​Before he said hello, I blurted out, "Do you have any coffee over there?”
This was our code for – I need to talk, can I come over?
I drove the 6 blocks to his office. He was sitting at his desk, happily surrounded by pictures of his fishing adventures.

These coffee conversations began with the same ritual. First, he would show me the photo of his most recent “biggest catch.” The fish always looked huge in the photo. Once he told me how he had mastered the perfect angle and focus of his camera to make it look larger than life.  I oooh and aahed and called him the mighty fisherman.

Next came the pouring of the coffee. It was thick, strong, and served in a cup from his mismatched office collection. No cream. No sugar. No asking if it was too strong.
It was the expectation that it was to be enjoyed - as is.

Finally, with the ritual complete, he would sit back with his cup, his hair framing his face, and with a familiar silence stare at me.
His eyes locking on mine without words said,
--What do you need to talk about it?

This was a scene we played out many times. The problem of the day was hashed out with laughter, at times tears, but consistently with his calm and clarifying wisdom. I walked away feeling stronger, smarter, and grateful for having him in my life. His name was Dan.

One day during a work meeting, Dan was exceptionally quiet. Not his quipping, sharp-witted, entertaining self. While chatting during the morning break, Dan mentioned that he had a headache that wouldn’t go away.

Soon the black moleskin calendar that he carried in his chest pocket, once filled with meetings, appointments, and deadlines, began to mean very little. Painfully I watched my mentor, colleague, coffee mate, father, brother, teacher, friend slow down with the ending of life.

I would call his wife to arrange a visit and drive to his home to talk. Our talks were shorter now with fewer words. No fish photos, no oohing, no aahing, no ritual.

One sunny day we walked slowly to his front yard patio. Silently we sat with the sun on our faces, listening to the birds and looking at the sky. His wife brought us coffee. Like Dan, the coffee was thinner, weaker, and held in a smaller container than I was used to.

Breaking the silence, he said, “Are you happy?"
Before I could respond his weakened voice followed, “You need to go fishing!”

I started chattering about how, yes, I was happy and all was going well with me. I told him I wish I could slow down and enjoy the sun more like I was doing with him right now.

He said, "Oh, I don't know if you need to slow down like me, but I want you to relax. I want you to have fun.” And adamantly ended with, “I want you to go fishing!"

Again, I began talking about how I had fished as a little girl and had taken my kids fishing when they were young, but really didn’t think it was something I would do now. His piercing eyes stopped my chatter.

I have learned life lessons in many ways; through experience, through suffering, through joy, but this time it was sitting on a patio with the sun on my face through the locking of eyes.

Silently his determined eyes told me
Wake up! This isn’t about baiting a hook or holding a fishing pole. This is about finding what you love...coming alive with joy…. Being happy… this is about Living!

The stare-down continued until the communication of the moment was solidified. He knew. I knew. I got it! I understood. He loved fishing. Fishing was his worship; the river was the sanctuary for his soul. Fishing was where he found joy, peace, and contentment. That is what he wanted for me.

I never forgot the lesson. And the amazing part is…. I found it!
When I write, when I speak and look in the eyes of someone touched by my words, and when I help people, I am fishing. I feel it! I feel the contentment. I feel the peace. I feel the joy. I have found what I love to do… and I am doing it!
Yes, Dan, I am fishing!
Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                 "Find the river in life that brings you joy, peace, and contentment.
​                                          Swim in it, splash in it, and fish in it!”

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 © 2013-2021 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 hugged him, kissed his forehead, and said good night. As I turned to walk away, he grabbed my arm and said,
  “This is a good day, such a good day!”
It was a month before he passed away. ​On a day that was circled with oxygen levels, medication, and a sheepskin-covered recliner – the things that became his life toward the end—I marveled at those words.  
I looked at him in amazement and smiled at this incredible man. His mind was bright and clear but, it was as though his body was wilting as the determined disease gained control. Even though he knew he was dying, he continued to be grateful and look at life in a positive way.  
But that was my Dad, Charlie Hunt.
He was a teacher. Every day that he walked into his classroom filled with students he felt he was making a difference in their lives. But, outside of that, I am not sure if he knew he was teaching and making a difference to others in the grander classroom of life.
He demonstrated lessons in humility, kindness, dedication, and compassion. Once when I had treated him to a special gift he said,
  “Oh, I don’t need anything this fancy; you know we are just simple people.”
My Dad was teaching even in his last days. The final lesson he taught me was that no matter what life brings your way, always remember to begin and end every day knowing, “This is a good day, such a good day!” 
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all live life as simple people who celebrate every day in this way? What if we looked past the worries, the discontent, the struggles, and the disappointment in our lives? What if we reached for the good, the simple, the small and special moments? These are what matter.

When my dad spoke these magic words, he wasn’t thinking about what would happen to his truck or his home. He wasn’t thinking about what might happen tomorrow. For him, he knew there may not be a tomorrow. He was living in that moment. He was taking that breath. He was sinking into the safety and softness of the sheepskin on his chair. He was enjoying the touch of my hand. He was feeling the contentment of his life accomplishments.

I am ashamed to admit that it took that moment for me to realize this space of uncomplicated simplicity. It took this lesson from my father for me to notice what is important. The words he spoke have become a meaningful mantra in my life. It is the message on my answering machine. It is taped to the front of my computer screen. It is the way I respond to life every day. It is my gift to you today. Learn this mantra. Speak it. Live it. Because… This is a good day, such a good day!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie's Life Lesson:
 “No matter what life brings your way, begin and end every day knowing
                                      ~This is a good day, such a good day!"

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 © 2013-2021 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 want to tell you about my new best friend. I love everything about her! I love her gorgeous home. I love her decorating skills. I love her cooking tips. I love her fancy coffee maker that steams the milk perfectly and creates a luxurious latte on the coffee bar of her Better-Homes-and-Garden's kitchen. She is kind and funny. She is wickedly smart and shares her life in an open honest way. Even though I am older than she is, I want to grow up and be just like her!

She checks in with me every morning as she is making her coffee. I can almost smell the aroma as I hear her coffee maker grind the beans and she tells me about her plans for the day. I love seeing photos of her kids and grandbabies. I ride along with her as she drives to get her hair and nails done or drops her grandchildren off at school. I’m invited to her holiday gatherings, and she teaches me how to set the perfect table and decorate with themes and dramatic flair.

Although she hasn’t been in my life long, I feel like I have known her forever. She includes me in every way. I laugh with her. I feel the joy in her life and understand the pain of her past. I feel like we are sisters on a deep level.

I have never met her.

She is my social media friend. A faux friend. A person that I follow through her stories, photos, and videos. I see her through the screen of my phone. I am not the only one. She has thousands of friends like me. We comment on how lovely her landscaping is. We dream of having a lake house to go to on the weekends like she does. We follow her recipes and enjoy new ways of cooking with our InstaPots and air fryers. We ask her questions. We follow her links to buy items that she uses and suggests. We trust her recommendations because we trust her. She influences our lives. She is an influencer.

A social media influencer has established credibility, has access to a huge audience, and can persuade others to act based on their recommendations. But wait, I want her to be my friend! I believe she is my friend. I am convinced if we lived close to each other we would hang out together. We would have lunch at quaint outdoor cafés. We would share secrets. We would take girl trips together.

Yes, I know what you are thinking… she has me hook, line, and sinker. I saw the movie about the fake side of social media influencers. I saw how they rent yachts and fancy hotel rooms to make you believe they have a fabulous lifestyle and manipulate you to buy expensive sunglasses and beauty products in the hopes of becoming just like them. I can pick out those fake people with fake lives and I delete them from my social media quickly. My friend is different. She is down to earth. She is normal. She isn’t flashy or obnoxious. I do love her and I do trust her. She has never guided me in the wrong direction.

She probably does not even know who I am in the sea of followers that reach out to her, but she is important to me. She may be a faux friend, but I feel connected to her. I believe we are friends.

And, now when she is making her coffee and telling me about her day, I am making my coffee in the same coffee maker smelling my own ground beans and enjoying the perfect latté from my own kitchen. Maybe someday she will say to someone,
       “Hey, let me tell you about my new best friend.
         She is an author and a speaker- I love everything about her!”

Pennie’s Life Lesson:
           “Best friends come into our lives in different ways and for different reasons.”

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 © 2013-2021 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. ​

​My car has a feature called the Blind Spot Monitor. When turned on, this life-saving invention warns you when a vehicle is detected in your blind spot. You know, that spot to your side and just over your shoulder that you can’t see.  

When a vehicle is detected, a warning light flashes in the side mirror to indicate a potentially hazardous lane change. The light stays on until the vehicle in the blind spot is safely ahead or behind you leaving you free to change lanes.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we all had a Blind Spot Monitor? Think about all of the things we don’t see that are hidden in our personal blind spots. You know that spot to your side and just over your shoulder that you can’t see; OR choose not to. This spot is probably overflowing with items in three categories: actions or failures to act, tolerations, and grace.

Actions or failures to act. When was the last time you did something, even unintentionally, that caused direct or indirect pain? This is the cause-and-effect syndrome. Examples of this include: not following through on promises, telling small untruths, or arriving late for an appointment or event. Hidden in our personal blind spot is the hurt we cause others by our broken promises, untruths, and undependability. All of these types of actions, that we either take or don’t take, fall into this first category.

Tolerations. Yes, I may have just created a new word. Definition ala Pennie:
     Tol-er-a-tions: the people, places, circumstances, or things that cause us
                                 to participate in the act of tolerating. 
This could very well put us on the opposite side of the scale from the first category. We permit people to take advantage of us by breaking promises or telling lies.  We tolerate laziness, sloppy work products, and misbehavior from ourselves and others by pushing it into our blind spot and telling ourselves it isn’t a big deal. We ignore our own health, fitness, and happiness. All of these tolerations fit nicely into our blind spot.

Grace. This may be the saddest and most important category of all. The idea that so much love, laughter, and goodness in life slip into our blind spot where we don’t appreciate them. They become wasted grace. 

Close your eyes and feel hugs from your partner, the laughter of a child, the smile from a stranger, the smell of morning coffee, and the wag of your dog’s tail. Yes, I said feel because I want to intentionally stir the emotion these examples of love and grace create. How many times does grace go unnoticed in a day and huddle in our blind spot?

Now imagine with me what life would be like if we turned on our personal Blind Spot Monitor. It would flash a beacon in our mind to indicate a potential hazard and guide us into the lane of safety. When we came close to not following through on a promise the beacon would spark to warn us to change course. When we tolerated our slipping health or unhappiness the beacon would remind us that loving ourselves is a priority. And most importantly, with every act of grace we encountered the loving light would spotlight the event so we wouldn’t miss it.

Yes, I believe we all have the capacity for this personal life-saving feature. We all have a Blind Spot Monitor. We just need to turn it on and watch for the flashing beacon.

Pennie's Life Lesson: “Turn on your personal Blind Spot Monitor to enjoy all of life through open eyes.”

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 © 2013-2021 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. ​