Do you think about the value of the things in your life? When is the value the highest? When is the value the lowest? Do you value your life?
​
Look at your home. When you were a young adult, you probably wanted to buy a house. You imagined your dream home. You could see the back yard. You could smell meals cooking in the kitchen. Nothing held more value to you than buying a home of your own. Then the day came, and you were handed the keys. You became used to living in it. It was comfortable and familiar, but maybe the value of it wasn’t as exciting to you as when you were wanting it.

After 25 years, you find yourself an empty nester and the home feels too big. So you sell it. After downsizing the furniture and loads of donations are gone, you walk through the house for the last time, and then you drive away. You didn’t expect the tears and emotions that you feel. Yes, you may have a big equity check in your bank account, but suddenly when the home is no longer yours, you understand the value of it. You realize the value of the home was in the love that was felt within the walls and the memories you made there.

You can play this scenario through your mind about many things. Relationships… you want one. Your life would be perfect if you just had that perfect relationship. You dream about falling in love and you place great value on love. Then the arrow hits and the hearts fly. You fall in love. Over the years it is wonderful- until it isn’t. Whether it is a divorce or an unfortunate passing of life, the relationship ends. Now you long for love, companionship, and a relationship. The value of what you had becomes very clear.

Do you see the pattern? The value of something you want before you have it is high. When you have it in your life the value of that something levels off. When you no longer have it the value takes a rapid jump upward. We place a higher value on something when we are wanting it and after we have lost it, than the value we place on it when we actually have it.
​
The saddest example of this may be when we think of time. When we are kids we run and play as if there is all the time in the world. Then we move into rushing. We can’t wait to grow up, be finished with school, have a car, a job, and an adult life. We are too busy to think about time.

The responsibilities and pressure of being an adult makes us rush even faster. We can’t wait to retire. Suddenly we are 70, 80, and if we are lucky 90 or older. Now time seems important. All of those years of wanting to rush through life without enjoying it are a blur.

Now, every day holds a high value to us. We want time to slow down. We want to spend time with our children, grandchildren, and friends. Yes, friends. Now many of our friends are gone. We look back at memories of them and we realize what a value they were to our lives.

We want to do the things we didn’t have time to do when we were younger, but now our health doesn’t allow us to-- because we didn’t value our health and take care of it when we had it. Now health is of high value.

Wherever you are in this timeline of life, you can change the pattern. You can learn to place a value- a high value- on what you have now. The life you have now. Love your family. Nurture your friendships. Take care of your health. And be grateful for time. Place a high value on this one beautiful life you are given- every minute of it. Do you see the value of your life…now?
                                ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                  Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                                      Value what you have in this life.
                                  Enjoy and cherish every minute of it.
                                 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #JourneyThrough #PennieHunt  #IAmGoodEnough
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. ​

I finally get it. It took me a while, but now I am ready to take out the trash! I should explain. It all began with a frigid blast of winter that kept me in the house for three days. I decided to do something productive – clean out and declutter my file drawers.

No, that doesn’t sound fun and to be honest, it wasn’t, but it was something I had been avoiding for a long time. It needed to be done. Being trapped inside when it was a -35 degree chill factor outside was the perfect time, so I jumped into the mountain of files.

Attacking the first drawer, I put all the files on my dining room table. This drawer contained house information, warranties on appliances, receipts, and information about house maintenance, etc. I decided to get fancy and color code each drawer. If it hadn’t been so cold I would have gone to the office store to buy the prettiest new colors, but I decided that using all the green hanging folders I had in the first drawer would be fine. The files I put inside would be a variety of colors- just to make it pretty.

Two hours into this project I had divided all the paperwork into mini mountains. I decided that I needed a few more categories to organize than what I had. I needed one to put in all the decorating ideas that I had clipped from magazines and one for the paint color chips I had saved. Soon I felt like I had more files and papers to put back into the drawer than what I started with.

That is when it hit me. I wasn’t decluttering at all. I was just organizing the chaos of papers and files to look good. The revelation that there is a big difference between organizing and decluttering hit me on many levels. Suddenly I thought of all the times I went shopping for new bins, baskets, hangers, and holders just to clean and color coordinate drawers, closets, and my life - under the pretense of decluttering. All I was doing was organizing the chaos.

Oh, I have been successful at times. A few months ago, I did declutter my clothes closet, which, by the way, remains clutter-free and is one of my proud accomplishments. But habits are hard to break and what I was doing with the file drawers was slipping back into my old pattern.

Luckily, I caught myself. I didn’t want to just organize all the stuff so it looked good. I wanted to clean out and declutter – which meant it was time to take out the trash! I began ruthlessly throwing papers into two new mountains – recycle and shred.

I didn’t need receipts from the upgrades that we made on the last house we owned. I didn’t need to save paint samples when I had no plans to paint. And I certainly didn’t need 5 years of receipts of veterinary visits for my dogs.

As I write this, I am taking a break from drawer number 3. The end is in sight. My files look amazing, and yes, they are color-coded and a visual work of art. My bag of shredding is overflowing. And my recycle bin will be proudly rolled to the curb to be picked up with tomorrow’s trash.
​
I feel cleansed in a way, and ready to move on to the next decluttering project. As I look around my home, I am critiquing how many of my closets and corners that I have beautifully organized the chaos but what I need to do is declutter. I wonder…how many areas of my life have I done the same. I might just need to take out more trash.
                                  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                      Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                                 In your life don’t just organize the chaos -
                                    it might be time to take out the trash! 
                                   ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #JourneyThrough #PennieHunt  #IAmGoodEnough
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. ​

I can visualize him sitting on a stool, playing his guitar, and singing in his quiet voice as the crowd sits in awed silence watching him on stage. He could have been a rock star. But he wasn’t.
 
I can see him picking his beautiful girl up from school and chatting with her about life. He could have been a great dad to his teenage daughter. But he wasn’t.
 
I can hear him laugh as he blows out 39 candles and happily eats the first piece of cake. I smile at the hint of gray showing up in his beard. He could have grown to be a great man. But he didn’t.
 
He wasn’t a lot of things that he didn’t have the chance to be, but I can tell you who he was.
 
He was more than a young 22-year-old whose life ended in a tragic way. He was a prankster and a comedian. He was serious and introspective. He was little-boy-adorable and grown-man handsome. He was immature and young. He was spirit-old and wise beyond this time. He was infuriating and comforting. He was reckless and protective.
 
He was a brother, father, uncle, and grandson. He was the friend who gave you his shirt and the student who studied life. He was my son.
 
When he left this life, I searched every photograph I had and looked intensely into his eyes. I wanted to know him deeper than I had ever known him before. I gathered his belongings and held them as if I were holding him. I listened to stories and fantasized about how it would be if he was still here. I played the ‘what-if’ game. Trying to rewrite the ending to the story and pretending that I could make a magical deal with time, and he would come back. But he didn’t.
 
I can remember the person I was when he was here. The mom I was. I wish I could be that same mom now. But I can’t. I live a little bit there and a little bit here, in the blur of then and now.
 
I began as a warrior who fought between regret and gratitude. I have become the dancer who sways to the magical music of memories. Now I am the mom who struggles to keep some part of him alive. I am the mom who continues to tell you who he was. I write stories about him on his birthday and share memories on the anniversary of his passing. I say his name and when my eyes close, I imagine his beard brushing my face. For as long as I can remember him, I will remind you not to forget, because when he is forgotten it will be his second death.
 
Now he is the guitar leaning in the corner and the hoodies in a plastic tub. But, more than that, he is the whisper in my ears and the messages to my soul. He is the sunrise in the morning and a star in the night sky. He is the tattoo on my heart and the twinkle in his daughter’s eyes.
He is the laughter from his sister and the hugs from his brother. He is the breeze when the window is down and a song plays loudly through the car stereo.
 
Today there would be 39 candles on his cake.
He could have been a rock star.
But he wasn’t.
                                 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                    Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                                Don’t leave this life with could-have-beens.
                                                      Be all you can be now.
                                  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #JourneyThrough #PennieHunt  #IAmGoodEnough
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. ​

I woke up this morning and it was a new day, a new week, and a new year. My New Year’s Eve wasn’t a big celebration. In fact, I was asleep by 10, and enjoying that until the sound of fireworks jarred me awake. Finding my earplugs and snuggling back into my covers I slumbered until I woke up in a new year and with a bigger number on the calendar.
 
Over the years I have enjoyed quiet family New Years Eve celebrations at home when my kids were young, and I’ve also danced at private parties in Reno with Huey Lewis singing on the stage. But this year I didn’t need or want to dress in sparkles and be in a crowd. I didn’t need or want a huge meal or a table full of snacks. I didn’t need or want to take a trip and be somewhere new to watch the year change. For me this year, watching a little television and being asleep by 10 felt right.
 
This morning as I took down the Christmas tree, and boxed up all the decorations from the holidays, I thought of the year behind me. The things I accomplished. The experiences. The sadness. The joy. With every box I closed I also closed a little more of the year I had just lived.
 
I pondered the new year ahead. Instead of aggressively running through all the determined goals I want to accomplish, I held a calmness about the new year. Knowing that, the year will be more of a peaceful sightseeing journey than a planned drive towards a controlled destination.
 
I pick a word every year to guide my thoughts and actions. My word for this year is ‘Create.’ Just that word nudges me to a peaceful vision. Like a brush stroke slowly moving across a canvas, as the colors blend shading and highlighting all there is to see in the painting. There is a calmness in that vision. An inspired intention to create beauty.
 
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.
 
Will you join me? Maybe you think you are not artistic, but I believe you are. We all are. There is an art to creating in any fashion. We can all create better, or new, relationships. We can all create a beautiful space in our home and work environment. We can all create more love, more joy, and more happiness in our life and the lives of others.
 
It isn’t that difficult. Don’t make it into stress or another pressure in your life. Creating doesn’t have to be big and bold like noisy fireworks in the sky.  Creating can be a quiet, peaceful sightseeing journey. Every day look at your life and surroundings in a new way. Life is a thing of beauty. Life is an artful creation. You can find beauty in the simple things. And you can create this year to be filled with the simple beauty you deserve.
​
I plan to create a wonderful year! Will you?
                                ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                 Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                          We all have the ability to create beauty in life.
                                                   Start creating now!  
                                           ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #JourneyThrough #PennieHunt  #IAmGoodEnough
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 © 2013-2023 Pennie Hunt
                             This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
Feel free to forward and share this post.  Please keep the entire message intact, including  contact, logo, and copyright information. ​