Have you had one of those days? You know the ones. You wake up late. You stub your toe as you hurry to get dressed, and then on the way to work, you are stopped at every red light. You realize you forgot your notes at home for the presentation you must give at work. One thing after another seems to be going wrong. You are in a bad mood and want to begin the day over again. Or rush through it and get it over with. It is a no-good rotten terrible day! It is easy to become the victim and believe that the day is out to get you, everyone is against you, and the world is a terrible place. You are just an innocent bystander in this calamity of a day because you think, “Everything always happens to me!” Then one day turns into two and then a week goes by, and you are in total victim mode and slowly you believe your world is falling apart. And then it does. When a day begins like this, it is human nature to lock in on all the bad things that are going wrong and how nothing ever goes right. Reticular thinking takes over. Our brain begins noticing and directing our attention toward what matters most to it. In this state of expecting everything bad to happen, what matters most to our brain is bad things happening. So, our life is going to give us more bad things. Let’s look at reality. There are many days when one or two unfortunate things happen. That does not mean we should just check the day off as a bad day. We have more control over how our day turns out than you might think. What if we took control of our thinking pattern and allowed reticular thinking to work in a positive way? If we stop at the first or second inconvenient experience and begin looking for the good in the day, we can control what our brain is noticing. Maybe you overslept and stubbed your toe, but the coffee is hot and tastes great! On the drive to work when you are stopped at red lights, notice the sunrise or the beautiful blue sky. Be grateful for the car you are driving. When you arrive at work smile at everyone you see – they will smile back. Be grateful for your job. With every interaction and experience, continue looking for the good in the day. It won’t take long for you to forget about how the day began. Your mind is too busy concentrating on seeing the good in your day. Your brain is clicking through the day frame by frame, moment by moment, interaction by interaction searching for happy situations. You begin to think, “Everything good always happens to me!” Then one day turns into two and then a week goes by, and you are in total control of your life. Slowly you believe your world is an amazing place. And it is! When you are having one of those days where everything seems to be going wrong… remember, it is never too late to change the ending of your day. Until the day is over there is always time to create a good memory and forget the bad. There is always time to change the pattern. There is always time for everything good to happen to you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: There is always time to change the ending of a bad day. Until the day is over there is always time to make it a good day. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2024 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 #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happiness
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A few days ago, I heard someone say, “I have done some things I am not proud of, but that was in the past and now it is a new time. I don’t have time to think about those things anymore. It’s a new day.” Then he shared a quote from Mother Teresa. I believe it was this one. “Yesterday is gone, tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today, let us begin.” I kept running these thoughts and the quote through my mind. This person is always happy, always upbeat, and always positive. When they enter a room, their smile enters first and the light of joy surrounds them. I always wondered why and now I believe I know. The secret is the way my friend lives. In the present. Not in the past. Not in the future. We have all said things and done things we regret and are not proud of. I believe it is important to apologize, fix what we can, and make amends to those we harmed and hurt. We can’t control how they will react, but we can respect them enough to allow them the opportunity to react. After that, we need to forgive ourselves. Don’t allow the pain to be left unresolved to fester in you or in the person you hurt, because it will. Then it is time to leave it in the past and move forward to a new day and a new time. Be the best you can be and live in the present and not in the past. Be proud of the person you are today and do not dwell on the things you are not proud of in the past. It is easy to allow yesterday to take away your today. We have all had yesterdays that were happy, sad, and even tragic. Some we may want to relive or do-over. Some we may want to forget and wish they never happened, but we relive them in our minds over and over. We can blame ourselves for causing or creating what happened in the past, but we can’t change it. When you dwell on the yesterdays of your life you miss the day you are in now. In the same way, if you concentrate only on the future and what is ahead of you, you will miss today. Some people wish for the future to be better. You may work hard to create a wonderful future – and that is great, but don’t work so hard that you miss today. Learn to enjoy the process today of creating the future of tomorrow. Some people spend their time worrying and fearing what may happen tomorrow. This can be equally bad. None of our tomorrows are guaranteed. Don’t spend so much time on what is ahead of you that you look right past where you are now. The trick is to keep your mind and heart in the day and space you are in. There is no room for the darkness of yesterday or the uncertainty of tomorrow. Today is what you have. A new day. I agree with Mother Teresa -- We only have today, let us begin. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Spread joy today. There is no time for the mistakes and regrets of the past or the worries of the future. We only have today, let us begin. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2024 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 #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happiness When we look back at our lives, we all have turning points. We made a choice, picked the path, or committed to a decision that changed everything in our lives. If you really think about it, was that turning point tipped by one sentence? You are probably thinking, no that isn’t possible. Oh, but it is. One sentence can change your life. What if someone said, “I love you”, or “Will you marry me?” Wouldn’t that change your life? And the one-word sentence answer of yes or no changed theirs too. Then as you stood at the altar and said the short sentence, “I do,” that was another life changer. When my daughter was pregnant for the second time, during an ultrasound, she heard the sentence, “You have two babies in there.” Twins changed everything about how she thought her family would look and how she and her husband planned their lives. Happiness was instantly doubled. That sentence changed their life. How would these sentences change your life: You have been accepted to Harvard. You won the lottery. You are cancer-free! I am offering you the job. These would cause you to be happy, excited, and joyfully look forward to your future. Conversely, how would these sentences change your life: I want a divorce. I quit. You are fired. You failed the test. You have a terminal illness. I’m sorry to tell you there has been an accident. These sentences would bring fear, anxiety, grief, and sadness. They would change your life. Words have power and when they are joined together, they can form a life-changing sentence. A sentence that can induce the highest happiness and lowest despair. The sentence can catch a person off guard and be delivered at an unexpected time. If you are the one speaking, choose your words carefully. When you are in a position of sharing hard news that has the power to change a life, be gentle. Be compassionate. Be sensitive to the reaction your words will stir in the person receiving the information. It is a difficult situation when you know your message will break someone’s heart. When you can put yourself in their shoes, see their perspective, understand their shock, and in a small way feel their pain, you are giving the best gift you can. Empathy. When you are the lucky one who can share words that hold the power to change a life for the better, you can still see their perspective and understand how they feel. Be excited. Share in their happiness. In that moment experience their joy with them. In life we will deliver a few life-changing sentences. And in life we will be on the receiving end of many. If you think about it, I am sure you have had a few already. We never know when they may be delivered to us. We never know if they will change our lives for the better or worse, but life will change. Yes, one sentence can change our life. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: There will come a time when one sentence can change your life. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2024 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 #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happiness Do you like yourself? Most people would flinch at that question. Are we supposed to like ourselves? Should we admit it if we do? Or don’t? The answer often sounds like, “well, I am okay, but…” and then the list of self-depreciating complaints and criticisms about ourselves follows. Why is it so difficult to like who we are? The negative critiquing can begin in the morning with our first stretch. We may feel an ache or pain caused by age or too much exercise the day before. Then we begin the day disappointed with our bodies. The first glance in the mirror may make us cringe and upon a closer look, we immediately begin sizing up the flaws. Our hair is too thin or too short and we have too many wrinkles or scars. Stepping on the scale brings the idea that we are too heavy or too thin. Getting dressed reinforces that inadequacy. Throughout the day we judge ourselves on all the mistakes we make. We say something we shouldn’t have or failed to speak up when we had a great thought. We may not have been as kind to someone as we should have or regretted an action we took. We might lay in bed at night unable to sleep as we rehash all the self-criticisms because once is not enough… we may as well think all those negative thoughts again before we go to sleep. We can be our own biggest bully. Negative self-talk works so well because we believe our own voice and thoughts more than we believe anyone else. What if we flipped the switch on this? What if we became grateful for this amazing, beautiful body we have been given – no matter what size or shape it is. Our body carries us through all the highs and lows, ups and downs that we experience in life. It is a gift we have been given that we should care for, appreciate, and at the very least – like. When you wake up and take that morning stretch, be grateful for the bed you had to lay in and how refreshed your mind and body feel. Your first glance in the mirror should be one of appreciation with a smile reflecting back to you. When you look closer into your eyes, you should see the amazing person you are, filled with knowledge, abilities, and talents that belong only to you. The balding spot, the number on the scale, and the way your clothes fit is not a measure of who you are. The outward body is like the car you drive. It takes you from one place to another, but it is the inner person that the body carries, that is the essence of who you are. Be grateful that you have a body to move in and with. Like your body and appreciate that you have one. Learn to like every part of yourself. Instead of giving yourself negative feedback, go through everything you did well in your day. Instead of laying in bed at night counting all the things you did that were disappointing, begin counting all the wonderful things you did right- no matter how small they were. Every chance you have, think a good thought about yourself. Be proud of who you are. Make a list of reasons why you like yourself. Like yourself in every way you can think of. If you make a social media post or comment, “like” it. If you can’t give yourself a blue thumbs-up or a heart, why would anyone else? Keep those thumbs-ups and hearts floating through your mind all day. Soon you will begin liking yourself…really liking yourself. And guess what? When you really like yourself, others will too. That will lead to loving yourself. And when you love yourself, life becomes magical. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Once you begin liking yourself, the next step is loving yourself. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2024 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 #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happincess It takes a lot to get me mad. I layer. I layer little things, and I layer big things in my heart and in my mind. When small actions hurt me, I tuck them in. When big things happen, I lay them in my heart out of view. I rarely speak about what is bothering me or share my pain. I layer them one on top of another and another until one day… one day it erupts. When the layering becomes too much, and my heart can’t hold any more I will purge everything. All the layers ooze out of me. It could be years of pain that spills from me. This can be in the form of a long ugly cry. It could pour out in a verbal dumping of thoughts. On a rare occasion, it could be a boiling-over of anger. Even on those rare occasions, my anger is fairly mild. It doesn’t happen often, and I am not proud of it when it does. I envy people who can immediately voice their opinions and say what they feel. They are constantly cleansing. They don’t allow the residue to build. I don’t enjoy hurting anyone’s feelings or making anyone mad. I do not like arguing. I avoid conflict. There are so many other positive ways of communicating. I would much rather spend my life happy, helpful, and caring. It is not that I am passive – I just don’t let small things bother me. I have been through some big stuff- I know what is important and what isn’t. I know what is worth spending anger on. I do not like the feeling of anger or of being mad. It takes a lot to push me to that point. When I am pushed to that point, my typical explosion is not harmful or hateful. I just lay out the facts of my layers in the way I see them. I don’t envy the ones who turn getting mad into being mean. You know the ones. The people who instead of voicing what is bothering them or expressing calmly why they feel hurt, disrespected, or unseen they pour out their anger in an aggressive way and become mean. They throw hateful words and thrash from one thing to another allowing the anger to build and grow into much more than a disagreement. I believe in their mind, it is war. The problem with this type of angry personality is they become better at it. With every outburst they become stronger and learn how to throw more daggers the next time. They learn how to be meaner. I call them scrappers. They love to debate. They love to argue. They love to fight. They love to hold grudges. They seem to enjoy being mean. We all have different levels of tolerance. We all receive, internalize, and voice anger and disappointment in different ways. It may be easy to recognize someone else’s traits—it can be much harder to recognize our own. We all become angry from time to time. That is okay and normal. But remember, you can get mad, but don’t get mean. We store everything in our bodies. Whether you layer emotions or you belt out your feelings in a mean way -- we all store emotions and the aftermath of all those emotions in our hearts and bodies. It is your choice how you choose to process and react to situations. It is your choice what emotions you want to get better at. It is your choice what you do when you get mad. And it is your choice what emotions you want stored in your heart. Pennie’s Life Lesson: You can get mad, but don’t get mean. YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2024 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 #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happincess “Fall is my favorite time of year.” I have heard that phrase dozens of times in the past few weeks. I have said it myself even more times than that. It’s true for me. I love fall! I love the weather, the freshness of the air, and the cool night temperatures. Unlike spring, which may have the same weather, the brownness of winter mingles with the landscape as new growth begins. Fall paints a glorious canvas with the beauty of summer as the background while the joyous fireworks of color explode in the foreground. Life is apparent in every brush stroke that fall paints. After a season of heat and wearing lightweight clothes to keep cool, I love the transition to the softness of sweatshirts on my skin — the coziness of sweaters and the bundling inside a quilt or crocheted blanket. I love the colors of fall that we use to adorn not just our bodies, but our homes. Decorating with a palette of yellows, oranges, coppers, rusty browns, and earthy greens brings the vibes of nature into our spaces and beautifies and fall-ifies our lives. And the food! I delight in making huge pots of soup that simmer throughout the day. Warm bread and holding a hot mug of pumpkin spice anything in my hand is my definition of contentment. The time of harvest brings a homey, nesting feeling to my heart. Last weekend I made salsa from the huge bowl of tomatoes that grew in my tiny garden. The chopping, simmering, and smells blended with the feeling of fall as my homemade salsa and chips became the halftime treat for the Sunday football game. I can’t think of one thing I don’t like about Fall. Who would not love the opening act for the holiday season? Fall is the precursor to Thanksgiving which rolls out the red carpet leading us to the season of Christmas. Sometimes I wonder if it is because I arrived in this life on a brisk October day. Maybe it was ingrained in me to love the season that I was born into. Maybe the first breaths I took were of the crisp air of fall which created a craving for more. It is also not lost on me that I believe I am in the fall of my life. Not winter yet, but the fall of my life. The time of realization that winter will come soon enough so now is the time of slowing. The time of noticing the smells and listening to the sounds of life. The time of intently enjoying and loving. Whatever the reason, I’ll say it again…I love fall! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Slow down and enjoy the pleasures of fall. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2024 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 #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happincess When my children were young, I worked at an elementary school library. After a class of students came in and checked out books, I would quickly begin shelving the books they returned. I was never finished before the next class arrived. The process of returning books, checking out books, and reshelving books was a never-ending cycle. On the weekends I would do laundry for my family of five. The mountains of clothes, sheets, and towels would fill the hallway as the washer and dryer chugged away. The laundry was never done. The cycle of clothes being currently worn, the mountains of color divided piles, and the clean folded laundry was a never-ending cycle. Laundry is never completely done. If you watch the stockers in a grocery store, they continually cut open boxes to replenish everything from cake mixes to toilet paper on the store shelves. They are followed by shoppers who reach for the items and leave holes in the neatly stocked shelves. The grocery aisles are a never-ending push and pull of products. Tonight, the sun will set, and in the morning, it will rise. The feel of fall is replacing summer, and soon, the colorful leaves of fall will be covered by winter snow. The tides of the oceans rotate between high and low. History is a story of war and peace, destruction and rebuilding, planting and harvesting, health and pain, laughter and tears. You can stand at the window of the hospital nursery welcoming the bundles of pink and blue, while at the same time someone in the hospital is saying goodbye to a loved one. Life itself is a cycle. I cannot think of anything in life that isn’t on a continual cycle of repeated change. We humans want to believe that we can get ahead of the cycle. That we can control it. That we can come to a space of completion. That we can get the laundry done, the books shelved, the grocery isles stocked and somehow we can stop aging. We beat ourselves up with self-criticism when we are not successful. We convince ourselves that we aren’t doing it right and aren’t good enough if we can’t complete the job. We try to move faster, think harder, and be stronger, just to keep up. The truth is it isn’t possible. We will never get ahead of the cycles of life. The laundry will never be done- but we can all have clean clothes at some point in the cycle. We must learn to be okay with that. And now as I write the last words of this column and send it off to be printed, I may for a short minute believe that I am done. I may believe that my work is completed. But tomorrow morning I will think about my next column. I will sit at my computer and begin typing. And the cycle will begin again. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Life is a series of cycles. The perpetual movement of change will begin again and again. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2024 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 #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happincess It was time for its yearly check-up and oil change. I had done this every year for almost 17 years. After the check-up, I would wash it, vacuum it, and park it back in the garage. It was a precious possession filled with memories of my son. After leaving it at the car shop, I stood in my garage looking at the empty space and I held my breath. I suddenly realized that for all these years as long as the truck was in my garage somewhere in my heart I thought my son would come back to drive it. That is why I kept it. The last time I saw my son, we were at a gas station, and I paid for his tank of gas. When I walked to my car I turned and looked at his smiling face as he sat in that truck waving goodbye to me. Every time I walked into the garage I could see him sitting in that truck waving goodbye. That is why I kept it. I cried just thinking about letting go of the truck, but it was time. I knew it would be painful. I knew I couldn’t handle prospective buyers coming to my home to look at it. I knew my heart would break if I saw a stranger driving it around town. I called my brother and asked if he would come and get it. I wanted him to take it to his community and sell it. I made it clear – I didn’t want to know any details. I didn’t want to know the price. I didn’t want to see a stranger drive it away. When my brother and sister-in-law arrived, I heard whispered conversations between my brother and my husband discussing a sale price and information about the truck. My husband cleaned it, detailed the inside, and polished it to look as close to new as a 1997 truck could. The night before my brother and his wife left, they posted the truck for sale on social media sites. Early the next morning offers were coming in. I took the truck for one last drive. I thought of all the times I had driven it in the past 17 years. I thought of the day I surprised my son with it and how he jumped up and down and danced around it. As I drove, I talked to him. I asked my son to get his uncle and this truck home safely. And I asked him to find the perfect person to buy the truck. I cried and talked to him and cried more. The truck was where I always talked to my son after he passed away. That is why I kept it. I stood in the driveway videoing my brother drive the truck away. My sister-in-law was in their car looking protective as she followed him. When I turned to see the empty space in the garage, I cried deeper than I had since the day my son passed. That empty space took up a lot of room in my heart. Halfway home, my brother called. He was sure the truck was already sold. An excited young man had called him and said he had a truck just like it when he was younger and sold it when he joined the military. He regretted that decision and wanted this truck. The man planned to meet my brother when he arrived home and would have the cash in hand to pay for the truck. A few hours later my brother called with the rest of the story. The young man showed up with the cash. When he saw the truck he jumped up and down and danced around it- just like my son had when I gave it to him. He kept saying it was destiny that he saw the ad for the truck that morning. My brother said, “Pennie, you tell me how these kinds of mysterious woo-woo things happen to you all the time, but now I am believing this one.” There were too many coincidences that happened for this not to be destiny. And when I saw a photo of the man who bought the truck, he looked a lot like my son. The new owner and I have had a few phone conversations. The first time he called the truck the “Green Machine” I reached for my heart. That is what my husband always called it. There was no accident that this man bought the truck- he was supposed to have it. The timing of my decision to sell it, my deep insistence that my brother take it, and the list of magical similarities between my son and this new owner could not have accidentally happened. I believe my son maneuvered all of it and found the perfect owner just like I asked him to. And my son knew the new owner would become a new friend. I believe I had to wait all these years to sell it for this to happen. That is why I kept it. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Letting go is a process. Healing takes time. Love always remains. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2024 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 #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happincess My son’s family gave me a bird feeder for Christmas. I couldn’t wait until spring to install it in my backyard. This wasn’t just a hang-it-in-the-tree bird feeder. It was faaannccyy! It had a camera that would activate with movement, snap photos, and record videos of the birds when they perched to eat the seed. These would then be sent to my phone. It had a solar panel that needed to be in the sun to recharge and power the camera. Because of the weight of the feeder, I needed a pole buried deep enough into the ground for stability and to ensure it would withstand the wind. It was the end of July when I finally got the bird feeder up and filled. And then I waited. And waited. My vision was the moment it was filled with food, the birds would flock to it. I thought, if you feed them they will come. It didn’t happen. I read articles that said I must have the wrong food. I purchased a more expensive kind. When I opened the bag, it smelled delicious and looked as good as trail mix for humans! I wanted to eat it myself! Surely this would do the trick. And then I waited. And waited. No birds. I began asking friends what I was doing wrong. One friend said, “It isn’t bird season. The birds come in the spring and fall to feeders.” I had never heard of this but began thinking she was right. Weeks passed. Then almost magically on Sept. 1st simultaneously with the arrival of pumpkin spice lattes, my phone buzzed with a notification- “A bird is coming!” There it was on live video - a bird was happily perched on the feeder chirping as she ate. A couple of hours later she returned with a partner and the two enjoyed bird conversations as they dined. I could barely control my excitement as I watched the video and listened to their sweet bird chatter. The next day the couple visited for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I named them Bonnie and Clyde because of their hit-and-run eating pattern. On day three they brought friends. All week there has been a nonstop parade of visitors. Bonnie and Clyde must have spread the word. I delighted in watching my phone for up-close viewing and then looking out my window and seeing them in the distance at the feeder. I now have an album on my phone dedicated to bird photos and videos. I am sure my family is becoming tired of my enthusiastic texts to share these exciting cinematic moments. It is probably why they reply with jokes about old people bird-watching and how they need to get a life. I always wondered why in the last years of my mom’s life she loved bird feeders and spent hours watching birds. I think I understand now. It causes you to sit and be patient. It creates a peaceful space to intently concentrate on nature. The sweet chirping and the sound of them cracking seeds creates a music that is only heard if you deeply listen. The grace with which the birds fly in and delicately wrap their claws around the perch to balance and eat and then glide away when they are done is hypnotizing. Waiting and watching is a meditation exercise. Being in the moment. Staying still. You must concentrate if you want to see them visit the feeder or in a blink, you will miss them. It is a sensation of calm as you wait and joy when they arrive. Maybe it is a joy that you understand with age. It isn’t that bird watchers need to get a life – maybe they have found life in the simplicity of nature. It is a happiness for me that was worth the wait. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: To find grace and simplicity- look at nature. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Bonnie and Clyde Video Below Turn up sound! YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2024 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 #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happincess I stopped at the restaurant for a quick lunch. I didn’t have much time as I was traveling to a meeting and had cut my driving time pretty close. The minute I walked in I felt it. All eyes were on me. I was wearing a business suit, which was obviously not the normal attire for this small town. As I was escorted to my table, I could feel all the thoughts behind the staring eyes… Who is she? Where did she come from? Why is she here? I could almost hear the music from an old western movie and a theme song called, There’s a Stranger in Town. It was clear- I was the stranger and didn’t belong there. I have never had too much of a problem eating alone, but this was different. I began looking at emails and messages on my phone. I ordered quickly, ate quickly, and left quickly. Maybe I should have stood up and introduced myself to the lunch crowd. Maybe I shouldn’t have stopped. Maybe I shouldn’t have cared— But I did. Now, years later, I still remember that day and the feeling of being an outsider. Being scrutinized. Being alone is one thing, but feeling isolated and alone in a crowd is quite another. It is intimidating and frightening. Recently I was at a large four-day conference. The number of people in attendance and the topic of the event could be overwhelming. As I walked down the hallways of the event center, if I saw someone alone, I stopped and talked to them. At every meal, I walked around the room until I found someone with that look on their face. The look of fear and loneliness. I sat with them. I talked to them. If they needed it, I held their hand and their heart. I could feel their uneasiness and insecurity of wondering if they belonged there. I knew that emotion and I hurt for anyone who was feeling that. I hope that in a small way I made a difference to those I took the time to be with. When was the last time you sat down with someone and listened to their story? It could be someone you know or a stranger. Don’t miss the opportunity to listen. Listen to what makes them cry. Listen to what is important to them. Listen to what makes their heart sing. Listen to their story. It doesn’t take long to give someone a moment of your time and it is easy to miss the opportunity. Pay attention to others. Strangers you see every day, coworkers, friends, and family members all have a story. Maybe you think you know it, but maybe you don’t. Maybe it is time to listen. Ask questions like: "What made you happy today?" "What sadness do you carry?" and "What brings love and joy to your life?" When you piece this together, you will take the journey with them through their story. None of us are strangers. We are all just friends that haven’t met yet. We all have fears, tragedy, happiness, and joy in our stories. Reach out to someone today and listen. Find out what makes their heart sing. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: No one is a stranger- they are just friends we haven’t met yet. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2024 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 #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happincess Life is short but it can feel very long if you don’t experience joy and happiness. You may be wondering why you do not have the joy and happiness you want in your life. You may be kind of happy, kind of joyful, but you want more. You expect more. You deserve more. I believe that happiness and joy are not given to us. They are not increased with possessions or money. Others cannot make us happy or wrap joy up in a gift box with a fancy bow and give it to us. If you want your life to change, you must learn how to increase your joy and happiness — from the inside. You are the only one who holds the power and ability to control your joy and happiness. No one can do it for you. It IS an inside job! It is how you choose to live, how you choose to react, and how you choose to process your thoughts and experiences that control your level of joy and happiness. You can move the needle, raise the bar, and increase your joy and happiness level. You and only you have the power to create and increase these emotions in your life. I encourage you to be the creator of your joy and happiness. You are in control. When you realize that joy and happiness are always available to you with every breath you take and every thought you think, you grasp the power of creating an amazing life. Joy and happiness become the natural state of how you live and who you are. When hard times come (and they will), you will return to this space of knowing who you authentically are. Your natural intention is to be joyful and experience this life with the happiness of a child. Make your life a moment-by-moment choice to live in love and gratitude. When you create a practice of gratitude your life will change. Try it for a day. Be grateful with every breath – be grateful FOR every breath. Then be grateful for waking up in the morning. Be grateful for your first cup of coffee. Be grateful for your body and its ability to exercise and carry you through the day. Be grateful for your job and the people you serve – not work for but serve. Be grateful for your friends and family and the love they surround you with. Be grateful for every meal you eat, every sound you hear, and every feeling you feel. Be so filled with gratitude that you love every moment of your life. When you become overflowingly filled with love and gratitude, joy and happiness then become their echo circling back to magnify and surround you with the goodness you deserve. You have been given this precious life. Life is short and it is not to be taken for granted. Never lose your gratitude for a sunrise or the awe of a sunset. Never miss a moment when you could create feelings of love for someone important to you. Dance in this one magical life you are given. Shine in the power of love and sprinkle every step you take with gratitude. Be a creator of joy and happiness for yourself and others. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Joy and happiness are within you and increase when you are grateful for all you have and all you are given. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2024 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 #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happincess Years ago, when I began my work of speaking and writing, I had one mission – To Help Others. Those three words have remained my mission all these years. No matter where I am speaking or who I am interacting with, the number one question I am asked is, “Where do you get your ideas to speak and write about?” I thought I would share my answer. Most of my topics come from my real life. If I segment my life, I feel like I have lived many lives in this one. I pull on memories of my childhood. It might be my favorite experiences and memorable relatives, or embarrassing moments. When I write about them, the visual comes back to me as clearly as when it was happening. Moments of motherhood when my children were small tickles my heart in wonderful ways. The emotion of writing about these days is always a warm moment for me. And now, every time I am with one of my grandchildren I am enlightened by their intelligence and the fresh way they see life. I always have energetic conversations with them that often result in a column or a story in a speech. Then there are the comments I hear in passing. It may be a phrase I hear someone say as they pass me in an airport. It may be a line in a movie that touches my heart. It may be a remark on a podcast that lodges in my mind that I can’t seem to shake off. Once I massage these snippets of words in my mind, they fall onto the paper in ways that may be very different than the original thought I heard – but they land in a story that relates to life in the way I see it. And then there is the self-help aspect. I wrote my first book on gratitude and joy because gratitude saved my life after my son passed. I don’t say that lightly, but with total conviction and belief. The tips to incorporate gratitude into life were tips I taught myself to do to remain vertical during a devastating time. Many times, I see flaws in myself that I need to work on, so I write about them. It becomes a therapeutic process for me and others relate to the same issues I am dealing with. Sometimes it is a question that spurs my writing. A question that makes me dig deep to drag the answer from inside and lay it onto the page. At first, I wondered how I would put my thoughts into action to fulfill my mission of helping others. I have learned that we all have more in common than we think we do. The stories of my childhood may stir up thoughts of your childhood. My memories of motherhood may tug at your memories and place the reality of how fast the time of mothering goes right into the middle of your heart. If you have grandchildren, you understand my comments…and if you don’t, just wait. When you do become a grandparent, you too will become enlightened in a way you never expected. And the self-help part – well, we all need a little help at times. We all need our hands held and our hearts nourished. We all need to know we are not alone. That we share the same problems, predicaments, and heartbreaks in life. We all need to know that we matter and that our feelings are important. Where do my ideas come from? I share the stories of my life. I believe that sharing stories brings us together. It is what makes us human. It makes us understand the human mission. It makes us want To Help Others. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Do your part to help the human mission – help others. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2024 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 #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happincess When you stand in front of the mirror, what do you see? Do you see someone who is critical, negative, and sad? Do you analyze every extra pound and flaw that you can find? Do you sit in front of a magnifying mirror to critique every wrinkle, freckle, and mole on your face? Then you tell yourself you don’t have a perfect complexion and don’t have an ideal body. And after that, you try on clothes and become frustrated with how they fit. You become convinced you are not as beautiful as the people on magazine covers and social media posts. Then you put a mirror in front of your relationships, your career, and your entire life, punching holes in every area that defines who you are. And if mirror time isn’t enough, you walk around 24/7 silently telling yourself that you are not good enough and need to be better. Telling yourself you need to do more and be more. Isn’t it time to stop hating yourself for everything you aren't and start loving yourself for everything you are? Stand in front of the mirror and take a deeper look. Look at the most beautiful human in the world looking back at you. You may not have blue eyes and blonde hair, but you weren’t meant to. You were meant to be the You that you are. You may not have the look of Beyonce or the chiseled chin of Bradley Cooper, but you weren’t meant to. You have your special one-of-a-kind look and style. You have the beauty of you that no one else has. Look at your bright eyes, which see the beauty in the world and navigate you on this life journey. Look at a loving smile directed straight at you. Look at the body that carries you and the amazing way it processes breath, water, and food. Look at the ultimate miracle of life which is standing in the mirror reflecting love and compassion back to you. How dare you criticize the beauty of this magnificent creation. How dare any of us criticize the body we have been given. Instead, be grateful for every finger and toe, every strand of hair, and every inch of the human machine that takes us through our journey of life. Look at yourself in the mirror every day with love and affection. With appreciation and awe. Be grateful that you have legs to walk with, fingers to touch with, and eyes to see with. Be grateful that you have arms to reach out to others for a hug and a heart to love with. Go back and put that mirror in front of your relationships, your career, and your entire life. Look deeply and slowly. Be grateful for every aspect of what you have -- the people, the opportunities, and the joy of life. Start cheering for yourself 24/7. Hush the negative talk and stroke your mind with positive loving affirmations. Become the MVP in your life. The biggest asset you have. You control what the mirror says and what the mirror reflects. When you click the light on for the mirror, suddenly you see what is right. You will see what is of value. You will see what you have and the desire for more fades to the background. Until you are grateful for who you are, what you have, and what you have been given you will never have more. Take control of your mirror. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Stop hating yourself for everything you aren't and start loving yourself for everything you are. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2024 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 #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happincess I spent my childhood years far away from where my grandparents, cousins, and other relatives lived. They were all congregated in a close-knit area of Illinois. Most years we would pack up the white Pontiac Station Wagon and travel across the country to visit them. Occasionally these trips were at Christmas, but most of the time we would go in the heat of summer. I remember stepping out of the car into the thick humidity and broiling heat. My hair would instantly kink and frizz, and my skin and clothes would become glued together by the heavy moisture in the air. When we entered my grandma Pearl’s sunroom, she always offered us a cold RC Cola, and the smell of freshly baked chocolate cake with brown sugar frosting filled my nose. My dislike for the heat and humidity melted away. We would wake up to heavy fog, the wetness of dew-covered grass, and the morning noises of animals we weren’t used to hearing at home. The mooing of the cows, the alarm of roosters, the orchestra of birds, and the background of silence you only hear when you are in the country. Days were filled with activities like collecting eggs from the chicken coop and fishing in the cattle pond. We were taught how to pick up the eggs and gently stack them in a basket. We learned how to guide the slow-moving cattle away with our long bamboo poles and we dodged the cow pies on the ground to get to our fishing hole. Evenings were for sharpening the end of sticks to roast hotdogs over the fire and cranking the ice cream freezer to make the perfect creamy delight to be served with the chocolate cake. But my favorite memory came after that. When it was dark the fireflies came out. We didn’t have these magical creatures where I lived. I was fascinated by how they circled the night flashing their magic lights like silent beacons signaling the others to flash back. My siblings and I would run to catch as many as possible to fill mason jars that became magic flashlights alive with the rhythm of the creatures inside. We would do this for hours until we were drenched with sweat, humidity, and laughter. I never wanted to stop. It was as if we were catching dreams, ideas, fantasies, and our imagination. Blending them together in one small jar caused an explosion of delight. What I don’t remember is what we did with them. Did we let them go to fly through the sky flashing their magic once again, or did we set the jar to the side where they unfortunately found their final resting place? I feel like this happens to all of us. In life we all have dreams, ideas, and fantasies. We imagine how they will all come together and create an amazing life – an explosion of delight. We capture them in our minds and our hearts. But too many times we forget what happened to them. They can escape into the ether to land with someone else who allows them to grow and flourish. Or they may be thrown to the side to suffocate and never be allowed to live. But a few, a tiny few, we feed and water and keep them alive. These dreams become our successes and accomplishments. And when they gather together over the years they create the magic beacons of our lives. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Don’t forget where you put your dreams. Allow them to grow and flourish to create a life full of delight. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2024 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 #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happincess I am not a numbers person. I have written many times about how words fascinate me, but I find numbers less interesting. Yet, there is one thing I do that is totally number based. I create a quarterly report of my husband and my finances. I have done this for years. Over time I have honed a concise and easy-to-understand spreadsheet. Every three months I collect all the statements for any bank accounts and investments, as well as the current value of our home, vehicles, and any other large assets. After inputting all the information, we have a report that reflects our financial life situation. I have become known as the family secretary. I make sure all bills are paid and keep on top of all things financial. That sounds like a lot of work, but it isn’t as difficult as it used to be. The world of technology has changed the way this is all done. We can set up most of our financial transactions through autopay or with a tap on our phones. I remember the days of balancing a checkbook, writing out checks, and mailing payments for bills or driving to the utility companies to pay them in person. Now, I log into my accounts to verify that the few checks I write are accounted for correctly, and I pay attention to any incoming funds that we are expecting. All of this is simpler than the tedious way I was taught in 9th-grade business class. I will admit that at the time I thought it was so grown up to practice signing my name elegantly at the bottom of the pretend checks in class. The quarterly report takes me back to that time of writing things down and tracking money. It is fascinating to watch the total net worth of our assets fluctuate. As we have all seen large swings in interest rates and the stock market, there have been totals that were less than I’d like and totals that made me smile. You may be wondering why I do this if I am not a numbers person. I do it because uncertainty makes me uncomfortable. I like to understand exactly where we are in our spending and our income. I like to feel safe and secure. I like to feel in control by knowing if we need to change the way we are spending or saving. The point of the quarterly report is to know. To know the exact number on an exact day and to compare it to the last report and to a year ago. It is a picture of our life. A click in time that is accurate. It is certainty. You have probably heard the saying - you can’t manage what you don’t measure. These reports measure our finances so we can manage them. Many things in life can be tracked in the same way. Our health, our exercise, our weight. What about measuring our relationships, our friendships, our time, and our efforts in life? What if on a regular basis we took a good look at our lifestyle and how we are living? What if we measured how kind we are? How friendly we are. How helpful we are. How giving we are. How loving we are. These kinds of honest assessments of ourselves may be eye-opening and allow us the opportunity to improve. To be certain that we are being the person we want to be. To be comfortable with who we are. Maybe it is time for all of us to do a quarterly life report. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: You can’t manage what you don’t measure. Start measuring your life! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2024 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 #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happincess “You are the plant grandma.” Said my grandson from the backseat. I always learn interesting things when my grandchildren are in the backseat of my car. “What do you mean by that?” I asked. “Well, you are the grandma with plants all over her house and you always give them to mom.” This conversation came on the heels of my husband mentioning that our house was turning into a jungle. I immediately corrected his assessment of my plants and explained why he was wrong. After hearing the comment from my grandson, I wondered if my husband was right. I have always loved plants. I remember having a plant in my bedroom when I was in junior high. When my grandmother passed, I inherited her Christmas cactus. I am not sure how long she owned it, but I successfully kept it alive for over 20 years. I realize I attach meaning to plants according to how they came to me. I have plants from my dad and son’s funerals. I have violets that came from my mom’s best friend who was like my grandmother. Over the years I have propagated them and shared their violet flowers with friends and family. The oldest plant I have arrived in a small planter in the shape of a bassinet and was delivered to me in the hospital the day my oldest son was born. When my mom sent this plant I doubt she thought it would still be alive 47 years later. Like so many of my plants tiny snips of leaves from it have grown into beautiful plants for so many others. When I heard these comments, I realized I have been acquiring, producing, and increasing my plant numbers in the past few years. I put some thought into why. I have come to a few observations and conclusions. I have a real connection to the fact that plants are alive and living. Indoor plants cannot survive on their own. They need to be nurtured, fed, watered, and cared for. They are dependent on a person to do this. I am a peacemaking caretaker, so sign me up – I love taking care of plants. Plants fill us with nurturing hearts and the knowing that because of us they thrive. I love the ritual of picking out pots and containers, feeling the dirt in my hands as I am repotting plants, polishing their leaves, and finding just the right space for them to flourish. I understand that if the soil isn’t healthy and the roots aren’t strong the plant will not be strong or healthy. This is much like a person- the foundation, health, and strength of our human roots play a major role in our lives. Plants need light. The biological process of photosynthesis allows plants to convert light energy from the sun into chemical energy that they can use for food and growth. Humans need light. Sun on our faces and light in our hearts bring energy to us and to the way we live. Plants bring the outdoors in. Having small pieces of nature in our homes fills our eyes with the breath of green that nature holds. There have been studies that say plants purify the air and reduce allergies. That plants can reduce stress and depression. That plants create a more comfortable work environment. That a plant in a hospital room can shorten the patient’s stay. And that horticultural therapy successfully uses plants and activities with plants support healing and rehabilitation. Yes, I am a plant lady and I have several plants in my home. They will continue to grow and produce more. I have a difficult time clipping leaves and throwing these live clippings away, so they go in a jar of water to grow strong roots and flourish into beautiful new plants for me to care for. They become gifts of love to others. I will proudly be the plant grandma and my jungle will continue to grow. I encourage you to get a plant of your own. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Welcome the calming presence of plants into your home and heart. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2024 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 #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happincess Do you ever visit someone’s home and it may not be as tidy as you think it should be? Or you see someone’s house and think it is sterile and immaculate – more like an opulent museum than a livable home. In both circumstances, they are okay with how they live, but you are uncomfortable and are not okay with being there. Their okay is not your okay. Have you had a friend who was so overjoyed when something good happened to them and you didn’t understand the importance of it? Or have you shared a happy event with someone and they seemed less than interested? Their joy is not your joy. Have you ever known someone who has been stuck in trauma for years? You can’t understand why it continues to be so painful for them. Maybe you are suffering and are tired of people telling you that you need to get over it, move on, and forget about it. Their pain is not your pain. In all of these scenarios, one person is using their own standards, values, and beliefs to judge the other person’s feelings, emotions, and lifestyle. This is not fair. We can only use our standards, values, and beliefs to judge ourselves and our lifestyle. When we compare and contrast our beliefs and standards to how other people act and live, we are judging. The results of this judgment are not good. Either we look at them as less than us because they do not live up to our beliefs and standards. Or we feel inferior or envious of them because they are on a level above us. When this judgment occurs, everyone is uncomfortable. Everyone gets to make choices in life. They get to choose where and how they live. They get to choose the lifestyle that fits their needs. They get to choose what makes them happy and brings them joy. And they get to express that joy in the way they want to. They get to decide what is okay for them. Trauma, heartache, and pain may not be something any of us choose, but the way we process it is. We all feel pain differently. The way we carry it is unique to each of us. We may not agree on how life should be lived. None of us are right or wrong. There is no best way or bad way to get through this life. We all do it in our own way. What is working and okay with one person may be off-the-charts unacceptable to another. But guess what, it is all okay. Comparing your standards to others is a lot of work. Constantly judging others against your life drains your energy. The next time you are ready to have a verbal explosion about how someone is living or how what they are doing (in your opinion) is totally wrong, stop yourself and remember this simple little mantra…their okay is not my okay. It will slow you down. Stop you from judging. And it will simplify your life. Everyone gets to make their own life choices. Make sure that your choices are okay with you. Let the choices other people make be okay with them. It is all okay. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: The next time you are ready to judge someone, remember this: Their okay is not my okay. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2024 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 #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happincess Happy July! It is time to change the calendar. We are beginning the second half of the year. Where did the last six months go? We are halfway through the 366 days of this leap year. We have enjoyed 22 weeks. What adventures did you have? What goals did you meet and what did you accomplish? We enjoyed 26 weekends. How did you spend them? Who did you spend them with? Did you spend any days with the people you love and care about? Let’s dig a little deeper… how often did you see the people you love? Some of you might say every day. Some of you might say you see them once a year. Is it often enough? Do you wish you could see them more often? When you do see them is it quality time? Ponder this equation. If your parents are 80 and your hope and expectation is that they will live to be 90 and you see them once per year that means you will see your parents 10 more times. Is 10 times enough? Do you need to make an effort to see them more than 10 times? And what if you are wrong and they live to be 85… then you have 5 times left to see them. You can use this formula for many situations. If you are invited to your grandchild’s birthday party, but the idea of toddlers and messy cake and ice cream isn’t your idea of fun… Ponder this- how long will it be before that grandchild is spending all their time with friends and doesn’t want you at a party? You may have 8 or 9 parties before that baby is a teenager. That is 8 or 9 hours of your life. Do you really want to miss a party? Now let’s think about you. Let’s say you plan to live to be 90. So, from the day you are born, you have 4,680 weeks and weekends ahead of you. You will enjoy 1,080 months. You will celebrate 90 Christmases, Easters, and 4th of Julys. That sounds like a lot of time, right? If you are 45 now, divide all those numbers in half. That still might sound like a lot but think about how fast the first 2,340 weekends of your life went. Were they memory-making events? Do you remember how you spent them? Who did you spend your first 45 Christmases with? We plan many things in life. We plan our education, career paths, where we live, and when we want to retire. But do we plan how we allocate our time to those we love? We have changed the calendar and with every change, there is a beginning. It is a new month, a new week, a new day. In the next 183 days what will you begin? What will you change? What will you look forward to? How will you spend your time? Who will you spend your time with? Happy July! Happy second half of the year! Make it important. Make it a memory maker with the people you love! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Time goes quickly. Use it intentionally. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2024 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 #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happincess I love reading a good book. I highlight thoughts that I want to remember and refer to. I dog-ear the corner of pages and keep a bookmark handy to save where I paused my reading. I have bookshelves full of books I have completed. A family member calls these trophies- the books that you have spent time reading and placed on a shelf as if you won a prize. I have stacks of books I have yet to begin. And because I am a writer, I usually have at least one that I am writing. We are all writing a book. Year by year and memory by memory our manuscript is written. All the moments of our lives connect to paint the picture of change that tells our story. Even a brief moment of connection is enough to make a difference, generate movement, and create a new chapter. You may not always feel connected or see the changes, but as the chapters progress you will. As we grow and as we live our book continues to be written and when our life ends, the story of our life is complete. No one has the same story. Don’t compare the beginning of your book to someone else’s ending. They have different experiences and events in life that may cause their book to progress faster (or slower) than yours. The only time for comparison is when your book is complete. Compare yourself from where you began to the progress and accomplishments of your life at the end. In life, you'll be left out, talked about, lied to, & used, but you have to decide who's worth your tears and who is not. If the lesson you learned from the experience is worth permanent documentation, include it in your book as a reference. If not, let the situation, person, or event go – don’t give it the importance of a chapter in your life book. If it is not worthy, edit it out. In life, you will experience kindness, caring, and love. The people who share these emotions with you are worth a chapter in your book. Never discount the times you gave and received love. Take special note of the people who touched your heart in ways you never expected. Acknowledge the angels here on earth who held your hand through tragedy and the ones who filled your heart through happy times. You are not a single character in your book. Your life is enhanced with many family members, friends, coworkers, and strangers. They share the pages of your book. Reading your own story should cause reflection and review. As you do, it is natural to highlight thoughts of memorable moments and dog-ear pages of happy events. But be careful where you place your bookmark. Placing it in a section of sadness, tragedy, or an event that should have been edited out can cause you to become stuck in one chapter of your life. Manage your memories. Don’t dwell on the most difficult times. Don’t remember the bad without remembering the good. Your life book should be a flow of good and bad, highs and lows, love and loss. And at the end of your life, it should be a trophy worthy of a spot of honor on the bookshelf. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Chapter by chapter you are writing the book of your life. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2024 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 #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happincess The traffic was crazy. I was late. People were waiting for me. My stress was building as I pulled into the parking lot only to circle six times before finding a parking space. Running into the restaurant, I blurted out a rather uncharacteristic rant of a not-so-nice kind. I saw the shock and surprise on the faces of my friends. Later, I couldn’t get the image of my rant out of my mind. I thought of how I wanted to live my life. Sometimes I fail. I fail at being the person I want to be. I want to be PATIENT and KIND with others, with life situations, and myself. Sometimes I fail. I want to be LOVING by sharing love and positive energy with everyone I meet and in every space I stand. Sometimes I fail. I want to be OPEN to all views and opinions because I believe everyone has a path to walk and it is not my place to judge, criticize, or blame. Sometimes I fail. I want to be AWAKE and AWARE of the small and grand messages of Grace that I receive. Sometimes I fail. I want to be someone who WALKS HER TALK and models the lessons I have learned and the concepts that I teach. Sometimes I fail. I want to be CONFIDENT in knowing who I am --and that I am Good Enough! Sometimes I fail. I want to be SILENT and LISTEN to my heart sing the messages of my soul that peacefully guide my life. I want to listen to the voices of others and understand what they believe. Sometimes I fail. I want to be CAREFUL with my voice. Words Matter and carry power when they are sent out into the world. I want to choose them with care as I know that once said or written they cannot be taken back. Sometimes I fail. I want to be GRATEFUL for the people, things, and experiences I am given. Sometimes I fail. I want to be FORGIVING of others and myself and let go of the past so that it doesn’t take away my future. Sometimes I fail. I can’t return to that day and erase my rant or the unkind words I blurted out to those I care about. The best I can do is realize that sometimes I will fail at being the person I want to be and to love and forgive myself-- as in every failure there is a lesson. Maybe we don’t talk about failure enough. Maybe we don’t talk about the lessons we learn from failure enough. Maybe we need to admit that we are not perfect to be seen as vulnerable and human. Maybe we need to understand that failure doesn’t mean we are bad people- we are just learning from life. Maybe we learn more from failure than we do from success. Maybe we need to accept that sometimes we all fail and failing isn’t always bad. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Accept that sometimes we fail and with every failure there is a lesson. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2024 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 #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happincess My dad spent a large part of his life serving in the Air Force. His life and fathering style was very structured. My siblings and I were not allowed to sleep late on the weekends or summer vacation. Around 8 AM, my dad would turn on his reel-to-reel tape deck and play loud music to wake us up. Once up, we were expected to make our beds, do our breakfast dishes, and get dressed and ready for the day. There wasn’t time for lounging in front of Saturday morning cartoons. We always had a list. A list of chores to do that day. We were expected to produce outcomes by completing the list. If we were invited to dinner at a restaurant or to someone’s home, we were given instructions on being polite, being quiet, and how we were expected to behave. During the instruction time, there was no arguing. No giving input. No two-way conversation. We listened. And we followed the directions. Don’t get me wrong, my father was a kind and caring man, and I had a great childhood. My most precious memories are of playing for hours in the sandbox, swimming at the community pool, and riding bikes for miles across town. Our family camping adventures included water skiing, and fishing, in beautiful spaces of nature. The fun times came after work and chores were completed. Over the years, fathering has changed. I have watched a very different style of fathering from my family's youngest generation of fathers. It isn’t a my-way-or-no-way approach. It is a new involved, participatory, compassionate method. More than once, I have watched my son-in-law invite one of his boys to leave the dining table and chat with him. He would listen to their comments about the situation and then speak calmly and kindly to his sons. He would help them recognize the problem with how they were acting and together they would come to an understanding of how behaving differently would be a better choice. It was magic to watch. I have seen my son join his daughter’s dance group on stage and participate in a daddy-daughter routine. I have received photos resembling prom night of him accompanying his girls to dances at school. Over the years he has dressed up with them for Halloween and as the girls grew the costumes grew more elaborate. I have heard reports from my stepson about his role on the PTA of his children’s school and the support he gives to the high school football team. I have been in awe of the mother of my granddaughter who after my son passed away has held the role of both mom and dad for her. This dual duty has been difficult at times, but she has proudly and purposefully done it exceptionally well. These parents have coached little league and basketball teams. They have attended dance recitals, theater productions, piano, band, and orchestra recitals, school programs, volleyball and lacrosse games, cross-country runs, ski races, and swim competitions. These fathering styles are all very different than the way I was raised. And they have all produced amazing, productive, talented, strong, intelligent, caring, and kind children. So, to these fathers, I thank you for your wisdom in understanding that fathering has changed over the years. Thank you for understanding that each child is different and at times fathering needs to be adapted to the individual child. Thank you for the love and kindness you hold in your hearts because loving and kind people create loving and kind children- and you have done just that. Thank you for being such awesome role models. If my father were alive, I would thank him for being the man he was. Without him, I wouldn’t love to get up in the morning in time to see the sunrise. I wouldn’t know how to water ski or understand the joy of camping in the rain. I wouldn’t value and respect those who live life in the military and their sacrifice of being away from their families. Without him, I wouldn’t understand the importance of doing the work that needs to be done and also enjoying the fun in life. Without him, I would not be the person I am. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Be grateful for the ones who father you. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2024 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 #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happincess It took me an entire day to undo what I had done last fall. I unhooked bungee cords and tie-downs and piece by piece I unwrapped all the deck furniture. Shaking off the dust from the winter wind, I folded each tarp and stored them in a box in the garage. I then took 24 cushions from the patio furniture down the stairs, around the house, and laid them on the front driveway. Once the cushions were sprayed with cleaner, I power-washed them. The sun was warm, so every 30 minutes I flipped them over and over to ensure they would dry. During the drying time, I power-washed the deck and furniture. This was a time-consuming, dirty job that needs to be done every year. When the cushions were dry, I carried 24 cushions 2 at a time back around the house, up the stairs, and positioned them on the appropriate furniture. When I was done it was a work of art. An outdoor space worthy of a photo in a home decor magazine. I was happy and proud of what I had accomplished. For a week I enjoyed my morning coffee on the deck while my dogs laid in the sun. Life was good. Until it wasn’t. One morning, coffee in hand, I opened the door to enjoy my space of paradise to find the invasion had begun. Miller Moths! Miller Moths had started their migration and decided my deck was the perfect hotel to rest for the night. The side of my house typically has a calm cream-colored brick exterior. It was now heavily speckled with miller moths. I moved the back cushion of my swivel chair and a group of them flew out. Lifting the bottom cushion, I realized twice as many had congregated there. It was disgusting. My clean space of peace had been invaded. I quickly yelled for my dogs and the three of us, and my coffee, hurried back into the house. For the past 9 days, every morning has been a repeat of the horror show. Every morning the number of miller moths in the herd, flock, fleet, troop, team, or whatever they are called has increased. Twice a day my husband blows them away with his leaf blower in the hopes of sending them on their way, only to find a new group in the morning. At night, birds from far and wide have given my deck a 5-star review as the best all-you-can-eat moth diner in the area. You can guess what birds do. That’s right, they doo. The more they eat the more they doo, doo, doo! So not only do I wake up to a deck full of miller moths every morning, but also a deck decorated with bird doo doo. Every day we clean it. Every morning, we wake up to see the clean deck again covered with bird blessings, miller moths, moth spots, and dust from their wings. I am trying to be optimistic. I am struggling. I understand that they are pollinators and are a food source for birds, reptiles, bears, and bats. I feel like we have gone above and beyond the call of duty by allowing the birds to use our deck for a nightly feeding frenzy and now it is time to go. I am trying to find something to be grateful for about this situation. I will be grateful when they move on to their mountain home. When they do I will spend another day cleaning the deck and cushions so my dogs and I can go back to our happy morning routine. I am also grateful I do not live where the cicadas live. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: When life gets messy, be patient, clean up what you can, and believe the pain will soon pass. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2024 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 #IAmGoodEnough A geological fault line is a long crack in the earth's surface. Earthquakes typically occur along fault lines. The U.S. Geological Survey works with hundreds of scientists and engineers to find these fault lines and create maps of their locations. These faultfinders watch the areas closely for any negative change. Any movement they notice is analyzed, critiqued, evaluated, and judged. Have you met any faultfinders in your life? Not the geological kind, but the kind you meet or are with every day? Are you one? Fault-finders obsessively find fault in others. They often criticize, complain, and judge others based on trivial issues. Fault-finders are constantly telling others what they are doing wrong or what they should be doing. No one is ever good enough for their standard of perfection. And they love to blame. Nothing is ever their fault or mistake. There is always someone else to blame and shower with shame. Any negative movement is noticed and called out. They keep a mental spreadsheet mapping all the faults they find in other people. This type of fault-finding is not a way to nurture a relationship. How often do you watch your spouse, partner, children, family member, or friend and call them out on what they are doing wrong? Even making a mental note of it is detrimental to the relationship. Do you mind-map your partner's most sensitive fault lines knowing that if you point them out it could cause an argument? A relationship earthquake! What if you took this challenge- pick one person in your life- preferably the person you are closest to and for one week do not point out or verbalize anything they do wrong. Please don't comment on anything that is not up to your standards. Don’t criticize, complain, or judge them or their actions. Do not blame anyone for anything. Do not even say the words, fault or blame. Do you think you could do that for one week? Seven short days? It would be interesting, because you may not have consciously been doing this, but when you are paying attention, you will become very aware of how often you are mentally judging this person. You will become aware of how often you are verbally correcting things they do or criticizing how they do it. You will also become very aware of how often they are finding fault with you. When you are intentionally not fault-finding, I believe you will find your relationship improving. When you stop using mental maps of where the most tender fault lines are in your relationship in a negative way, you can use the knowledge to safeguard and protect these weaknesses and imperfections in you and them. For one week be in the ‘no fault zone.’ Remember when you first got married, the first time you locked eyes with your child, the first time you laughed with your friend… you weren’t looking for their faults. You were noticing what you loved about them. What you concentrate on grows. When you stop concentrating on faults and begin concentrating on a person’s good qualities and what they do right, you will appreciate and love them more and more. You will see their faults less and less. Your fault-finding may turn into love-finding. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Look for the good in others, not their faults. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2024 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 #IAmGoodEnough I remember when my older siblings could go to a PG-13 movie, but I was too young. I couldn’t wait to be older. Then, when I was 13, I forgot about the movies. I knew the next stage of life would be magical - turning 16 so I could drive. During high school, I would cross off the class requirements as I waited to get through the years of school and graduate. I knew the next stage of life would be more exciting. It always seemed as if the next stage of life would be better than the one I was in. I was impatiently waiting to get married, to have a baby, then another, and another. I looked ahead to the future of kids growing up, so I had free time to return to school. That would be an exciting time in my life. Then I waited for my future career and in a blink, I was waiting for retirement because that would certainly be the best stage in life. The stage of life just ahead of me seemed to be greener, smell fresher, and shine brighter. I couldn’t wait for it to come. Now, looking back at my life, my vision is so much clearer, and I have learned a few things. Living takes time- don’t rush through it. Don’t wish your life away wanting to rush ahead. Enjoy every moment you are in. You have heard that the days go slow, but the years go fast…it is true. Don’t waste time waiting. All those years where I felt stuck in life’s waiting room knowing the best part of my life was ahead of me- was a waste of time. A waste of my life. Don’t spend the moments you are in, waiting for something better. Don’t wait until you are thinner, older, smarter, happier, or (fill in the blank) until you do what you want to do. Age doesn’t matter. The stage of life you are in is the most important stage of your life. It doesn’t matter if you are 13 or 99, you are in the most important stage of life because you are alive – now, at this moment. You never know if you will live to see another stage, so enjoy the one you are in. Look at everything as if you are seeing it for the first time and the last time. Greet every moment of your life with the enthusiasm of a child seeing things for the first time. Respect every moment of your life as if it will be the last time you experience it. Experience every moment, and every stage of your life so that you feel it deeply in your heart. It is funny how life can only be understood by looking backwards, but life must be lived forward. We will look back at the memories we have made- the things we did right and the mistakes we wish we could change. We will take the next step, wake up the next day, and move forward with our lives anticipating what is to come. But most importantly, we must enjoy where we are. Right here in the green grass where the air smells fresh and the days shine brightly. Right now, is the best stage of your life! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Appreciate every stage of life – that is where happiness is found. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2024 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 #IAmGoodEnough Gratitude would land on a list of the most used words today. I don’t think we can go through a day without using it, reading it, or hearing it. I am a huge believer in gratitude. I teach gratitude techniques and promote gratitude as a happiness builder. I believe people are trying to be more grateful and incorporate the practice of gratitude into their lives. Gratitude journals and gratitude lists have become common in our daily routines. But I have one question… Do you practice selective gratitude? It is easy to be grateful when all is right with our world, when everything is going our way, and when others are acting the way we want them to. Is your gratitude conditional on your expectations of how life should be? Selective gratitude is contingent on our criteria and judgment of how closely life mirrors our expectations of what we deserve and want. Pain occurs when life doesn’t meet our expectations. It is hard to be grateful when we are in pain. It is much easier to allow anger and fear to block our gratitude and hide our blessings during hard times. All blessings do not bless the same way. No matter what happens there are good things about every situation. There is always something that we can be grateful for. There may be a delay in seeing the blessing, but eventually, we will begin to feel glimmers of gratitude. In school, we had to take a test before we received an A. Sometimes testing comes before appreciation. At times we struggle before we are given the ability to see the lesson and the blessing. During those difficult times, our selective gratitude tries to take over. We begin evaluating things by our criteria and judgment. We begin listening to our selective thoughts. Thoughts are real to us when we are thinking them, but are they true? We think it is a real thought, but is it true and possible? Or is it our imagined perfection of how people should act, and life should be? Our imagination is good at overwhelming us into believing nothing bad will happen and the expectation that life is perfect. When it doesn’t work out that way, anger and fear jump in to smoother our gratitude. Concentrate on what is right in your life, not what is wrong. What you are grateful for, not what you didn’t get or don’t have. Even if you failed at something you can be grateful that you tried. Be grateful when you (or someone else) make a mistake, because when mistakes happen- lessons are learned. Be grateful for the test, for the struggle, and for the learning. If a tragedy happens in your life, you can be grateful for the love of your friends and family and the way they came together to comfort you. The smallest things in life make a difference. Even if you are in grief and despair be grateful for the small things. It is all in the power of perspective. Gratitude is not complicated. Don’t allow your gratitude to be contingent on the way others act or the ups and downs of life. What you practice, you grow in. If you practice anger and fear, you grow in anger and fear. If you practice love, forgiveness, and kindness, you will grow in those and yes, if you practice gratitude, you will grow in gratitude. There is an energy exchange in life. If you push gratitude out into the world, it will be returned to you. No Contingency, no conditions… just pure, powerful gratitude. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Do not make gratitude a selective process. Make it an unconditional practice. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2024 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 #IAmGoodEnough |
AuthorThere is a certain magic about where I live both physically and spiritually – on the crossroads of Spirit and Brave. Archives
August 2024
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