 WHO TAUGHT YOU HOW TO SMILE? I’m a natural smiler. I smile all the time. Some people don’t. At 6’5” my husband’s size is intimidating. His natural serious expression adds to this intimidating appearance and can unintentionally make him appear angry, annoyed or uninterested. Recently, when I was encouraging him to SMILE, he responded with, “I am smiling on the inside. No one ever taught me how to smile on the outside.” As babies we are taught to walk by repeatedly being stood in front of open arms and encouraged to move our feet in clumsy toddler fashion until we move across the room. If we don’t succeed we fall and are reinforced that it “feels better” to walk than to fall. Were you taught to smile in the same way? Were you taught how to raise the corners of your mouth to form one smile after another like putting one foot in front of the other to walk? We aren’t taught that even the slightest lift of the corners of our mouths lessens the creases in our foreheads, removes the heaviness on our face, and allows our eyes to sparkle. We aren’t taught that a smile is a gift we give ourselves and the easiest gift to give to others --It is almost guaranteed that if you give one you will receive one in return. We aren’t taught that smiles have the power to change someone’s day; to lift a heart; and to share love in a spontaneous way. We aren’t taught that a pleasant resting face with the hint of a smile creates a welcoming persona when others see you and a full out smile when you meet people makes them feel important and ‘seen.” We aren’t taught that a smile opens doors, opens opportunities and opens hearts.” We aren’t taught that it “feels better” to smile. I am giving you the SMILE CHALLENGE. For one week practice smiling like you do any other health routine like exercise, brushing your teeth or sleeping. Three times a day stand in front of a mirror and lift the corners of your mouth. At first you may have to use your two index fingers to push those corners up, but I promise you they WILL move! Try variations of how you smile. A pleasant grin. A happy beam. A full out show-all-your-teeth smile. Then throughout the day let yourself smile. Smile at strangers as you pass them. Smile at the sunshine. Smile to and for yourself when you are alone. It just Feels Better to smile! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: “A smile opens doors, opens opportunities and opens hearts.” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
I shared this with you to encourage you share your smile with yourself and others. It really does FEEL better to smile! 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 © 2013-2016 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information. If you have any questions or comments, or for reprint permission please email: [email protected]
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PEACE FEELS LIKE…
My grandson drew a picture with a caption that read, “Peace Feels Like Sitting in a Warm Chair.” At six years old he understands his Place of Peace. It is a place where he feels safe, loved, centered and warm. His Place of Peace is in the safety of a chair with the sun warming his heart and looking into the magical wonders of the ocean. It reminded me of my meditation chair. It is growing old and tattered and as with the wisdom of age, has become softer, safer and stronger. It has held me for years of long hours of meditations, journaling and prayers. The spirit of these practices layer into every aging wrinkle of the chair’s fabric. I feel a sacred sense of love and kindness every morning as I sink into its safe arms… settling into my Place of Peace. What does Peace feel like to you? Where do you feel safe, loved, centered and warm? How often do you visit this sacred space to warm your heart and center your soul? For me, I agree with the wisdom of a six year old, - “Peace Feels Like Sitting in a Warm Chair.” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Find your Place of Peace. Visit it often.” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
YOUR TURN...
I shared this with you to encourage you think about what PEACE feels like to you. Tell me where your Place of Peace is! hare 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 © 2013-2016 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information. If you have any questions or comments, or for reprint permission please email: [email protected]  BREATH OF GREEN
So often I hear people saying they are rushed, tired and overwhelmed. They are running from one meeting to the next, stressed about paying bills and worried about keeping others happy. What they are ultimately doing is living in fear. Fear of being late. Fear of not having enough money. Fear of disappointing others. And the BIG one -fear of not being good enough. Do you see yourself in that scenario? If so, here is something that always works for me. Your mind cannot live in fear and love simultaneously. Therefore, the answer is to increase love. You must begin by increasing the love inside of You! Begin by understanding a new concept. Green is the color of love. Yes, Green! I know what you are thinking - wait a minute, what about red; the color of valentines, hearts and roses? Chakras, or energy centers, are located at strategic points in the body and are aligned with a color value. The heart Chakra is Green and corresponds with unconditional love, compassion and healing. Imagine a beautiful glowing emerald Green circle that radiates around your heart. To increase love in yourself, for yourself and for others, you must fill this energy center with love. This will in turn multiply and fill you with love. Love will then spill outwardly - to others and to every aspect of your life. This is where my "Breath of Green" comes in. How often do you see green? Green is everywhere! When you see Green, take in a slow deep breath. As you do, visualize breathing in Green; breathing in love. At first you may even say out loud or to yourself, "breathe in love." As you exhale imagine pushing out fear. Visualize fear as black, dirty, and ugly. At first you may even say out loud or to yourself, "breathe out fear." This only takes a few seconds. Breathe in fresh clean love. Exhale painful fear. With every breath you will feel calmer. No one will even know you are doing it, but they will notice a change in you. YOU will FEEL a change in you. Soon you will begin to see Green everywhere. Your eyes will begin searching for it. A woman will walk into a meeting wearing a Green sweater. A dog with a Green leash will walk by you on the sidewalk. The menu at the lunch deli will have the special outlined in Green. The junk mail you are throwing away will be in a Green envelope. You will see a Green light as you are driving -Go Now- breathe in love! Make an effort to try this for one week. Once you experience the cleansing of fear and feel the new calmness of love take over, you will want to continue this practice. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie's Life Lesson: "Love and fear are not compatible. Fill yourself with love, in order to diminish fear." ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN... I shared this with you to give you a tool to relax and calm your busy life-- in a quick and easy way! How many times did you see and think Green just by reading this. Tell us how this concept worked for you! 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 © 2013-2016 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information. If you have any questions or comments, or for reprint permission please email: [email protected] 
40 Minutes On The 40th Floor
It was a short getaway. No speaking engagements. No work. No commitments. Staying on the 53rd floor of a Las Vegas hotel gave a whole new meaning to a room with a view! Leaving the room to meet my husband, I grabbed my almost empty Starbucks cup and finished drinking my Chia Latte as I turned the hallway corner to the elevators. It was my lucky day... no waiting…the center elevator was open and I quickly joined the man already inside. After the normal elevator greeting – you know the quick eye contact, smile and head nod -- we both leaned against our separate sides ready for the ride to the lobby. Suddenly there was a very loud CLUNK! “That doesn’t sound good,” I said. The elevator then forcefully jerked as it came to a sudden stop on the 40th floor. “Oh, this can’t be good…,” I began to say as I was interrupted by the elevator alarm blaring and an automatic message telling us the elevator had “malfunctioned” and to push the alarm button for help. My new friend, Pat, followed directions and pushed the button only to be met with the recording, “Thank you for calling Vdara, all of our operators are busy, please stay on the line and you will be answered in the order of your call." Hmmm… ...obviously not in the order of importance, I thought. In the next 40+ minutes I learned a few Life Lessons: 1. Closed spaces get hot very quickly and water is a good thing. ~ In the first ten minutes the temperature began rising dramatically. I could feel my face flush and saw the same in my friend. Typically, I am not a fan of drinking water. Suddenly, the health benefits of water became very clear to me and I began wishing I had some. 2. Little things matter. ~ Rapidly the circle of my thoughts became very small. The show tickets for later that night didn’t matter. In a world where time speeds by at the pace of technology, each minute in this elevator slowed to an excruciating drag. Looking at my empty Starbucks cup and with no restroom in sight, I began regretting drinking the whole thing! Then I realized in my hand I held the biggest treasure I could think of at the moment – an empty cup. If worse came to worse, I was prepared. 3. You can become friends with strangers quickly. ~ My elevator mate was obviously not a talker. He kept his eyes focused on the elevator control panel most of the time. I thought he was a kind, gentle and calm person. I on the other hand, may have been his worst nightmare to be stuck in an elevator with. I’m a speaker--I love to talk! By the end of our time together we had negotiated our communication styles and become friends. (I will be honest here and admit that now I survey the people I step into an elevator with- you never know when you may enjoy spending a lot more time with them than you thought. I also will never squeeze in as the-last-one-that-can-fit in a crowded elevator just to save time.) 
4. It's All Communication. ~
No one on the outside can hear you when you are trapped in an elevator and you cannot hear them. As Pat continued to try the emergency button, I remembered my husband was waiting for me, so I began texting him. The texts would not go through the steel box I found myself in. At some point I reached for my phone again to call my husband. Amazingly the call worked and he answered. I blubbered out the story of being trapped in Elevator “E8.” As he quickly found a manager, a woman’s voice began talking to us through the elevator speaker. There was relief in knowing we were finally being “heard!” 5. What if’s make you crazy! ~ At first I thought this is minor and the elevator would start in a minute, but at about the 30 minute mark I began to think, What if we are here for hours? After realizing my phone worked, Pat called his wife. I heard him say to her, “I am fine …as long as we don’t fall 40 floors!” I told him that I had not thought of that and thanked him for giving me that visual that began to loop the What If scenarios in my mind. 6. It's only a story for a minute then everyone moves on. ~ We began to hear a faint pounding from the outside. This was the first indication that we may actually be freed. When the door was finally forced open, we found ourselves four feet from the landing. Reaching my arms up, I was swiftly lifted out through the opening and greeted by a grouping of security staff, elevator technicians and my husband. I remember being handed water, asked if I was okay and in a blur I was back in my room. Everyone had moved on and the incident was over. The fact is, when something like this happens, whether it is 40 minutes or 4 days, it is only important because it's happening to you...no one else cares or notices. It's your story- a quick impact in your life that changes you. 7. You DO have to get back on the horse – or in my case back in the elevator. ~ The next day I came around the same hallway and pushed the down arrow for an elevator. E8 opened. I froze. Did I really want to get on the same elevator? Really, Pennie, what are the odds of it happening again? I told myself. This time the elevator was empty as I stepped in. When the door closed, I quickly realized I didn’t have an empty cup in my hand. I checked to make sure I had my phone. I took a deep breath and the elevator began to move. This is good, this is good! I thought. Then the elevator stopped – ON THE 40TH FLOOR! My heart raced and my mind went right back to the experience of the day before – the heat, the uncertainty…. The door opened and a happy young couple joined me. I had the urge to tell them about my experience the day before. Instead, we did the elevator greeting – you know the quick eye contact, smile and head nod - then we all leaned against our separate sides for the ride to the lobby. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: “When you experience an event, it's your story- a quick impact in your life that changes you. How you carry the story and learn from it is the reason for the experience.” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
YOUR TURN...
My intent in sharing this with you is to encourage you to pay attention to the experiences that happen to you and what lessons you gain from them. 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 © 2013-2016 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information. If you have any questions or comments, or for reprint permission please email: [email protected] |
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PLEASE NOTE: This page does not provide medical or legal advice, professional diagnosis, opinion, treatment or services to you or to any other individual. Through this site and links to other sites, Pennie Hunt provides general information for inspiration, encouragement and educational purposes only. The information provided in this site, or through links to other sites, is not a substitute for legal, medical, or professional care, and you should not use the information in place of a visit, call or the advice of your lawyer, physician or other healthcare provider. |