Today would have been his 40th birthday. I say, it would have been, because it has been 17 years since I have celebrated a birthday with him. Seventeen years since I have seen my son’s smile, touched his beard, or felt one of his famous hugs.

I remember that day 40 years ago. It was Monday. I vacuumed the house. I watched Back to the Future on a VHS tape rented from Blockbuster. I packed a pale green terrycloth sleeper to dress a baby in. I wore a purple jogging suit to the hospital. My parents came over to stay with my other two children at 5:45 pm.

A sports game was playing on the television in the delivery room. It was basketball or football, I don’t remember for sure- I was busy having a baby.

“IT’S A BOY!”

This was a different time. There were no ultrasounds to predict what color to decorate the nursery months in advance. The excitement of hearing whether I had a new son or daughter was saved for that moment.

He arrived at 9:30 pm weighing 6 lbs. 14 oz and measuring 20 inches long. His name was Jameson Tanner. That was very quickly shortened to J.T.

He didn’t cry. He looked at me with wide-open eyes that twinkled as if he was back- not new to this world, but back for another visit to a familiar place. He was calm, but his eyes looked around as if he was ready for an adventure. An adventure that I wasn’t sure I was ready for.

I remember that day in colorful detail. I feel like birthdays are a joyous celebration of a new life and anticipation of what is to come. Year by year we celebrate who this person is, who they have become, and the progress they have made moving through this life. We bake cakes, blow out candles, and unwrap gifts.

I also feel like this day should be a celebration and recognition of the momma who carried this baby within the protective space of her own body. The mom who labored and birthed this soul. It should not only be a celebration of the safe delivery of a baby, but also a celebration of the mom’s birth-ing day. The day she gave birth to another human. The day she released a part of her soul into this world. A part that is never fully disconnected from her.

I can easily remember each of J.T.’s years on this earth. Each celebration. Each cake. Each blowing of candles and opening of gifts. I remember each one from the first to the 22nd. That is when the images and memories stopped. 

Today would have been the 40th. I can’t see him at 40. My mind tries to imagine him with a little gray in his beard and a few wrinkles around his eyes. I try to imagine what job he would have and how much he would still love playing his guitar. I try to imagine him laughing with his brother, sister, and his daughter. I try to imagine 40 years of his famous hugs.

But I can’t.

Today is a quiet day like every day. A cup of coffee while my dogs slept on my lap. A little reading and my morning meditation. Today I hit 1,000 days of consecutive mediation sessions. I don’t believe it is an accident that my guided meditation topic today was about addiction.

I don’t believe it was a coincidence that today I saw a young man walking down the street wearing a black sweatshirt, black baseball cap, and baggy jeans. As he talked on his phone I could see his auburn beard and curly hair reflecting the sun. A twin of J.T.

I don’t believe that it was an accident that when I started my car this morning, my music app began playing a song by one of his favorite artist, Bob Dylan. A song I had never heard before titled, I Will Be Your Baby Tonight. Interestingly, this song began playing on its own after I had spent the morning thinking of that day of birthing my baby 40 years ago.

I looked up the lyrics. It is a short simple song, and I realize it is meant to be about a couple, but today, for me the lyrics fit. Today it was about the day of J.T.’s birth. About how J.T. will always be connected to me and how he will always be my baby.
                                      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
                                                       Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                  From birth to death, everything in between, before, and after…
                              a mother will always be connected to her child. 
                                      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

​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 © 2013-2025 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

Did you know the second Friday of every January is​ Quitters Day​? I didn’t. This was brought to my attention this week. By the second week of January, most people who set a New Year’s resolution have given up on their big audacious goal.

The target they wanted to hit seemed exciting. It sounded good at the New Year’s Eve party when they announced their resolution. They were going to make a change and stick to it!

 At first, they were determined. But the shiny ring they hoped to grasp lost its luster quickly. It is hard work to change. Instant gratification didn’t happen. The resolution plan was flawed. So that was that. They quit.

Does this sound like you? Resolutions are hard to keep.​ Motivation wains. The glory of the idea deflates. Statistics vary, but around 88% of people who set resolutions fail by the end of January. Hence “Quitters Day” was born.

I haven’t made resolutions for years! I do like picking a word for the year. For the past 12 years I have picked a word that guides my thoughts, actions, and intentions. I write about it and share my word every year. I place the words in spots that I notice like my desk and bathroom mirror- to keep it front and center in my life.

I thought of some great words​ for this year, but then I began reviewing my word from last year and how it worked for me.  
My 2024 word was “CREATE.”  I announced this last year in my column, so I pulled my writing out to review what my plan for the word was. This paragraph hit hard: 
 
“This year I hope to create more of this calm beauty in myself, my life, and my world. I will do this by making time for things I love doing. Time for painting more, sewing more, cooking more, reading more, writing more, and speaking more. All the things that put me in that space of creative calmness. I do have a few things in mind that I plan to create this year that I expect to be fabulous. But I won’t be pushed by a list of goals or an outline of projects and steps to completion. I will be guided by the gentle journey of creating.” (Pennie Hunt 1-2024)

I love the intention. I felt calm reading it until I realized I hadn’t done a good job at most of it. I hadn’t painted more, sewn more, tried new recipes, or read more books than normal. Was I a quitter? Do I need to join the 88% and admit to failing?

I reread the lines, “… I won’t be pushed by a list of goals or an outline of projects and steps to completion. I will be guided by the gentle journey of creating.”

I don’t think I failed. I didn’t quit. I just needed more time to work on my word.  I decided to do something I have never done - repeat last year’s word again this year. I decided to give myself more time to create. More time to paint, read, cook, sew, write, speak, and do all the things I love doing. More time to be guided by the gentle journey of creating.

It isn’t about a day that marks failure or quitting. It is about learning lessons. I need to work on the lesson of making creating a priority in my life. Check in with me next January to see how I did.  
                                   ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
                                                    Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                           We all have the ability to create beauty in life.
                                       Allow yourself the time to create it. 
                                   ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

​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 © 2013-2025 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

My mom was having her kitchen remodeled and I was helping her box up her dishes and small appliances in preparation for the contractors. I opened the door to the bottom of the china cabinet. It was full of never used dishtowels. I began pulling them out and stacking them on the floor next to me.

                    “Mom, why are you keeping all these towels?
                    The tags are still on them. Why haven’t you used them?”

Her response was four words, “Martin gave them to me.”

My brother, Martin, was always mom’s golden child. He was the only boy nestled between me and my sister. In our sisterly opinions, he was mom’s favorite. She always took his side and she spoiled him. 

I began laughing.
“You are saving them because Martin gave them to you?”
Again, she had a short answer, “Yes.”

I sat back against the wall. I was circled by towels.

“Mom let me share something with you. For all the years since Martin graduated from college and moved away, he has sent me money to do his gift shopping. I have purchased your Birthday, Mother’s Day, and Christmas gifts for him. I have wrapped them and given them to you with tags that say from Martin. He probably doesn’t remember what most of the gifts were. Whenever I had a few dollars left I used it to buy you dish towels from him because yours always looked worn out. Martin would not even know these are from him.”

I couldn’t stop laughing at the thought of her using the old worn-out dishtowels while all these new ones were tucked in the china cabinet. She looked at me in disbelief. In her mind my brother had thoughtfully picked out each towel specifically for her. She loved him for that and she had attached that love to each square of terrycloth fabric. She had carefully placed each new towel (and the emotions it carried) in the cabinet to be kept safely with the others.

How many times have we connected feelings and emotions to things or places? We all do this. I am a sentimental person. I have the original recipe for oatmeal cookies that my grandmother wrote on a piece of lined paper. The paper is yellow and worn after decades of unfolding it to make those special cookies. I have attached my memories of her to the recipe, her cursive writing, and the taste of those cookies.

I also have my dad’s hat and tubs of my son’s things. These items bring me true memories and warm my heart. I believe these emotions are reasonable and rational.

This can work in a negative way too. I was in a hotel when I received the call that my son had passed. I associate that hotel with pain, tragedy and the death of my son. For years I could not drive down the street where the hotel was located. The thought of ever staying there again gives me a visceral reaction. I hate that hotel.

Did the hotel have anything to do with my son’s death? No. Is it logical for me to attach such hatred to a building? Probably not.

After I stopped laughing and my mom stopped giving me her, mom look, for making fun of her, for once again favoring my brother- we packed all the towels and her feelings into a box. I reinforced that my brother had never seen these towels or knew about them. That in fact I was the one who picked them out with her in mind.

I told her that she should put them to good use in her newly remodeled kitchen.
She agreed that if they weren’t from Martin she didn’t need to save them and would use them in the new kitchen. I silently laughed inside at her thought process that because I had picked each one out for her was not a reason to keep them as a special possession.
Did I mention my brother was her favorite child?
                                                ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                     Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                         Be careful what you attach emotions and feelings to.
                                           Make sure it is for the right reason. 
                                               ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I remember looking at the jungle gym of chains that hung over the hospital bed. My grandfather would roll his wheelchair next to the bed, reach up to grab the triangle handles and using only his arms to lift himself out of the chair, swing back and forth until he landed in the middle of the bed. The handles would continue to swing the chains after he released them making a clanking sound until the chains and my grandfather rested in silence.

In photographs my grandfather was a vibrant man dressed in overalls standing next to his prized horses. He loved horses. I vaguely remember the pony he had for us grandchildren. He would put us in a small wagon and the pony would run in circles around the property as we giggled and squealed with delight. I struggle to remember this version of my grandfather.

I am not sure when it began, but diabetes attacked him. First, a toe was removed, and eventually, he became a double amputee. Most of my memories are of this grandfather. The one in the wheelchair with the jungle gym over his bed. The one that was not supposed to eat sugar but would occasionally wheel his chair to the kitchen and sneak Oreos from the cookie jar – only to be scolded by my grandmother.

The words sugar and diabetes were overused in my life as I grew up. Because of this, I was raised on artificial sweeteners. We never had candy in our house. But I craved sugar. I am a girl who believes ice cream should be a food group. I believe everyone has an addiction and for me it is sugar. I am not sure if it was because I rarely had it or if the artificial sweeteners made my brain want more of the real stuff.

As with everything in life, it seems the studies and recommendations change over time. Artificial sweeteners used to be a miracle. You could have the taste of sugar without the side effects. Then we were told the chemicals in artificial sweeteners are dangerous. Stevia became the natural answer -until it wasn’t.

Sugar is bad so we lessen it. Artificial sweeteners are bad, so we avoid them. So how do we enjoy the sweetness of life?

Maybe the answer ​I​s in the way we live. If we were in a constant feeling of joy and happiness, we may lose the appreciation for the feeling of happiness. If we are on a constant sugar high, we may not notice the sweetness of a cookie – we just eat it. I have gone through long periods of not eating sugar- zero, nothing, not one taste. And, I have gone through times of bingeing to excess. I will say neither situation makes me feel great.

I remember watching my grandfather eat a forbidden Oreo.​ The joy on his face. I understand the danger of too much sugar. I can appreciate the natural sweetness of an apple. I also believe that the occasional taste of ice cream satisfies a sweet craving. It teaches me to enjoy the special taste of sweetness as a luxurious treat.

I have lived through joyful times that filled my heart. I have suffered the deepest tragedies, which made those joyful times even sweeter. It is in the up and down, the ebb and flow, the balancing of life that we realize and feel the difficult times and appreciate the good times. It is noticing the small, sweet moments in life that make us appreciate the joy.
This is how we enjoy the sweetness that life has to offer.
                              ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                  Pennie’s Life Lesson:
      Appreciate the balance of life and enjoy the sweetness of each moment.
                               ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gracie and Zenee rule the house. They are scheduled and demanding. They want to get up at a certain time, nap at a certain time, and put to bed at a certain time.

Breakfast is at 7 am, followed by doing their tricks. Sitting, spinning in a circle, rolling over, and shaking. A treat follows each trick. Once they have performed, they go to the cabinet where the biscuits are kept and they each get a biscuit. This system of treat-giving used to be spread between breakfast and noon, but the little princesses have decided it is all an extension of breakfast.

Mid-afternoon is vitamin time. You know, those fancy dog vitamins that are all over social media and claim to cure everything? Yes, they love them and at exactly 2 pm it is vitamin time. Earlier if they are successful at talking us into serving them sooner. Just so you know- they have their own Instagram account, and they direct us to post adorable photos of them.

Dinner is at exactly 5 pm. It is time to go downstairs and watch T.V. at 7:30. A special treat waits for them when the T.V. is turned on. They go to bed at 9:30. Their dog playpen (they prefer to call it their condo) is in the corner of our bedroom. They love to sleep on the soft cushion, with their favorite small blankets and their best buddies, Lovey and Snuggles - two stuffed dogs that make the sound of heartbeats.

When we go to the store or out to dinner, they expect an explanation of where we are going, what we will be doing, how long we will be gone, and who is in charge while we are away. Gracie is always told she is in charge and Zenee is second in charge. (Zenee hates being second at anything, but she is the youngest so…)

The world revolves around dog meals, grooming appointments, veterinary appointments, monthly allergy shots, dog sitters for the times we are out of town, and the general care and comfort of the girls.

Our family teases us about how spoiled our dogs are. We don’t think of them as dogs. They are our fur babies and part of the family. At times we wonder why we seem to be human butlers to our dogs. How did we lose control?  Then I read about an interesting concept.

In Hawaii, pet ownership is very different. In Hawaii, you are not the owner of a pet. You are known as their Kahu. Kahu translates to guardian, protector, steward, beloved attendant, (yes, a human butler) basically someone entrusted with the safety of a precious and cherished thing. In Hawaii, a dog is not your property. You are their caretaker.

Hawaiians believe dogs are connected to the gods and goddesses. Dogs bring good luck.

After learning this, I realized we might be doing it right. We cherish our precious girls. We protect them and pamper them. We do everything we can to keep them happy, healthy, and safe. We would do anything for them.

Unfortunately, time goes too fast in dog years. In January Gracie will turn 9-years-old and Zenee will be 8. It feels like we just brought them home yesterday. Two sweet fluffy puppies who healed our hearts when we were grieving the loss of our 16-year-old Shih Tzu, Yogee. They brought life and movement back into our home. They taught us that there is no end of love after loss and gave us a place to share it again.

They brought meaning and purpose into our world. They have given us more than we can ever repay. For as long as we are lucky enough to have these sacred creatures in our lives, we will be honored to be their Kahu.
                                  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
                                                       Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                                                      Dogs are not just dogs.
                                            They are sacred creatures of love. 
                                     ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

​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

I do not remember every detail, but I do remember that I did it. I remember the fear—the tears. And getting caught.
​
One of my first life memories is of the nativity set. My mom would carefully put it out every year. It was her favorite Christmas decoration. I would look at it for hours. It was like a doll house filled with the magical story of Christmas.

​I loved the shepherds and the wise men, but the angels and baby Jesus were my favorite. My hands wanted so badly to touch the baby lying on the tiniest whispers of hay in the little wooden manger. This was forbidden. I am sure my mom told me hundreds of times, “Don’t touch, just look.”

It was hard. Standing in front of it my hands would lift and be on target to pick up the delicate baby, only to hear my mom’s voice… Don’t touch!

I am not sure how it happened. My mom must have been busy and didn’t notice. I scooped the baby out of the cradle. I closed my hand around him as tightly as I could and ran with him to the bathroom.  The only room I could close the door and not have anyone follow me.

I just wanted to hold him. See him closely and feel like he was mine. I opened my tightly held fist and there he was - broken into two pieces. His head and his body separated.

The moments between picking him up and running to the bathroom are blurred. Did I kiss him too hard or hold him too tight in my chubby little hand? I am not sure what caused his head to break off, but somehow it happened. I do remember instant fear. Instant panic.

I looked around the bathroom trying to figure out what to do. I did the most logical thing a 4-year-old panic-stricken girl could think of- I hid him in the crack between the wall and the toilet.

Tip-toeing out of the bathroom and down the hall I went into my room and crawled on my bed holding my dolls as if I had innocently been there the entire time.  
My memory feels like it was days, but I am sure it was only hours before my mom noticed the empty manger. She called my brother, sister, and me into the living room to stand in line in front of the nativity set. Pointing to the space where baby Jesus had been, she demanded a confession.

My memory is dark at this point. I am not sure how the truth came out, or how the dismantled baby was rescued from behind the toilet, but it was.
My memory comes back with me once again standing in the bathroom, door closed, sobbing and blubbering, “Nobody loves me but my daddy and he’s not here!”

My dad was on TDY, (a military term used when the Air Force sent my dad on temporary duty away.) This was my go-to phrase every time I was in trouble when my dad was gone. Occasionally it garnered pity, but not this time. My mom was way past any outpouring of sympathy for me.

Today I carefully opened the box and one by one unwrapped the white tissue paper that wrapped each character of the nativity set. Every year I place it on a small table covered with a doily my mom embroidered. The sheep go next to the shepherd. One angel kneels behind the cradle and one to the side. The three wise men are walking up to the stable. And baby Jesus is laid on the whisper of hay in the manger. His golden halo glows under the small blue light.

You can barely see the circle of glue around his neck. The circle that reminds me every year of my childhood. Of my mom and my family. The tradition of setting up this magical scene every Christmas. And reminds me of the circle of life that has glued my love for family and tradition together.
                             ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                  Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                                     Remember the small traditions in life.
                                     The ones that circle your life with love.
                                ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

​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 you are in the time of life when you are working a job, you probably look forward to having enough money saved to retire. You believe if you work hard now, you will enjoy years of relaxation during retirement. Life will be easy.

Conversely, if you spend most of your life believing that you don’t need to save money or prepare for retirement, life may be easy for you now, but retirement may be less than relaxing. Life will be hard.

Life works both ways. Life can either be easy now and hard later or hard now and easy later. This concept plays out in many ways during many circumstances.

College can be a fun and exciting time. It is easy to enjoy all the social activities, skip classes, and not be dedicated to studying. This kind of college lifestyle may lead to failing exams, failing classes, and failing college. Easy now, hard later.

Attending class regularly and missing a few social activities so you can study is hard. But, when you put the effort in, passing the exam, passing the class and graduating becomes easy. Hard now, easy later.

Making time to exercise, committing to a workout routine, and sticking to it for a lifetime is hard. When you are in the middle of a 10-mile run it is hard. Once you have done this for years your stamina and fitness level will be worth the hard work. Movement and flexibility will be easier as you age. Hard now, easy later.

If you never take time to commit to exercise the aging process will be hard. Easy now, hard later.

Eating fast food every night on your way home from work may save you time, be convenient, and be easy now. But what will the ramifications be on your body in the years to come? The health issues may create a hard life later.

Life is either easy now and hard later, or hard now and easy later. It is your choice which path you believe is right for you. Do you want to pay now or pay later? This takes some intentional thinking. Is the immediate gratification of fun, avoidance, or slacking worth the consequences it will bring in the future? Are you willing to pay the future price for your earlier actions?  

None of us do the right thing every time. We all make mistakes in life. We all fail occasionally. These missteps are hard. If we continue to make them over and over life can be really hard. This can create a situation of hard now AND hard later.

But if we learn from failure or mistakes, it can make our lives easier in the future. We learn how to live better, be better, and do better. Hard now, easy later.  

The next time you think you are too tired to work out, you don’t want to do the work to pass the test, or driving through to pick up fast food seems appealing, think about this concept. Will this action make your life easy now and hard later, or hard now and easy later? It is your choice to decide which path you believe is right for you.
                                   ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                     Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                                        Life is either easy now and hard later,
                                                  or hard now and easy later.
                                                      The choice is yours.   
                                   ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

​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 I am around people, I pick up their energy. I don’t just think they must be happy, sad, or angry… I know it.  I feel it! If they are in emotional or physical pain, I can feel their pain in my body. Because of this, I am not a fan of being in crowded areas. A quick trip through the aisles of a grocery store can be a roller coaster of up-and-down feelings from everyone I walk by.  It can be exhausting.

I have a ritual that I do before entering a crowd. I take a few deep breaths in my car and I imagine a bubble around me that will keep all the feelings from others at bay. It helps.

If you are not someone who is highly attuned to the emotions of others and can sense and experience their energy and emotions on a deep level, (an empath) this probably sounds strange to you.

The reality is, we all do this on some level. You may not deeply feel the emotions of strangers as you walk by them like I do, but you still feel the feelings of others. When was the last time you came home from work and your wife was angry at someone and you immediately became angry at that person too? Or did someone tell you great news of happiness and you became happy too? Or did you receive tragic news from someone, and you hugged each other circled in the same cloud of grief?

I bet you can see yourself in those scenarios. Some of that is normal, natural, and can’t be avoided. Of course, if your family is expecting a new baby, everyone will join in joy for that happy event. And of course, if a loved one passes many who cared about that person will share grief together.

The problem comes when you just automatically feel someone’s feelings as if they are your own. If you dislike someone just because your friend doesn’t like them that is a problem. Don’t let their anger become your anger. Don’t let their hate become your hate. Don’t let their fear become your fear. Don’t let their skepticism, jealousy, mistrust…. or fill-in-the-blank with whatever feeling it is… don’t let theirs become yours.

Before you take that easy​ step of jumping in with both feet and letting theirs become yours, try taking a difficult step back. ​Stay outside of their bubble of anger, skepticism, hate, fear- or whatever emotion they are projecting. Stand in a clear space far enough away to understand and see the whole picture. Evaluate the situation from a nonjudgmental stance.

After you have looked at the situation from all angles and made a clear judgment for yourself, then you can feel the appropriate emotion. Your emotion. Maybe the situation is accurate as it was presented to you, and you will become angry or disappointed too. Maybe the situation is a little more two-sided, and you need to take a middle-ground approach. Maybe you need to walk away from the entire situation. But never allow someone else’s anger to become your anger.

The bubble technique works. If you know you are walking into a troubling situation, sit for a few minutes. Take a few breaths. Build a bubble of protection around yourself. Your feelings should be your feelings. The feelings and emotions of others should be theirs. Don’t let theirs become yours.
                                  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                  Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                            Learn to understand the difference between
            your feelings and emotions and the feelings and emotions of others.
                                                       Don’t blur the two.
                                    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

​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

What if you could do one thing that improved your mental health, created positive relationships, boosted your feel-good hormones, and increased happiness?
Would you do it?
What if there was a day dedicated to doing this one thing? Would you celebrate it?

The good news is, there is one thing that does all of that – kindness.
The act of being kind can reduce stress and anxiety. By being kind to others and doing acts of kindness you can increase your optimistic attitude and self-confidence.

Practicing kindness can support positive friendships and nurture trust in relationships. Acts of kindness can increase your body’s production of dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin – the feel-good hormones.

Being kind to yourself can encourage a space of inner peace and security in your life.
Kindness is contagious, and one act of kindness can lead to more. You may have been in the drive-through line at your favorite coffee shop and the car in front of you paid for your coffee. You in turn paid for the car behind you and so on. For that brief moment in time, those who participated in this paying-it-forward activity became joy builders by spreading kindness.  

All of this together builds to increase happiness and joy in your life and in the life of others. It creates a world with more meaning. And it may surprise you to know that yes, there is a day dedicated to celebrating kindness. Every year, November 13th is World Kindness Day. Since it began in 1998, World Kindness Day offers an opportunity to intentionally increase the common thread of kindness.

Don’t you agree that the sound of that is lovely... a day dedicated to kindness? As you read this the day has passed, but why not intentionally be kind every day? It doesn’t take much to make the world a happier place by making kindness a part of your personality. Part of your daily routine. Part of your life.
 
Offer to help someone when you see a need. Say a kind word to someone you don’t know or normally wouldn’t talk to. Share a smile, let someone go in front of you at a checkout line, and say thank you. These types of little gestures count. Start small and watch your ability to be kind grow. Once you realize the benefits of being kind you will become kinder.
 
Today, do that one thing that can change so much in life for the better. Be kind
What will you do to spread the joy of kindness?

Can you do at least one kind thing today? And when you do, pay attention to how it makes you feel.

We can (and should) normalize kindness. Can you imagine the ripple effect if everyone in the world intentionally practiced kindness – not just on World Kindness Day, but every day?

Kindness can make a difference.
Kindness does matter.
                                ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                    Pennie’s Life Lesson: 
             Kindness is contagious, and one act of kindness can lead to more. 
                                ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

​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

Have you lost your joy for life? Have you experienced so much pain that you feel like joy is impossible? Does the idea of the holidays spreading joy make your eyes roll? Is it time to strengthen your joy muscle? I wrote a book on joy, but at times, I still need to work on my own joy.
​Here are some ideas that we can all use to pump up our joy.
​

1. BE AN OBSERVER OF JOY - If you need a refresher course in joy, spend time with a child. Act like them. Watch an ant carry a tiny crumb or a ladybug land on a blade of grass. Jump through the sprinkler, eat ice cream, and enjoy puppy kisses. Relive the magic of childhood and join in the joy.
2. BE A JOY FINDER - Find one small thing you can do to find joy in your day. It doesn’t have to be flashy acts of indulging. Reading a book while you sit in the sun on your lunch break, stopping for a skinny vanilla latte at your favorite coffee shop, taking a walk after dinner, meeting a friend for lunch, sleeping in or staying up late on the weekend, or taking a luxurious afternoon nap may bring you joy. Be creative. Add simple snippets of joy to your life. Be a joy finder!
3. COMPARISON IS THE THIEF OF JOY - Comparison will skew reality and steal your joy. Learn to like, live, and love in your own home and your own heart. The more time you spend liking yourself, the less time you have to compare yourself to others. The less time you spend comparing yourself to others, the more you will like yourself. Don’t allow comparison to steal your joy.
4. JOY OF LAUGHTER- Any day you laugh is a great day! Laugh at yourself. Share laughter with others. Laughter flushes the body with joy! Don’t go a day without laughing.
5. DEFINE YOUR HAPPINESS - To find joy and happiness, you must know what you are looking for. Can you define “happiness” for yourself? We need to relearn what our hearts and souls already know. Contentment, joy, and happiness should be our natural state. Once you define what will make you happy, you will have the roadmap to find and create joy in your life.
6. LOVE IS THE ANSWER TO EVERY QUESTION! Being here in this body, on this Earth, and at this time is a privilege. Be humbled by the magnitude of it. Do not take anything for granted. The basis for all of life’s lessons is LOVE! Life begins and ends with love. Love yourself. Love others. Love animals. Love nature. Love your life. Love your heart out! A life of gratitude, joy, and happiness is created by love
7. GRATITUDE COMES FIRST - Once life becomes filled with joy and happiness, we will be grateful, right? It doesn’t work that way. Gratitude comes first! The more gratitude you feel, the more you will receive in life. The more gratitude you show, the more happiness and joy you will feel. Be grateful for every moment, every breath, every experience, and every lesson learned. It is not happiness and joy that makes us grateful, it is gratitude that makes us happy and joyful.

 
Don’t waste your time wishing for and wanting joy. You must work for it. You must exercise and strengthen your joy muscle. Through the steps I outlined, set your mind on practicing intentional joy. Pump up your joy muscle. It is possible to increase the joy in your life.
                                 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                      Pennie’s Life Lesson:
             You hold the power to strengthen and increase joy in your life.
​                               Fall in love with the process of joy building.
​                                              ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

​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

​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

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. 
​                                                     ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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. 

​​“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

​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. 
​                              ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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...        
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                                      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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