The Corner of Spirit & Brave

ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH WHAT YOU HAVE? by Pennie Hunt

2/25/2022

The server began clearing the dishes from our table and said,
    “Would you like to order dessert or are you satisfied?”

This comment made me push back from the table and sit up straight. It wasn’t uncommon to be asked if you would like dessert after a restaurant meal. I’m used to hearing,
“Would you like dessert?”
“Did you save room for dessert?”
“Can I tempt you with a sweet treat?”
And so many other ways I’ve been asked that question,
But…
It was the way she asked it that caused me to pause. Am I satisfied? I had to rethink my plan. Many times, when I go out for a nice dinner, I automatically order dessert. Sometimes I am completely stuffed by the time I have made my way through an appetizer, salad, the main meal….and of course, dessert is part of the ritual of dining out. Being satisfied with what I had consumed so far had never played into the mindless response of ordering dessert. I always want dessert! The way she asked the question forced me to differentiate my want from my need; my contentment from my greed; my hunger from my desire.

The truth was I was full. My hunger had been (by definition) satisfied. The way she posed the question humbled me. I had just enjoyed a lovely meal. The quality and quantity was more than many people in our world have to eat in a day. I was embarrassed to ask for more.

This experience happened years ago, and yet, I have never forgotten that server. I have never forgotten the question. I have never forgotten the lesson.

How many times in life do we automatically want more? We want a nicer car, a bigger home, a larger paycheck. We want more attention, more friends, more love, and more happiness. When did we become so unfulfilled with where we are? Why have we learned this behavior of never being content with what we have?

Satisfaction comes from knowing when our belly is full, our thirst is quenched, and our life needs are met. The reality is, we can only drive one car at a time. We can only occupy one home at a time. And, no matter how much money we have, we can only eat one burger at a time. Satisfaction comes from knowing when enough is enough.
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Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Be satisfied with where you are right now, with what you have right now, with the breath you are taking right now. Satisfaction comes from knowing when enough is enough.”
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YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at:
PennieHunt@gmail.com.
Thank you!
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ARE YOUR BATTERIES IN CORRECTLY? by Pennie Hunt

2/18/2022

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I bought new candles. The kind that uses batteries instead of a real flame. The description said they were realistic, and the flame would flicker. They even came with their own batteries. I could not wait to try them. I took them out of the package, turned them on and nothing happened. No light. No flicker.

Nothing. My first thought was that I had fallen for a gimmick.

After fussing with them for a while I realized the batteries were in wrong. When I switched them so the positive end of the battery went in first, the magic happened. It was a simple and easy switch that created a massive difference in the candles and in me. I had immediately jumped to negative conclusions about the candles, but with one quick adjustment, I suddenly loved them.

How often do we instantly look at the negative in life? We can fuss about going to work and all the projects we are behind on. We can become frustrated with messes that our children make, or that our significant others do not notice the nice things we have done. We can engage our anger toward drivers on the interstate or our internet connection being slow. Negative. Negative. Negative.

Or we can make one quick adjustment and look at the positive side. We can be grateful we have a job to go to and that the job pays our mortgage and buys our groceries. We can be grateful for the gift of our children and enjoy their messes for the short number of years we have them in our home. We can love our significant others and begin noticing what wonderful things they do for us. Positive. Positive. Positive.

Then there is the news. Every morning the headlines seem grim. The weather is brutal. The political climate is divided. The stock market is precarious. There is a shortage of workers, lumber, automobiles, coins, and now wheat. Reading these dire reports puts us in the negative before we even begin our day. We can become as a pessimistic, gloomy, and depressed as Eeyore in Winnie The Pooh. The dark cloud will always be over our head and the sky will constantly be falling because Eeyore always knew it would.

This is when we should switch our internal batteries and put the positive first. As you stand in a warm shower or drink that cup of coffee as the sun comes up put yourself in that moment. Think of the positives in your life. Think of what you can and cannot control. Typically, the list of what you can control will be on the positive side. You can control your reactions, your emotions, and your decisions. These can all be positive.

You cannot control the weather, the political arena, or the shortages. These are things we can adjust our lives around and adapt to the changes.

There is a reason batteries have positive and negative sides. There is a reason they have to be put in correctly before the energy connects to make things work. It is the same for us. If we always put the negative first in our minds and lives, we will be filled with fear, frustration, and anger. Our lives will not work well.

If we put the positive first in our minds and lives, we will fill ourselves with light, an optimistic outlook, and a confidence in life.

I love my new candles. They fill my heart with a calming light. They are peaceful to watch as they flicker. And, they only work if the positive goes in first.
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Pennie’s Life Lesson: You can control your reactions, your emotions, and your decisions. Make them positive.
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DO YOU EVER THINK ABOUT LOVE? by Pennie Hunt

2/11/2022

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We talk about love all the time. We love this thing and we love that person. Yet, how often do you really THINK about love? Most people spend more time deciding what to have for dinner than thinking about love. Shouldn’t this intense feeling of deep affection rally more than an occasional thought?

What is love?
What does it mean to love and be loved?
Who do you love and what makes you love them?
Who loves you and what makes them love YOU?
How do you show love through actions, words, expressions, and service?
Are you showing it in a way that makes that person FEEL loved?
What makes YOU feel loved?
How do you feel when you GIVE love?

When you begin thinking about Love and asking these questions, your ability to express love and feel love will increase. That only makes sense, right?
Take some time to study your habits of love. Study the way you love the ones closest to you and how they love you. Study how you show love to the clerk at the grocery store or the co-workers you interact with all day. Study how you treat yourself. Are you loving to yourself?

It is easy to create a habit of nonchalant loving without ever thinking about LOVE. Maybe it is time to begin nurturing the way you love. Once you have answered the questions above and studied your love habits, it is time to take action. What act of love can you do first thing in the morning? Make coffee for your spouse or put notes in your children’s backpacks. Smile at other drivers on your way to work and allow that car to move in line in front of you. Buy the people behind you coffee in the drive-through. At work compliment coworkers. Send someone a note in the mail, just to say you are thinking of them. Be joyful when you pick your children up from school. Tell your wife or husband that you missed him/her and thought of him/her during the day. Call your parents. And never, NEVER go to bed or hang up the phone without saying, I LOVE YOU!

All of those suggestions sound like acts of kindness. Loving kindness. It takes a while to create a new habit, but you can do it. February is the month of love, but it is time to THINK about love every day. As the song goes,

“What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It's the only thing that there's just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love
No not just for some, but for everyone.” - Jackie DeShannon

Begin today. Tell others that you love them. Show others that you love them. Start planning LOVE into your day. Don’t forget to love yourself in the process!
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Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Do you ever THINK about LOVE? Maybe it is time to begin!”
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LEARN THE ART OF WRITING LOVE NOTES by Pennie Hunt

2/6/2022

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I send Love Notes.
Some say, “Thank You.”
Some say, “I’m Thinking of You.”
Some say, “I Am Grateful To Have Met You.”
And, some just say, “Hi.”
They all say, “I Love You.”

You see, I'm a conversationalist; A communicator.
I love to talk.
I love to write.
I love words and the way they somersault out of my mouth and into the hearts of those who receive them. I love to give pieces of myself to others by sending a gift that carries with it my heart thoughts.

Life may be too easy for us today. We simply type a note through our emails or texting and it is magically in the hands of the receiver within seconds.

I remember the magic of writing a letter to my Grandmother asking for my favorite peanut butter cookie recipe and waiting in anticipation for the postal service to deliver her response.

I remember waiting two weeks for a letter from my sister with the much-awaited pictures of my newborn nephew and then hurriedly writing her back to say, “Send more! Send more!”
I have saved boxes full of the love notes.
I have letters my dad wrote to my mom when they were dating.
I have letters my grandmother wrote to her mom when she was pregnant with my dad.

I have a bundle of memories tied with a ribbon from one of my best friends when we were exchanging letters weekly the year before she passed.
I have a postcard my dad wrote to me when I was four and he was away on temporary leave with the Air Force.
I have the first Mother’s Day cards my children gave me with their tiny crayon scribbles and the last note my son ever wrote to me.
I have 20 years of Valentine cards from my husband that hold personal thoughts and moments of love.
I have scraps of paper that my mom wrote notes on after a visit and hid for me to find later.
I have notes and letters from people who have read my column or heard me speak and take the time to share their lives and thoughts with me.

Today we have immediacy and instant gratification. But there is magic in holding a note created with love; Tracing the swirl of the handwriting with your finger; Seeing the smudges of the ink or noticing the faint smell of the perfume or cologne of the sender; knowing the message has traveled across the country or even across town to arrive in your hand.

When I put pen to paper, I spill my thoughts and emotions with the intent of someone else holding them. My love and my energy travel with my words. From my hand to their hand, I want them to hold the gift of me. The gift of love.

Heart-to-heart communication cannot be generated by a machine. This is personal.
I send Love Notes. They all say, I Love You.
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Pennie’s Life Lesson:
“Take the time to write a love note to someone you care about– make it personal.”
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ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH WHAT YOU HAVE? by Pennie Hunt

ARE YOUR BATTERIES IN CORRECTLY? by Pennie Hunt

DO YOU EVER THINK ABOUT LOVE? by Pennie Hunt

LEARN THE ART OF WRITING LOVE NOTES by Pennie Hunt

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