hours after she was born.

She was only 9 months old when he passed and has no memories of him. Over the years I have told her stories about him not to overwhelm her, but to keep him alive in a small way. To help her understand who her dad was. And to allow his memory to dance in my heart with every story I told.

As she accepted the beanie, I told her the story of her birth and how proud he was holding her in that photograph. I told her what a special time that Christmas Eve morning was when she arrived. She held it, looked it over, and laid it on her coat next to her.

We finished our dinner, put our coats on, and walked to our cars to go home. With the beanie in her hand, we hugged goodbye, and I said,
“You know, I am going to need a photo of you wearing that beanie.”

She smiled and said, “I love you” and ran through the wind to her car as I was reciprocating the feeling.
The wind carried my words away. “I love you too, sweet girl!”

Driving home I thought about the beanie and the journey it had been on. I thought about how years ago I hated it. Now I felt like I had just given one of my most precious possessions to one of my most precious people. When I arrived home, I sat quietly drinking hot tea and hoping she loved it like I did.

Beeeep.

It was the sound of a text message. I saw her name flash on the screen and opened the message. There were no words. Just a photo of her wearing the beanie.

The beanie’s journey was complete. It landed right where it was meant to be.
And I couldn’t love it more!
                                                   ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
                                                     Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                                                Sometimes it takes a journey
                                    to understand the connected threads of love. 
                                                      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt #YouAreGoodEnough
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 © 2013-2023 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. ​

Do you know what your core values are? Do you even know what that means?

Many companies and organizations have a list of core values that guide their business and mission. They hold their employees and partners to the standards set by the core values. When employee evaluations are conducted the demonstration of the core values is assessed.  
 
Have you thought of what your personal core values are? If core values are important in a work and organizational setting, shouldn’t they be important in our personal life?
 
Core values are what you value in life. What is important to you. What you stand for. What you stand by when you make life decisions. They are nonnegotiable and you don’t waver from them.
 
I believe I have had core values but have never officially written them down – until now. I thought I would share them with you.
 
Love- I believe this is the main reason we are in this life- to love and be loved. I value love highly in my relationships and interactions with others. I try to be loving and push love to others- even if it is a silent wish for a stranger that I walk by.
 
Kindness- This isn’t difficult –be kind to humans, animals, and our world.  
 
Compassion- Being empathetic, forgiving, and compassionate to others and to myself. We all struggle. We have all failed. We all have burdens and heartaches. None of us are perfect. Show compassion for the imperfections we all carry.
 
Communication/Connection- I crave connection. I have an intense inner desire to communicate with others. Family and friendships hold a deep space in my heart. Helping, holding, and harmonizing with others is as natural to me as breathing. Without it, I become less than who I am meant to be.
 
Happiness- Happiness is my choice. My moment-by-moment choice. Why would I choose any negative state when happiness is an option? Why would I waste one precious moment of my life unhappy? I choose to be happy.
 
Trust- Acting consistently in a way that promotes honesty, reliability, and safety.
 
Creativity- I am a creator in the deepest core of my being. I must decorate. I must paint. I must put words together to form writings that touch others. My mind is constantly thinking in a creative way. What can I do next? How can I do it? How can I experience and add beauty to this life?
 
Spirituality- I am a believer. I believe there is more to this existence than what we can see and touch. I believe the love of the generations before us surrounds us now. I believe what we do ripples across this life and beyond - touching many. The mystical magic of spirituality is deeply engrained in my beliefs.
 
Peace- I dislike conflict. I really, really dislike it. I want everyone to get along, be nice, be kind, and respect each other. I spend a great deal of time navigating life to temper conflict, repair conflict, and avoid conflict. My intention is to create as much peace as I can for myself and for others.
 
Gratitude- Gratitude is not last on this list because it is the least important. It is last on this list because it is intertwined with all the other values. If I am struggling in any area of life, I ask myself if I am coming from a place of gratitude for my life and all the people in it. Do I show and express gratitude for every moment I am given? During times of deepest grief and despair, gratitude has saved my life.
 
There you have it. My Ten Personal Core Values. If you read my books or columns, you may have guessed some of these. I am not always perfect with each one of these expectations for myself, but I try. Now that I have them written down, I will try harder.
You may think 10 is a lot. Maybe it is You may have 3-5. My challenge to you is if you don’t know what your core values are, make your list now. If you have them written down review them and see if you are living in line with those values.
I would love to hear from you – share your core values with me!
                              ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                             Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                        Create a list of core values that guide your life.
                                             Review them often.
                               ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt #YouAreGoodEnough
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 © 2013-2023 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. ​

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt #YouAreGoodEnough
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 © 2013-2023 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. ​

When my kids were small, I would tell them the worst thing they could do was lie to me. I explained that we could get through any mistake they made, problem they had, or whatever happened in life, if they told the truth. If they had problems at school, didn’t finish their homework, or started an argument with their sibling we could work it out if they told the truth. Lying about what happened was the worst offense and they knew it.  

Now my kids are grown and are doing an amazing job of parenting their own children. Recently as I was sharing this lesson with my grandchildren, I realized that lying to me wouldn’t be the worst offense they could do. Lying to themselves could be more harmful.

The most dangerous and damaging lies are the ones we tell ourselves. Our mind can be a powerful manipulator. It tries to feed us negative thoughts constantly. Thoughts that stifle our self-confidence and smother our dreams.

This part of our mind is an internal bully that beats us up. It punches us by saying things like - you are not attractive enough, smart enough, or worthy enough. We start to believe that we aren’t qualified enough for that job promotion, we aren’t smart enough to express our opinions, and we aren’t interesting or appealing enough to have the relationship of our dreams. We miss opportunities because we fear the lies are true. Is any of it true? No. It is the fictitious imagination of our brain bully.  

The brain bully tells us to do things because after all what harm is there? We listen to the bully in our head that insists that what we do isn’t hurting anyone. So, we make bad choices. We do things that we know are not right. If no one knows we are doing it, we aren’t hurting anyone. But is that true? No, we are hurting a very important person…ourselves.  

Our brain bully tells us lies that sound like the truth. This type of negative self-talk works so well because the lies are massaged and molded into a convincing narrative. It is repeated and repeated until we believe it. We pull back from our dreams. We accept what we are given in life and believe we are not deserving of more. We believe the lies we tell ourselves.

The brain bully is part of us. An ugly, unreliable, untrustworthy, controlling part of us. Call it your brain bully or give it a name- Fred, Marsha, Anabell… whatever you want to call the bully that feeds you negative thoughts. Start listening to your thoughts and soon you will recognize the truth from the brain bully’s ridiculous rhetoric. You will begin to catch the thoughts that don’t pass the does-this-make-sense test. You will begin to reject the lies that are disguised as the truth.

The more you push back your brain bully the quieter it will become. The more you ignore it and move forward with your dreams the less power it will have. It will no longer hold you hostage to its nonsensical banter. Your fear will disappear, and your confidence muscle will grow. Without the constant lies your self-esteem will increase and life will become a clear and clean place for you to explore.

Lies are harmful things, but the most dangerous and damaging lies are the ones we tell ourselves. We believe and trust ourselves more than any other person. So, when we hear our mind talk we want to believe that it is telling us the truth. We don’t want to believe it would lie to us, but that brain bully does.

Now take a minute and think… what was the biggest lie you have told yourself?  
                               ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                     Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                                           Don’t listen to negative self-talk.
           The most dangerous and damaging lies are the ones we tell ourselves.
​                                ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt #YouAreGoodEnough
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 © 2013-2023 Pennie Hunt
                             This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
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“What are you up to today, Mom?” I asked.
“Weeelll, I have the vacuum cleaner out. I need to vacuum the living room.”

I don’t know the number of times those two sentences were included in a phone conversation with my mom. I lived five hours away from her. Many times when I visited her I would walk in her house and see the vacuum cleaner sitting in the middle of her living room. She would tell me she planned to vacuum before I arrived, but just didn’t get it done. I would vacuum for her and put the vacuum cleaner in the closet.

At first, I thought she hated to vacuum, and she knew I would do it for her when I arrived. I am not sure when the clarity came to me that explained the real reason she never seemed to do the vacuuming. She was in her 80’s and living alone. Daily tasks were becoming more than she could handle on her own and the thought of vacuuming had become an overwhelming chore. One she could no longer manage. I think she looked at it. I think she wanted to vacuum and clean the dirt from her life. But she couldn’t.

Mom spent her last few years in an assisted living community. Her apartment was cleaned for her. She stopped talking about the need to vacuum the living room. The vacuum stayed in the closet. She never mentioned it again.

I still think of that vacuum cleaner sitting in the middle of her living room. I wonder how many of us have one in the middle of our room. In the middle of our life. It may not look like a vacuum, but the meaning is the same. A task that seems overwhelming. A project that we feel like we will never accomplish. A skill we are certain we cannot master. A hurt from our past that we don’t want to deal with. And so the vacuum sits there.

We think about it. We know it needs to be done. We want to do it. But the size and scope of it overwhelms us. The idea becomes a large frightening monster that we hope someone else will handle. Or we give up on ever having the ability to accomplish it. We feel inadequate. We don’t believe we will ever be good enough to do the job. Our fear and insecurity grow.

The project sits there right in the middle of the room. We walk around it. We throw a blanket over it to hide it. We ignore it and wish our desire to accomplish it will diminish.

But it is there. We trip over it. We stub our toe on it. We move it around to keep it out of our way. But it never leaves.

Fill in the blank with what your desire is. A new job. A new relationship. A college degree. Painting your house. Or is it something personal like rebuilding a bridge from your past? Apologizing or clearing out some internal trauma. What do you want to accomplish that you feel you aren’t good enough to do? If you stare at the vacuum in the middle of the room long enough without trying, soon years will go by. There will come a time when you can’t physically or mentally do it.

Don’t wait. Stop tip-toeing around the issue. Do one thing today that puts you one step closer to moving that vacuum. Make one phone call. Research one class. Create a budget and begin saving for that trip. Write a letter of apology. Schedule an appointment.  Do one thing that sets a plan in motion.

As for me, what am I up to today, you might ask…
I have some vacuuming to do.
                                ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                    Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                  Open your eyes to see the vacuum in the middle of your life.
                    Take one step that puts you on the path of dealing with it. 
                                           ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt #YouAreGoodEnough
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 © 2013-2023 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 ever driven to work and as you parked your car you can’t remember even driving there?

There is a term called Brain Autopilot which is the ability to perform a task or activity without any conscious effort. It is like we are sleeping while we do an activity and only when we wake up do we realize what we have done.

This works because you have driven to work so many times that even if your mind wanders your unconscious muscle memory of repetitively driving to work takes over. When you park it can be a frightening moment when you realize you don’t totally remember the drive.

Driving in mental autopilot mode is not recommended or the safest habit to have. There are, however, good ways to use this mental autopilot. Once you create a habit of always getting up at 7 AM and immediately drinking a glass of water and then working out, you will automatically do this every day. Your mental autopilot tells your body this is what we do, when we do it, and how we do it – so let’s go!

Here is when automatic activity gets glitchy – when your entire life is on autopilot.
When you wake up every morning to the exact same routine. Coffee, breakfast, work, lunch, work, dinner, bedtime, repeat. Your days are so predictable that you don’t think about what you are doing. You sleepwalk through life.

You never notice flowers and certainly don’t stop to smell them. Your mundane life is not flexible and there are no cracks of time to allow feelings of joy or happiness to seep in. Words like creativity, imagination, innovation, inspiration, and vision do not enter your mind. Spontaneity is not in your vocabulary. None of those concepts fit within the pattern that your autopilot follows.

You are bored, but does your autopilot even let you realize it?

Do you see yourself in that description? Even a little bit? Now that you realize your pattern, is it time to change? Is it time to shake up the pattern and design the life you want?

Some people like the predictable life. The set routine makes them feel secure and safe. That is ok. But if you see areas you would like to improve – let’s go!

Think back in your life to things you used to daydream about. Don’t sleepwalk. Let yourself daydream. Daydreaming is when you relive happy memories, think about goals and interests. As a child what did you see in your future? As a teenager what plans did you have? Now as an adult which ideas can you reach back to the past and grasp. Pull them into your life now.

Imagine all the possibilities and dreams that are in your mind. It isn’t too late, and they are not lost. They have just been waiting for you to dream again. They have been waiting for you to take action. They have been waiting for you to wake up from your sleepwalking.

Switch that autopilot to off and take control. Design your life. Plan your route. Be the driver and the navigator of your journey. Become very clear about what you want to do, when you will do it, and how you will do it. You have dreams to chase. Let’s go!!
                                 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                       Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                                                Wake up from life’s autopilot.
                                              Imagine possibilities and dreams. 
                                             ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt #YouAreGoodEnough
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 © 2013-2023 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. ​

Humans are amazing creatures. I study people.     I watch their behaviors. I am not a creepy stalker, but I do watch, observe, and take notes about fellow humans. I watch people in airports.  I notice people in grocery stores. I see others at sporting events, restaurants, and meetings.
 
In all the places I watch people one thing seems to be the norm… everyone is listening to something. I remember as a child one of my cherished possessions was my small AM transistor radio. I played it all the time. Depending on your age, you may remember the days of people carrying a large boom box on their shoulders to keep their ‘tunes’ right in their ears. And remember the first cell phones? They came in a small suitcase and as you carried it everyone saw an invisible sign of status- you didn’t leave home without it.
 
Technology changed rapidly to Walkmans and iPods. Noise cancelling headphones soon became the way we listened. It was easy to shut out the entire world and concentrate on the message coming through the headphones.
 
Everyone has become very tuned in. Tuned in to music, videos, social media, movies, podcasts, and news reports. Humans are always plugged in.
 
Now everyone carries a minicomputer in their hands disguised as a smartphone. These are attached through the magic of Bluetooth to the input of your choice. The recent trend I have noticed is the one ear headphone. Call it an in-ear headphone, ear pod, earbud, AirPod, headset, or earpiece, but it seems to be cool to wear just one. Sometimes you don’t see the wireless ear device, so you never know if someone is on their phone or talking to themselves. Either way is it good etiquette to interrupt their conversation?
I also observe the dual listener. You know the ones… they are always listening to something through the one ear headphone. If you talk to the person, they don’t remove the ear device. They seem to be dual listening -- they listen to you while listening to whatever the ear device is delivering.
 
Hello, is anyone really listening?
 
Is it possible to simultaneously receive, understand and process multiple messages? Has our world become so fast, so busy, and so demanding that this multi-listening is the norm? Is it required to keep up with everything we need to know?
 
Or are people so overwhelmed with life that we need some kind of white noise in our ears at all times to blur the craziness of life?
 
Maybe we have all forgotten how to listen. We have forgotten the kind of deep listening that comes from sitting face to face and knee to knee while focusing our attention on another person as they speak. We have forgotten what it feels like to be outside without something in our ear. We have forgotten the pleasure of hearing the birds sing and the sweet sounds of nature.
 
What if you tried this for a day? Commit to deep listening for one day. No headphones. No multi-listening. Concentrate on one message at a time. Just music. Just the sound of a waterfall. Just a phone call. Just a conversation. Listen to one thing at a time. One person at a time. When you focus and really listen, you may notice that humans are amazing creatures.
                                       ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                 Pennie’s Life Lesson:
               Give complete attention to the message you are listening to.
​                                                Practice deep listening. 
                                          ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt #YouAreGoodEnough
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 © 2013-2023 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. ​

  Do you know anything about bees? The only thing that ever crossed my mind about the yellow and black creature was an unhappy childhood memory. I innocently sat down on the bench of a picnic table too close to a wasp that immediately stung me. I screamed and wailed from the pain.

From that day on any yellow and black insect that resembled a wasp, yellow jacket, hornet or a bee spurred instant fear in me. I have always kept my distance as I watched bees pollinate flowers and respected their space in this world. That is where my knowledge and interest in bees ended…until this week.

I read something that caught my eye about bees, so my curiosity forced me to dig deeper into the life of bees. The first thing I found was that there are over 20,000 species of bees in the world, so I left the 19,999 variations alone and I narrowed in on honeybees. I wanted to verify the fact I read that stated:

   A bee lives a maximum of 40 days, visits 1000 flowers,
    and produces 1 teaspoon of honey.

That statement gave a whole new meaning to the quote, “Busy as a bee,” and I wanted to learn more. I spent an afternoon searching for information about honey bees and concluded that the statement is basically true. The life span varied a little in many articles depending on the time of year the bee is born, weather, pesticides, predators, and the role the bee holds in life. For example, the Queen lives much longer than worker bees. The amount of honey also varied from 1/12 of a teaspoon to 1 teaspoon.

My mind couldn’t help but compare the life of a bee to how we live. A bee seems to come here with the knowing and understanding of its place and purpose in life. It is simple – they are here to pollinate and produce honey. In other words, in my words, they are here to smell the roses and create sweetness.

What a glorious way to live. As the poet William Blake said, “The busy bee has not time for sorrow.” They don’t waste time on jealousy, sadness, anger, or any of the trivial problems of life that we humans seem to sit in. There isn’t time for that. I like to think they know their time is short and finite. They know their mission and they get busy!

What if we could live like that? Maybe in bee time 40 days is equal to a 90-year life in human years. Humans also have a finite time to live, but we expect to hit the 90-year mark. We think we have all the time in the world to get things done, but there is no guarantee that we will live to be 22, 74, or 99.

We spend way too much time trying to figure out what our place and purpose is when it is just as simple as a bee’s. At least it is in my mind. I believe we are here to learn, teach, and love. When we have learned what we are here to learn, taught what we are here to teach, and loved and been loved we are done. It is simple.

So why do we waste so much time on jealousy, sadness, anger, and trivial problems in life? Why don’t we focus on what is important and get busy living with intention? Why don’t we pay attention to smelling the roses and the little things that really matter? Why can a bee devote its entire life to creating the sweetness of a teaspoon of honey and we think it is never enough to spread on one piece of toast?

Maybe it is time we learned something from bees.  It’s time to get busy!
                             ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
                                              Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                                      Live your days with intention-
                                           there is no time to waste. 
                               ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Are you part of a group, a team, a school, a club, a crew, a family, a religion, or a community?
​Of course you are. Humans have a need for connection. We fear isolation. We want to be included and belong.
 
We mirror the actions of others to gain acceptance and approval. As a teenager, you may have tasted your first beer at a party. You hated it, but kept sipping until the taste was tolerable. You felt like you were one of the cool kids. You felt like you belonged.
 
We shift our shape and adapt our actions to match who we need to be in the moment we are in. One moment we are a parent. At work, we are employees and bosses. With friends, we are confidants and counselors. With a date we may try to be who the other person wants us to be. We go to a concert and become kids again.  Even as an adult when we are around our parents we may act differently- conceding and needing approval. 
 
A different version of who we are exists in the minds of everyone who knows us. Our minds work hard to determine who we need to be and who they need us to be. Their minds work hard to decide if we are who they want us to be. 
 
The need to belong is an instinct. It can push us to act in ways that feel uncomfortable. When we bend and mold ourselves to be a contorted version of who we are, we don’t recognize our own reflection in the mirror. This continual shape-shifting is exhausting - and can become a problem.
 
We are not paper dolls cut from flat, one-dimensional paper. We all have different roles in life and different flavors of our personalities. Many times we hide areas of who we are because we are afraid to share our entire selves. We disguise parts of our personalities that we fear will hinder our belonging and inclusion with others.
 
What if we blended the parts of who we are into a big, bold, beautiful collage that reveals all of who we are? What if we could be ourselves? Our crazy, goofy, wild, authentic selves all the time? Inherently, we understand that we need to be rational and in control of our actions. We can’t be a constant disruption or nuisance and expect to be respected, liked, or welcomed. But we can bring all of those flavors of our personalities with us wherever we go.
 
Henry David Thoreau said, “It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.”
What if we looked at each not with our eyes, but with our hearts and accepted the entire package of each other’s personality… flaws, quirks, and all?
 
Begin using your heart to look at your family, friends, and coworkers. Look deep into their hearts. You may begin to see the layers of their personalities that they have kept hidden – afraid to share. You may see the fun-loving side. The joyful side. The layer of pain they have experienced that holds them back from being the shining light they could be.
 
When you allow your heart to see their hearts you come to realize we are not all that different. We have different talents, experiences, and thoughts, but we all want to be seen, connected, and belong.
                                           ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                    Pennie’s Life Lesson:
           When you allow yourself to be the authentic person you really are,
                        you will attract the people you are meant to be with.
                                                        You will belong.
                                  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt #YouAreGoodEnough
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 © 2013-2023 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 wasn’t that angry. On a scale from 1 to 10, I was probably a 2. I felt like I was having a discussion and expressing my concern. The person on the other end of the phone line said,
“When you draw your sword, you leave a long shadow.”

What? What did that mean? I wasn’t yelling. I wasn’t even talking firmly. I was relaying my experience and explaining how it probably was happening to others. I had an easy suggestion on how to change the system. That comment didn’t hit me well, and my number immediately doubled to at least a 4.

That conversation was years ago and ended with a mutual understanding of the situation. But I never forgot that comment. Now when I am higher on the anger scale I think about my sword and the shadow it could cast. I think about how my words, not only affect me, but the person I am talking to, and the people that hear it and share it with others. The shadow can be long, dark, and cloudy.

I am not perfect. I have said many things in my life that I regret. I wish I could suck words back into my mind and never let my mouth give them to the power of the sword. I do try to be more aware of how my spoken words, texts, and emails hit others. Sometimes I fail.

I have also come to realize this concept can work in the opposite way. The power of the sword can work for good. Just as anger, hateful words, and actions cast a heavy dark shadow, love, kindness, joy, happiness, and empathy, can cast a long, bright, clear glow.  

Think about the logical simplicity of this. If you give someone a smile and a compliment first thing in the morning, it brightens their outlook. They in turn may feel better about themselves and are nicer to others. If you allow a driver to move in front of you, they may not be late for their appointment and be more relaxed and kinder throughout the day.

If someone is a witness to your act of giving or volunteering, they may be encouraged to give and volunteer too. And yes, if you buy coffee for the person behind you in the drive-through line, most of the time they will buy coffee for the person in the car behind them.

And so it goes. The glow of love and kindness is long. These actions reflect as if the sun is shining on the polished metal blade of your sword. Words not only affect us but the person we are talking to, the people that hear them and share them with others. Instead of leaving a shadow, you give a bright gift of light to everyone.

Actions are almost always given back to you. If you are angry, anger will be mirrored back to you in the form of defensiveness and aggression. Two swords are drawn.
If you are kind, kindness will be mirrored back to you in the form of gratitude and love. The sword becomes a bright beacon that showers light over all those involved.
During that phone conversation years ago, I wasn’t very angry. Looking back, I don’t think that was the intent of the conversation. As with everything in my life, the conversation was to teach me a lesson. A lesson of caution that I have remembered for years.

The dark shadow of the sword is a real thing. I believe the power of light is even stronger.
                               ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                 Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                        When you are ready to cast a shadow of darkness,
​                                    be someone who shines light instead.
                                ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt #YouAreGoodEnough
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 © 2013-2023 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 don’t remember exactly how it started. One of us did something we thought was great and announced, “I won the day!”

The competition began.

My husband would mow our acre and a half property in between rainstorms, and he won the day. I would try a new recipe and create an amazing meal and I won the day.

This went on for weeks. Sometimes we both did something amazing and had to divide the day… one of us won the morning and the other won the afternoon. We even had a few days where our efforts created an equal tie.

Somewhere along the way we had a revelation. This fun competition resulted in us getting so much more done. We began completing tasks we had put off for months or longer. We were moving more. We were feeling better. We were proud of what we accomplished. This made us want to do more.

That was all great, but what we realized was it went way deeper than that. When we looked back at all the things we had done, something jumped out like a neon sign flashing in front of our faces.

Most of the tasks we accomplished, we did so with the other person in mind. I wasn’t creating fabulous meals for me. I was creating them for him. It brought me joy to see his face when he ate them. He wasn’t detailing the inside of my car for himself. He was doing it because he knows I enjoy a clean car. We were doing things for each other that saved the other person time. Things that made each other smile. Things that the other person wanted done, but didn’t have time to do. Things that were a surprise and out of the ordinary. Things that brought joy and happiness to the other person.

Some of this has been simple and easy. Some of this has been hard, sweaty, I-don’t-really-want-to-do-it work. Either way, this has become a habit, a ritual, a gift to each other, with an award at the end. It is now a big deal to be able to say,
“I won the day!”

Winning the day is a glorious feeling. An inner badge of honor. A reward for gifting love to the other person.

That is really what it is. A way to show love. A gift of love. Usually when one of us sees what the other person did, we announce, “YOU just won the day!” If no one says that we check in with each other and ask, “Did I win the day?”

I believe that is really code for, “Did I make you feel loved today?”

What I know about my husband is that his top two Love Languages are acts of service and words of affirmation. So, if I do something for him it makes him feel loved. If he does something for me and wins the day, he will receive a boost of affirmation. It is a win-win either way. (See The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman.)

This process has grown organically into something bigger than we could imagine. No, we don’t get up every day and stand at the starting line with our work clothes on and race to see who can do more and finish first. Most of the time it is done in a subtle manner - no whistles, no standing ovations, and absolutely no walk of shame or label of loser.

I don’t remember exactly how it started, but I do know what it created.  A daily gift of love.
                                ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                     Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                                    Start winning the day – not just for you,
​                                               but for someone you love! 
                                ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt #YouAreGoodEnough
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 © 2013-2023 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 ever experienced a meltdown… the kind where you find yourself in a messy puddle on the floor?

I have a concept called, Pennie’s DOT Theory, that states:
 “Any event that happens to us, around us, or concerns us is just one tiny Dot in the grand adventure of life. If we over-think one Dot it becomes magnified and joins with other Dots to form a mass of stress that creates imbalance and unhappiness.”
 
If we blow one Dot out of proportion it can consume us, make us irrational, and ultimately we end up in that messy puddle. The problem is we overthink a little Dot allowing it to become a big DOT. 
 
Remember this – D-O-T- DON’T OVER THINK the Dot! 
 
It happened to me. It began with a flu shot. Well, the flu shot is not responsible for the entire meltdown, but it is the Dot that began the snowball rolling. For three days after the shot, I felt tired, drained, and far from the perky, optimistic, personality, I am known for.
 
My fatigue turned into a colossal cold. Another Dot. I stopped working out, stopped meditating, stopped eating right… Dot… Dot… Dot.
 
As the days continued my snowball began rolling faster. More stressful Dots showed up. The imbalance grew. I broke dishes, forgot things, and my blood pressure went up. As the Dots continued to connect, overwhelm set in. I began allowing the profanities of human emotions to marinate with the Dots. You know the ones… words like, jealousy, resentment, anger, insecurity, and finally the big four-letter word - FEAR!
 
Then it happened. It doesn’t matter what the “IT” was, it was just another Dot, but the most dangerous kind for me… my feelings were hurt. The snowball aimed right for that new Dot. The snowball rolled around until every dirty bit of the new Dot was connected to the Dot party forming in my head. It was just the Dot to heat up the snowball enough for it to come to a full stop, a complete meltdown, and a Dot EXPLOSION!
 
The pity party wasn’t pretty. The meltdown was ugly. The Dot explosion was epic, causing a massive heart attack. You see, when you over-think little Dots they join with other Dots in the same way plaque sticks together to block your arteries. You don’t function well and it eventually leads to an attack of the heart. 
 
Thank goodness Dot heart attacks don’t send you to the hospital. Yet, they have the power to do just as much damage. Accumulating and overthinking Dots stifle your happiness. Fear takes over attacking your heart and breaking down its protective covering until an explosive meltdown occurs. A crack is formed, and your heart is scarred in hidden ways. 
 
Finally, I stepped back from the dirty puddle I was sitting in and realized I had broken my own DOT Rule. By overthinking every little Dot, I had given them the power to become huge in my mind. I allowed them to connect one by one, stripping me of my calm, my contentment, and my happiness. They blinded me and I couldn’t see anything except the huge painful mass of Dots. 
 
I had carried the Dot mass around like a collection of boulders in a backpack. Only when I dropped the backpack did they tumble out before me so I could see the tiny pebbles each of them really were. Just tiny Dots in the grand adventure of life!
                           ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                 Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                  Any event that happens to us, around us, or concerns us
                         is just one tiny Dot in the grand adventure of life.
                                             Don’t Over-Think the DOTs!
                                   ​  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

​
I got a new pair of shoes. They are red, fun, and spunky. I texted a photo of them to my grandkids to see what they would say. The texts came back… “so cute,” “Oooo I like them,” and “very drip.” I had to look that one up.
According to the new slang, if you have the drip, it means you have swagger, especially in how you look. You're hot. You're cool. You're on point. You've got the sauce.

Success! I am cool in the eyes of my grandchildren. I have stood in a lot of shoes in my life, but this is the first time I have been successful at having the sauce.

What is your definition of success? It is different for everyone and changes depending on what stage of life you are in. When I was a student success equaled graduation. As a young mother, I was satisfied if my children were healthy, well cared for, and happy. I was a successful mom. As they grew I went back to school for another graduation and reached for the success of a career. Bigger positions and bigger promotions were always the bells I stretched to ring. Along with that came bigger paychecks, bigger homes, nicer cars, and big vacations. Success! Success! Success!

Now I enjoy accolades when my writing touches people. An email from a reader is a heartwarming success- no bell ringing is needed. And when my grandchildren think I am the coolest grandma they know, that may be the biggest heart burster of success I have had.

You see, I realize success is ours to name. It all depends on what shoes you are standing in. Maybe you don’t want to always have on those climbing shoes as you step up the ladder. Maybe you don’t want to be the boss. Maybe you feel totally content and successful as an important cog in the wheel of the company. Maybe you are standing in the leader's shoes of a company, but you won’t feel successful until you have your own company.

Maybe your dream life is to travel the country in a small motor home and make enough money to buy a burger and put gas in your tank. No house, no big paycheck, no fancy cars, but standing in your shoes you feel successful. Ring the bell! 

There is nothing wrong with reaching for more. There is nothing wrong with being happy where you are. You name what success is to you. You decide what makes you happy and content. It isn’t anyone’s business to judge your definition of success by their interpretation of success. They don’t stand in your shoes.

As for me, I have been on top of the ladder, and I have been a happy cog. I’ve had homes that range from big to small. But today, where I stand now, I am happily wearing my fun, red, spunky shoes. I feel my swagger. I think I look hot and feel cool. I am the drip and have the sauce. And I have never felt more successful in my life!
                              ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                                                     Success is personal.
                        Only you can label what your success should be.
                                  Be happy standing in your own shoes. 
                                        ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt #YouAreGoodEnough
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 © 2013-2023 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 have a hard time being still. I can sit with a cup of coffee in the morning with my dogs on my lap and slowly wake up. I can do my morning meditation, read something motivational and write in my journal. But once that quiet morning time is done, I am up and running.

I rarely take a full day off. I am always writing. I am always planning my next speech or my next book. I am always thinking about ways I can help more, give more and do more.

I think many of us are like this. We are caught up in the busyness of life. We hustle from one meeting to another, one commitment to another, one task to another. It is easy to become overwhelmed with life.

When I am in this kind of perpetual movement, I forget to breathe. It isn’t intentional. It sounds odd, but I hold my breath as if that helps me go faster and get more done. When I catch myself doing this, I make myself close my eyes and breathe to reset the rhythm of my body. There have been times in my life when I didn’t pay attention and allow myself the time to be still. There have been times when I pushed too long and too hard. My body broke down, giving me no choice but to be still and heal.

Occasionally, we are given a quiet time in life. It may be a moment, a day, or a month of stillness. We may become anxious. It’s too quiet. Too slow. Too boring. Don’t confuse boredom with peace. Occasionally, we are given a purposeful pause— to feel the empty space, to hear the quiet, to stop the movement.

Be grateful for a full, happy, busy life, but never overlook the beauty of the purposeful pause. There are times when we are meant to pause. We are meant to take time. Sit still. Stand still. Be still. Be grateful for times of space, quiet, and stillness. Be grateful for a peaceful space of time just for you.

Being bored is a gift. Boredom is a time to heal. Don’t reach for distractions or numbing diversions like screens, food, alcohol, or other people. Allow the space for healing. It’s a powerful peaceful place. Boredom is a time of quiet that can turn the volume up on our happiness. Boredom is where creativity is born. Boredom is when you can silence everything else in the world and be still.

When you are running the race of life, going faster and faster, trying to keep up - stop. When you are overwhelmed with a problem and are searching for an answer – stop. When you are pushing so hard that you forget to breathe – stop. Stop before your body and mind are pushed to a limit which causes a health situation that forces you to stop.

Allow your body and your mind the space to be still. To do nothing. It is in this space that your body rejuvenates. It is in this space that your mind clears out the messy problems. It is in this space that every step of life becomes easier… one breath at a time. One moment of stillness at a time.

                                                        Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                               When you allow your mind the space to do nothing,
                                                      it is easier to do everything.

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt
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 © 2013-2023 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. ​