The Corner of Spirit & Brave

RISK FOR LOVE

5/31/2013

RISK FOR LOVE

My husband has been called a Stand-Up-Guy.

He is grand in stature, grand in his life accomplishments, grand in his thinking and quietly grand in his giving.

He has a saying,

“If you’re going to risk, risk for love.”

We have many opportunities in life to risk- the stock market, gambling, new business ventures. But let’s look at the times we risk for love.

When you tell a potential life partner that you love them or ask them to marry you there is a chance for rejection.

We risk life as we know it when we bring a child into the world. And once they are here we would risk anything to help them and keep them safe.

If you tell a friend you love them there is a risk of shocking them, being uncomfortable or being told you are odd. People are not used to this kind of verbal affection.

We risk our emotions when we adopt a pet knowing they will reach in, imprint our hearts and then leave us long before we are ready to see them go.

When loving ourselves we are critical and question whether we are good enough or deserving of self-care and self-love.

Even when doing acts of loving kindness there is the risk of being misunderstood or having your motives judged.

When you love there is risk.
Love anyway.
Love loud.
Love bold.
Love in every moment.
Love with all the breath you have in your soul.
Love until it trembles your very reason for living.

My husband is a Stand-Up-Guy. He lives his life in a conservative understated way. He believes in researching, weighing all options and knowing the odds.

He rarely takes chances; however at a time when we thought our relationship was over he took the risk. He made the phone call. He began the conversation which led to our happy marriage.
He believes in risking for love.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie's Life Lesson- “If you’re going to risk, risk for love!"

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Copyright © 2013 Pennie Hunt
This newsletter is written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
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Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright
information. If you have any questions or comments, or for reprint
permission of this newsletter, please email: Penniehunt@gmail.com
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RELAX AND ALLOW THE PROCESS OF LIFE TO OCCUR

5/24/2013

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"Relax and allow the process of life to occur."

When I said that to a friend of mine I felt the intensity of her response ripple up her back forcing her to stretch upright and lean forward.

"Relax and allow life to occur? What about work, my kids, my husband? We have Little League games on the weekends, ballet practice after school, I volunteer on Wed. nights, my husband is out of town for work this week, and my in-laws arrive for a visit this Sunday. Relax? The next thing you are going to tell me is to sit with my legs crossed and just be. Are you crazy?"

I could see she was desperately trying to control the pace and rhythm of her busy life. By doing this the scope of her world was overwhelming her.

I know the symptoms of overwhelm, because I see them often and I have felt them. The symptoms are similar-- the tired, drawn look with heavy under eye circles from skimping on sleep; the extra 10 --ok, 15 lbs that are always trying to be lost, yet increase due to eating on the run; the endless checking of emails, texts, and phone calls; the continual list making of tasks and responsibilities required to get through the day and the week; and the quick defensiveness of why all of it is necessary and important causing life to be so crazy and out of control.

Sitting with legs crossed is not necessarily the answer, although the just being part is close. This continual out-of - breath pace that life forces us to run is counter to what we are meant to do. When we are out of breath we cannot allow life to occur, let alone relax to the place of enjoyment.

Breathing is important but remember the only breath that is significant is this one; the one we are taking right now. The last one is over and the next one has yet to fill our lungs. And it won't unless we successfully inhale and exhale the current one. You see, you can't take more than one breath at a time and the only important one is the one you are breathing right now.

If you use this concept in life you will learn to slow down and experience one event at a time. View each event and experience as a breath. Just as you will begin to focus on the breath you are taking, you will also begin to concentrate on the event you are experiencing . . . not the ones on your list for tomorrow or the responsibilities you have to others. It is this breath right now, this experience right now that is important.

You may be surprised to find that you CAN relax and allow life to occur.
~~~~~~~
Pennie's Life Lesson-
"When you focus on the moment you are in,
you can relax and allow life to occur."

All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2013 Pennie Hunt
This newsletter is 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 of this newsletter, please email: Penniehunt@gmail.com
Thank you!

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LIFE VEST

5/17/2013

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LIFE VEST

I was forced in the water 5 years, 8 months and 5 days ago.
She was pushed recently.

I met her last month. Immediately, I saw the ache in her eyes as we spoke; the hurt that hides behind the everyday chit chat and smiles. I know too well how to recognize the look of buried pain that is in the eyes of every grieving parent.

We shared photographs. We all carry one. Some are wrinkled and worn and some are sealed in protective covers to keep them safe. I noticed the care she took when I handed her the picture of my son, J.T. and the loving way she brushed her fingers over it. I silently thanked her for that. I did the same with her photograph.

We parents with angel children understand that the love we send them does not stop just because they are not physically here with us.

Our stories are different, and yet the same. The love we feel for our children. The pain we feel without them. The memories, the "did-that's”, the "wish-we-could's," the missing and the wanting all roll into one similar pond of pain.

I am further in the water than she is. The hot and cold of it, the swirling and splashing is a continual dance of how we maneuver without drowning. The trick is to do it with the grace and balance required to keep our heads above water -and breathing--always breathing.

At times I have fought the water current and at times I have floundered reaching for a life vest. The life vest has become one I wear secretly like bullet proof protection under my clothes with the hope that nothing this painful will ever penetrate my heart again.

I continue forward. I see others in the distance, with well-worn life vests, who have maneuvered the water much longer than I have. I feel comfort in knowing they are leaving a trail to follow.

I turn to see the ones behind me as they wade in, stumbling and unsure if they will survive the voyage. I reach my hand back to steady them as the waves hit, listen to them as they cry and help them position their life vests.

After 5 years, 8 months and 5 days I have learned to swim a little better. But, I will always wear my life vest.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pennie's Life Lesson:
“Sometimes we need a life vest and
sometimes we can be a life vest for others.”

All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2013 Pennie Hunt
This newsletter is 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 of this newsletter, please email: Penniehunt@gmail.com

Thank you!

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OH FERN

5/10/2013

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OH FERN

I can still hear my Dad say, “Oh, Fern”, as she began one of her stories.

He called her Fernie Annie. Her nickname is The Fernster.   Elsie Fern Tutewiler Hunt – yes, that is her name. To me she is Mom and yet, she is more than any of those names.

Growing up I remember her as the family organizer, the child wrangler, the disciplinarian, and the choreographer of our life. She was a working Mom when most were home watching soap operas and creating meals from the Betty Crocker Cook Book. She worked hard and expected the same from others.

Thinking about the Fernster, I began to wonder who she was before me, before the years of motherhood and responsibility wrapped around her.

I looked at some pictures of her in younger days. I saw the impish smile of a child and imagined her laugh. I saw the hair of a young woman flow around her physical presence – self-assured, happy and carefree.

I realized that stepping back from the Mom I've always loved I could look deeper to see a whole person. Years before her title of Mom, there was a woman filled with spirit, determination and dreams, eager to experience this world.

The Fernster is almost 82 now and slowing down a bit. Her eyesight a little less focused, her hearing and memory a little muffled, yet her spirit and spunk remain intact.

Now I see the whole person wrapped with memories of a life lived, people loved and experiences had. And yet, the spark of that young woman still burns with spirit, determination and enthusiasm for life ahead.

The Fernster. Fernie Annie. Elsie Fern Tutewiler Hunt, yes to me she is Mom and yet, she is more than any of those names. I value her not only as Mom, but as a whole person she is.
I love her so -- the person she was before me and the person she is today with me.

Oh Fern, keep telling those stories.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie's Life Lesson:
  “Step back to see the ones you love as a whole person!”


All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2013 Pennie Hunt
This newsletter is 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 of this newsletter, please email: Penniehunt@gmail.com
Thank you!

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WALK A MILE IN MY SMILE

5/3/2013

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WALK A MILE IN MY SMILE

I have been called Pollyanna, Susie Sunshine, optimistic, positive and perky throughout my life. I accept all of those as terms of endearment, when actually at times they have been said in a teasing way.

I will admit to being a glass-is-full kind of girl. You know that saying, “Walk a mile in my shoes?” Well I am asking you to, “Walk a Mile in My Smile.”

I am far from perfect and I am not perky and positive every minute of every day. I have down times, sad days and occasionally become angry. But I am asking you to join me in the up-side of walking in my shoes.

I will admit to having the advantage of being blessed with a high happiness set point. This means I seem to keep a fairly high stance of happiness no matter what. When I do have the occasional gloomy, sad, inner rain, my body fights to regain its natural value of happiness.

But above that, I have learned to live with the habit of happiness. I have several rituals that I have used over the years to support this habit and they enable me to stay fairly true to my happiness set point. Here are just a few of these happiness enhancers that you may like to try.

Begin each day with gratitude. When your eyes open in the morning take some time to lay there and be grateful for waking another day, for the bed you slept in, for the sleep you enjoyed and for the day ahead.

As you swing your feet off the bed for that first step of the day, say “Thank” as you place one foot down and “You” as you place the other foot. As you walk throughout your day, say “Thank you” with your steps. Subconsciously your mind will begin to fill in the blank of thank you for what.

As you are driving to work or to a meeting say, “Thank you” out loud for the meeting you are about to have, for the successful outcome and for the positive interaction you will have with those involved.

When you go to bed at night, instead of laying there running through the list of things you didn't get done or should have done differently, go through a mental list of thank-yous for all the people, places, and things that enriched your day.
An added bonus to this - If you have problems sleeping this will help with that too-- Counting thank-yous is better than counting sheep!

I bet you are noticing a pattern here. Yes, I believe the secret to my glass-is-always-full outlook is appreciation. If we appreciate every step we make, every breath we take and every interaction we have there will be little space left for negativity and anger.

Even if you have little to appreciate – begin there. Appreciate that. Be grateful for that. Say thank you for that.

As your appreciation grows so will your happiness. As your happiness grows the love you hold on the inside will spill to the outside and soon you will be walking miles in your own smile.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie's Life Lesson:
“As your appreciation and gratitude grows
so will your happiness!”

All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2013 Pennie Hunt
This newsletter is 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 of this newsletter, please email: Penniehunt@gmail.com
Thank you!

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RISK FOR LOVE

RELAX AND ALLOW THE PROCESS OF LIFE TO OCCUR

LIFE VEST

OH FERN

WALK A MILE IN MY SMILE

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