 Good Enough It was 4 o’clock in the morning on September 17, 2007 when I wrote my son’s obituary. I wrote about the twinkle in his eye he had when he was born. I wrote about how he wore chaps and a cowboy hat when he was little and loved the “Three Amigos” movie. I wrote about the home runs he hit in Little League and how to him the competition was less important than having fun. I wrote about his talent with the guitar, drums and song writing. I wrote about his sense of humor, his style and his big hugs and smile. I wrote about his compassion for others, his love for his family and friends, and his pride for his daughter. I didn't write about his flaws. I didn't write about his missteps. I didn't write about his mistakes. I didn't write that at times he felt like he was not “good enough.” We all hold a secret space inside that we don’t feel good enough in one area or many. We are not tall enough, thin enough, or beautiful enough. We are not educated enough, successful enough or powerful enough. We are not strong enough, eager enough or motivated enough. We are not caring enough, loving enough or doing enough. We are not happy enough, healthy enough or holy enough. By constantly comparing ourselves to what others are doing, we will live in the shadow of what we expect for ourselves. The internal conversation goes like this: “They are better than me. They expect me to be better. I expect me to be better.” Then our mind’s response is: “Therefore I am not good enough to be loved AND I don’t even love myself.” How do some people get past this and some don’t. How do some hold the inspiration to succeed and some medicate it away with food, excessive exercise or drugs? They learn what I call The Power of Cope and Hope. Let me share this concept. COPE: Accept the life gifts that cannot be changed. If you are 5’ 2” you will never be 6’. If you experience tragedy in your life you will never be able to return to the life as you knew it before. If a loved one passes away you do not have the power to bring them back. Some things you just do not have the authority to change. Even tragedy, disappointment and crisis are the life gifts given to you. They are not given to you as punishment. They are given to you for the purpose of learning, loving and teaching. The challenges and heartbreaks in your life also hold the opposite value of love and gratitude. You must learn to search for it. In the process of accepting the gifts you are given you will learn to cope. Search for what is good and what you can be grateful for in every situation in your life. HOPE: Hold hope that the things that can be changed will change. If you don’t have an education today, know that you can achieve one in the future. Are you struggling to gain a foot hold on a career path or finding the life partner you desire? Be excited with every disastrous date you experience and every career door that is closed in your face. This just means you are one date closer to the perfect life partner; one job interview closer to the job you are designed to do. If you are in the darkness of depression or grief, know there is a light that will enter your life again. If you are struggling with addiction, believe that you can follow the path of sobriety. Hold hope as a given. Aknowing that while you stand in an undesirable space now, you won’t always be standing there. It is in understanding and practicing The Power of Cope and Hope that we begin to believe we ARE good enough. The secret “I’m-not-good-enough” space we hold will fill with light to force out the fear of being less than anyone else. We begin to understand that life is not something that happens to us - life is something that is given to us. Our internal conversation will begin to be one of power, self-love and confidence. In the end it doesn't matter that we made mistakes or had missteps. In the end, as in our beginning, we are all no better or less than another. We are all born with a twinkle in our eye. And, none of our obituaries will say that we were not good enough. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie's Life Lesson: "No one is better or less than another. We are all Good Enough!" ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN... My intent in sharing this with you is to encourage you to love yourself and BELIEVE that YOU are good enough. 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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THE MEMORY MAKER
One hand carried my bucket while the other grasped the largest stick I could find to swish away the foliage and shoo away the bugs. I would follow my grandmother trying to match my small footprints with hers. We were on safari in this land of wilderness. Reaching the creek, we searched for a rocky entry to the water. Stepping in, the mud squished between my toes as my feet and legs quickly became red and numb from the cold. I took deep breaths as the crawdads snapped at my feet and the sunfish brushed their thorned backs against me. We would hike back to her house with treasures in our buckets – magnificent rocks that sparkled in the sun like diamonds and gold; crawdads to watch as they pinched and squirmed; snail shells; and flowers. All were the riches of life and the secrets of nature. Her property bordered a state park. She didn’t take me in her car to the paved parking lot to play on the sand filled playground. She didn’t take me to the groomed pebble lined paths with arrows signaling points of interest. She took me on a quest-- trekking from her yard to the thickly wooded seclusion where trees were curled with the bending of age and the over grown creek bed was the land of nature in full celebration. Even today, I remember the sounds of the crickets, the smell of the muddy creek water and the constant swatting of mosquitoes as we ate our picnic lunches while discussing how the flow of the water smoothed and polished the rocks. Nothing my grandmother did with me was average or normal. It was always an adventure; an artistic creation; a moment of learned love. She was a Memory Maker. Making memories is the experience. The gift of an experience is worth more than any item we can give. The gift of an experience can even make legs covered in mosquito bites a joyful memory! Who can you be a Memory Maker for? ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Give the gift of time and experiences. Be a Memory Maker!” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN... My intent in sharing this with you is to encourage you to create those moments in life you AND others will always remember. Be a Memory Maker! 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 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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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]  THREE ABILITIES THAT DETERMINE YOUR SUCCESS AND HAPPINESS Are you searching for the secret to happiness? Do you wonder why other people seem to be more successful than you—even if you believe that you work harder than they do? It comes down to three attributes. Here it is 1 – 2 – 3! 1. The ability to accept and adapt to change. 2. The ability to believe you are Good Enough to love and be loved. 3. The ability to express gratitude. Let me break these down for you. I learned as a little girl growing up in a military family to make friends on the playground or stand alone. I learned that I needed to accept the changes that occurred when my father received orders that moved us to a new community and that I needed to adapt to my new environment, make friends and enjoy the new normal. This has served me well through career changes, divorce and grief. While others live in the Who-Moved-My-Cheese stagnation unable to accept that their life has changed and unable to adapt to the new adventures ahead of them, successful, happy people hone the ability to accept and adapt. You may not always like the event that spurred the change, but cultivate the ability to bloom in the space you find yourself – no matter what! We are bombarded with the message that we are Not Good Enough! We all protect that space inside where we believe we are not thin enough, smart enough, rich enough…the list goes on and on. The newest guilt inducers verified by the over 300,000 self-help books on the market are that we are not happy enough, healthy enough or holy enough. Here’s the thing – WE ARE ALL GOOD ENOUGH!! Just by the pure biological chance that we were created proves this –it is no accident! We were all meant to be here! I can tell you this all day, but YOU must do the work on this one. YOU have to believe right down to your inner core that YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH! It doesn't matter what trauma you had as a child or what wrongs you have committed, you must come to a place of knowing that you are Good Enough to love and be loved. If you don’t believe it no one else will believe it of you. Relationships, love, happiness and success will avoid you—after all you are sending off the vibe that you aren't Good Enough and don’t deserve it! Lastly, you must express gratitude. You will never receive more if you are not grateful for what you have. If all you have is a pair of shoes and a burger to eat, be grateful for that! Be grateful for every step, every breath, and every moment you are given and for all that your life is filled with. Don’t just say, “Thank you,” feel gratitude with every cell of your body. Tell others why you are thankful for them. Write thank you notes, make phone calls, journal, pray, sing, dance – whatever moves you to a loving place, do it! You cannot hold on to a negative like hurt, anger or fear when you are filled with gratitude. Practice the ability to express gratitude until it becomes your DNA. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie's Life Lesson: “To be happy and successful cultivate these three attributes: The Ability to accept and adapt to change; The Ability to believe you are Good Enough to love and be loved; The Ability to express gratitude.” ~ Pennie Hunt ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ My intent in sharing this with you is to encourage you to practice these three attributes until they become part of your daily living! Monitor how this positively affects 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 © 2013-2016 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] 
MY PATH TO GRACE
“Let’s name her SPIKE,” J.T. said with a grin as he dangled a tiny black spiked collar in front of me. “We are not naming this cute little puppy that will be all of 12 lbs full grown SPIKE!” I snapped. My son’s grin told me that was the point- the humor of a tiny fluffy Shih Tzu with a name that conjured visions of an attack dog. She was named Yogee, and yet even after both my son and Yogee passed away, everyone remembers the joke that followed her through her 15 years. The sadness of losing a pet after that long opens up a thought process of do we want another dog? Can we handle the puppyhood? Did we want the responsibility? When should we think about it- is it too soon? Can we handle saying goodbye in another 15 years? Loss is hard, but with everything in life, as they say…the beat goes on. The heartbeat of love and life goes on. I researched Shih Tzu breeders and found three, in three different states. All of them had a detailed process of applications and background checks before they considered the forever homes for their puppies. The waiting lists were 9-12 months, so I filled out the applications and put it out of my mind. The crazy chain of events that happened next was, I believe, Grace in action! 
It began with a simple text message from my daughter that read:
Brady just said, “Yogee is in heaven and Grandma is going to get a new Yogee puppy –on TUESDAY!” Is he correct? This made me chuckle coming from my 4 year old grandson. I responded with, “Well, everything except Tuesday… maybe late summer.” A few nights later I had a dream that Yogee had puppies next to my bed. The dream was clear, in color and felt like it was REAL. I reached down and picked up a white and copper brown one – the color I hoped for in my next Shih Tzu. I knew there were other puppies in the dream, but I could only see this one. Yogee was walking away. I called to her saying over and over again that she needed to come back and take care of the puppies. She just shook her head and kept walking away as if she knew I would do it. The extraordinary clarity of the dream spurred a long conversation with my husband the next morning about what it meant and why Yogee brought a puppy to me – the exact color that I wanted. 
A couple of days passed, but the comment from my grandson and the dream lodged in my mind. Watching TV one evening, I received an email to my phone from one of the breeders saying she had a female puppy available and wanted to know if I was interested. The picture attached was of a white and copper furball of cuteness. It was her eyes that drew me in.
As I stretched the screen on my phone I saw familiar eyes … they were Yogee’s eyes looking deep into my heart. Tears welled and I heard the word, -- “Grace.” Not wanting my husband to see my tears, I forwarded the email to him. I waited for his reaction. I saw him enlarge his screen to see the very thing I saw. The eyes. He looked at me and said, “What are we going to do?” I didn’t know. We had resigned ourselves to wait and allow the loss of Yogee to settle. To enjoy a bit of freedom without the responsibility of a dog. And yet, the messages were clearly being laid before me. My tears surged with every conversation about this puppy and with every photo the breeder sent. The messages continued. We were told this puppy was the runt of the litter. (Just like Yogee.) After sleepless nights of caring for the tiny pup and worried about her ability to survive, the breeder wanted to keep her. Deciding she shouldn’t, she scanned her waiting list reading the profiles of prospective families and kept coming back to us. When we found out that the puppy’s mother was named Beah, I knew. I ran to the scrapbook I had created for Yogee and pointing to the registration papers I showed my husband… Yogee’s mother was named Bea! We made arrangements to visit the puppy. A sweet women invited us into her home. She picked up the smallest of four puppies and laid her in my lap. She called her, Emma – mysteriously close to the name of my granddaughter Emmie – the daughter of my passed son. She said, “There is something special about this puppy. I tell everyone I believe she is an angel.” The day we adopted her our home filled with joy. We heard the patter of paws running on our floors. We enjoyed snuggles and cuddles and puppy kisses. I was convinced she was brought to us through the mystical process of grace orchestrated by J.T. and Yogee … a process others may not understand or comprehend, but to me it was clear. We named her Gracie Beah. The next morning I took her to my daughter’s home so Gracie could meet her family. As I was leaving I told them all to say goodbye to Gracie. Hugs and kisses irrupted and the last in line was Brady, the one who predicted the arrival of a puppy. He kissed her, looked in her eyes and said, “Goodbye Spike, Spikie, Spike.” Stunned, I asked him why he called her that. He had no way of knowing the Spike story. He simple shrugged and said, “I just felt like it.” My daughter and I smiled at each other. The last message had been given, and yes, the beat goes on. Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Pay attention to the magical messages of Grace. Follow the path they lead you to.” 
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YOUR TURN... I shared this with you to encourage you to watch for messages of Grace --and follow the path they lead you to. 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] 
THREE WORDS
Can you describe yourself in three words? How do you see yourself? How do you believe others see you? When I was asked these questions I thought of words like Mom, Grandmother, wife, speaker, writer, but I wanted better words. wanted words with more grandeur. I wanted words that carried with them not just a superficial description of looks or my job(s) in life, but a feeling, a purpose and a mission. After weeks of rolling this idea through every wrinkle of my mind and struggling to create a short list of three, I decided I wasn't the most reliable person to ask. I wanted to know how I was doing and if others would give me a passing grade or if I needed to study harder and practice more in order to be described in the way I hoped. So, I sent out this email: Hello, I am working on a project and wonder if you would take a second to help me out. It is easy - all I need you to do is send me a few adjectives that you'd think of to honestly describe me. You can send me three or twenty or as many you wish to share, but make it easy for you. No, this isn't one of the silly email "forwards" -- I really am working on a project. Thank you so much in advance for doing this! Pennie This is not an exercise for the faint of spirit. As I hit the send button, bubbles over my head began filling with words I wouldn't like. What if the responses were negative? What if they were less than flattering? What if no one responded; what would that mean? But there it was, heading through the mysteries of the Internet and landing smack in the middle of 100 computer screens! I sent it to close friends and to acquaintances. I sent it to family members. I sent it to people who see me daily and ones who hadn't seen me in 10 years. I sent it to those who I was confident would say glowing things and I sent it to those who I feared might not. From young adolescent friends of my son to legislators, they held my life image at their computer keyboards. I waited. The first response came in minutes, others came weeks later. They came in clusters of pings to my computer and in single messages late in the night. They came in short emails with just three words. They came in lists of adjectives depicting my impression on them with long elaborations of why they chose the words they did. The fear of what would be given me as the mirror of myself became a life opening experience. I was humbled by the response as an ultimate washing of appreciation and love came through in the words given to me. Some made me laugh. Some made me cry. Some made me cry more. Only three people asked me why I wanted to know. It didn’t seem to matter. They just responded. I created a spread sheet to track the words. Repeated words were given a tally mark. The spreadsheet grew with a list of 197 words. Very quickly 13 words began creating a pattern of repetition. The top three winners were Caring, Thoughtful, and Kind. These were followed closely with Compassionate, Honest, and Loving. What a lesson I had learned! These are simple words, but I realize these are my words of grandeur; my words of feeling, purpose and mission. These are my words to live by. Now, I have a standard to uphold. This is how others see me and I don’t want to let them down. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie's Life Lesson: When you create a standard of compassion, kindness and love to live your life by- you will receive compassion, kindness and love from others. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
YOUR TURN...
I shared this with you to encourage you to think about how you see yourself AND how others see you. Is it the vision you want? 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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