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TOTALITY

8/26/2017

2 Comments

 
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Where were you during the Eclipse of 2017?
I was in Wyoming in an area where the eclipse was predicted to be 98%.  I thought 98% was pretty good.  I mean really, how much better could 2% more be?
I wasn’t going to drive 2 ½ hours in the crazy traffic for a measly 2%.
I was close enough to Totality!
​
Sitting on a chair in front of my house, glasses on I was ready for the experience.  Just as predicted – the temperature dropped, crickets began chirping, the light dimmed as if a huge thunder cloud was hovering above – and yet, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. 
Watching through my glasses the sun and the moon came together for a brief moment as if brushing a kiss on the other’s cheek.
 
The Eclipse of 2017 had come and gone.
It was interesting. Cool. An experience. 
I thought 98% was good enough.

Totality had become the buzz word.
I thought maybe it had been over used. 
I thought it had been given too much emphasis – too much importance. 

And then, I heard the stories. 
The stories of what it was like in the areas of “Totality.” 
The complete darkness. 
The halo ring that could be seen circling the horizon. 
The flowers quickly closing as if it were night and then opening moments later. 
The tears, the emotions, the impact.
It was a different experience than I had. There was a difference in that little 2%. 

I thought more about the word –     
                        TOTALITY.

For an eclipse totality was the brief moments when the sun and moon locked together in perfect harmony.
It’s rare.  It’s quick.  It’s special.

How does Totality happen in our lives? How often are we ever TOTALLY experiencing anything?

There are precious few moments that occur in life that leave a permanent imprint. An impression that is so embedded that the memory of it is clear, in color and alive as if it just happened. The entirety, the wholeness of feelings (good and sad), the fullness of joy, love, happiness…possibly ecstasy. 

The ones we may agree on are the moments we held our newborn for the first time. 
The moment we said, “I DO,” promised our love and had love promised to us.
Holding a loved one’s hand as they slip to the other side of life when the overwhelming grief is tempered only by the undeniable power of the moment.  

How can we create “Totality?” 
How can we fully and mindfully engage the total feeling of emotion more often?

When your two-year-old lays on the ground in awe of a bug they have never seen before, lay down with him.  Join in the Totality of wonder that comes from seeing something for the first time.

When your teenager hints that they need to talk.  Shut off the television, put away your cell phone, let dinner wait – sit eye to eye and knee to knee to experience the Totality of a rare conversation with your child.

When your aging parent wants to tell you a story of their life from years ago – even if it is one you have heard many times – listen.  Dive into the Totality of a moment that you may never have the opportunity to enjoy again.

Be aware of life’s precious moments. 
Create permanent imprints.
Get up early to see the sun rise.
Watch it fall into the horizon as the day ends. 
Soak in the magnificence of the ocean and breathe in the majestic air of the mountains.  Play with a puppy.
Eat the pie.
Serve the poor at a soup kitchen. 
Hold hands that need to be held and let go of the ones that need to explore. 
Speak love, share love, BE love. 
Be kind. 

Do it all with the wholeness of your being and the entirety of your soul.
Do it ALL in the space of TOTALITY. 
            ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie’s Life Lesson:
“Live life at 100%.  Bring the entirety of your soul and being to everything you do. Live in the space of TOTALITY!”
              ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

**CHECK OUT THE VIDEO BELOW!!**
My intent in sharing this with you is to encourage you to be mindful of the events in your life that require TOTALITY of your presence...and the ones that you can create to ensure an embedded memory - you have the power to create TOTALITY! 

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!  
 
              ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

                                   All Rights Reserved
                 Copyright © 2013-2017 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: Penniehunt@gmail.com

Pennie HEART to HEART
TOTALITY

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HAPPY, HEALTHY and SAFE

8/18/2017

0 Comments

 
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HAPPY HEALTHY AND SAFE
 
“Mom, we want you to be Happy, Healthy and Safe.”
She scrunched up her face in a mixture of confusion, mistrust and fear. She didn’t like this conversation.  It was an intervention we dreaded. Making a move from being independent and living on your own when you are 86 to a situation where caretakers are required is a difficult transition. 
Difficult for my mom. 
Difficult for her children. 

The odd mixture of confusion and fear visited me as well.  Guilt joined right in.

Emotionally, my heart wants my mom to be strong, beautiful and sound minded until she is 100.   

Logically, my mind understands the small frail woman before me needs help.

Her driving has become a rotation of accidents, body shops, insurance rate hikes and relief that no one was hurt. 

Her falls are becoming more and more frequent as evident by the swollen green and blue bump on her forehead. 

Her memory sways like a breeze blowing through – at times gentle and kind with the sweet smell of freshness and at times as if a harsh wind has cleared any signs of her life from just moments before. Names are lost, appointments missed, bills are not paid. 

I want her to be Happy, Healthy and Safe.
That has become my mantra. 
     Happy, Healthy and Safe. 
     Happy, Healthy and Safe. 

In the weeks after that initial intervention conversation, we visited a variety of retirement facilities and signed a contract with one. 

The process of separating her life into boxes of KEEP, DONATE and THROW AWAY was both physically and emotionally painful.  There were clothes three sizes too big for her shrunken frame.  Dishes and a tea pot collection from my grandmothers.  Photos of my parents laughing when they were young, carefree and dating.  My dad’s military records that have been tucked away since 2005 when he passed. 

I wore gloves to keep my hands from being cut and bruised by the papers, boxes and cleaning supplies. 
But, there was nothing to protect my heart as I relived the memories of my mom as we invaded her life. 

The house was empty as I walked out the door and down the sidewalk past the "For Sale" sign. 

Happy, Healthy and Safe. 
I know her new environment is just that. 
I know it is the right thing to do. 
I know it is necessary. 
I also know there is no going back into that home and the space where my mom was the mom I remember.

     Happy Healthy and Safe. 
     Happy Healthy and Safe.

Isn’t that what we all want?  Isn’t that what we all need? 

I wish this for my friends, my community and the world.
 I wish this for my family.
I wish this for myself.
And I wish this for my Mom.
             ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie’s Life Lesson:

       “We all want and need to be
         Happy, Healthy and Safe.” 

              ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  ~ ~ ~ ~ 

My intent in sharing this with you is to encourage you to do all you can to ensure that YOU and your loved ones are Happy, Healthy and Safe.  

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!  
 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                   All Rights Reserved
                 Copyright © 2013-2017 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: Penniehunt@gmail.com

Pennie Heart to Heart -
​ Happy Healthy and Safe

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STOP THINKING AND BEGIN THANKING

8/12/2017

0 Comments

 
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STOP THINKING AND BEGIN THANKING

Have you found yourself in a situation where you think and think and think and can’t see a way through? 

Maybe you need to change your tactic. Maybe you don’t have a THINKINGproblem… maybe you have a THANKINGproblem.

When you can’t THINK your way through, you need to THANK your way through!

We live in a world that values process, procedure, charts, graphs, reports, analysis, logic and hard cold facts. 

But some situations cannot be logic-ed through!

Some situations don’t make sense no matter how many charts you make or ways you look at it.

Some situations are out of our control to change.

Some situations are so painful that thinking about them becomes unbearable.

Some situations you cannot THINK your way through!   
Yet, you can THANK your way through.

Do you want a new job, a new home, a new relationship and you THINK about it all the time, but you don’t move forward.

Until you are thankful for what you have you will never have more. 

Let me repeat that… 

Until you are thankful for what you have you will never have more. 

Don’t waste your time THINKING, poor me, I will never get that job, big house or perfect relationship.  This kind of stinking thinking just builds resentment, anger and frustration.

Instead, be thankful for the job you have now- no matter how bad it is; be thankful for the place you live now – no matter what size or condition it is in; and be thankful for the friends, family and relationships you already have –even if you don’t have that perfect partner right now.

Once you begin being thankful for what you have you begin to get more! 

If you are grieving the loss of a job, relationship, or the passing of someone dear to you, turn any bitterness or anger into gratitude.

Be thankful for the time you had with that situation or person.

Be thankful for what you learned from them, (good and bad).
Be thankful for the love they brought into your life and the love you had the opportunity to express to them – no matter what length of time that you had with them.  


When you turn THINKING intoTHANKING the pain of your grief will lighten.

Once you begin being thankful for what you had or what you have now, you will begin to see your life in a new way.

Change that one little letter in the middle of the word… stop THINKING and beginTHANKING!

             ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie’s Life Lesson:

“When you can’t THINK your way through,            THANK your way through.”
              ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  ~ ~ ~ ~ 

My intent in sharing this with you is to encourage you to step back from your challenges and look at what you can be grateful for NOW!   

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!  
 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                   All Rights Reserved
                 Copyright © 2013-2017 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: Penniehunt@gmail.com

Pennie Heart to Heart- Stop Thinking and Begin Thanking

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FATTEN UP YOUR OLD HORSE

8/4/2017

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FATTEN UP YOUR OLD HORSE

“It looks like you have lost a little weight since I saw you last year” the doctor said. 

   “Yes,” I replied, silently thinking I wanted   to lose about 15 more pounds.

      “How much should I weigh?" I asked. 

He rustled through my chart,

      “Hmmm, oh, umm, well… I wouldn’t      
       want you to lose 
much more.  Maybe  
       another 5 pounds, but not more tha
n    
       that.  You know, 
old skinny    
       people
 don’t do very well.”


I was still visualizing myself 15 pounds lighter in my mind, so the idea that he thought I shouldn’t lose more than 5 pounds surprised me, but it was the old skinny peoplepart that stunned me.   

Before I could speak he began his next comment,

     “You know, if you asked a rancher about
       their old horse h
e would tell you the first
       thing  he would do is fatten it 
up before
       they put it out to pasture for the  
       winter.” 


That did it!

That cemented my shock into a mute silence. The other questions I had intended to ask him were pushed back deep into my mind.
Fumbling through my purse (and thoughts) I paid the fee for my yearly checkup and quickly escaped to my car.  

I studied my hands as they rested on the steering wheel. Thoughts swirled in my mind. 

     I’m not old.
     I thought 50-ish was the new 30-ish.
     Did he really just compare me to an old
     horse?

     Maybe he was joking.
                           He WASN’T joking!
     I don’t feel old.

Flipping down the mirror on my car visor I thought…
     I don’t think I look old. 

I was even having one of those best-ever hair days. 
   I AM NOT OLD!  

My friends and family filled the days that followed with ‘old horse’ jokes. After a great dental checkup I was told,
     “Well, at least you have good teeth for an
       old horse.”
 

And other colorful jabs at me like,
       “If the horseshoe fits.” 

I swung from seeing the total humor in it to being angry and then suddenly it hit me!

My Mom is in her mid-80’s and she doesn’t think she is old --even though at every turn someone is giving her a list of “shouldn’ts.”

She shouldn’t drive. She shouldn’t spend money. She shouldn’t walk on icy sidewalks

By all standards mid-80’s IS old, but she doesn’t believe she is old.

Fear slapped me right between the eyes--- is this the way it works?

None of us think we are old, but one day will we just wake up believing it is an average day, doing our normal things and we are instantly deemed by the rest of the world as old---and the joke is on us because WE don’t know it.

I didn’t get the memo telling me that on the morning of my 56th year and 17th day that I was now old.

I plan to live to be close to 100 like my great grandmother did, but I didn’t know that after only 20,471 days I was supposed to feel old!
Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute, I calculate that I have another 36,525 days left to live! (No comment necessary here that “hay is for horses.”)

It has been a week now since the remark that rocked my wobbly skinny legs and rattled my creaky old knees.  It has sifted in through my mind and heart and settled into a warm corner on the left end of my funny bone.  I understand that the doctor was probably stating facts.  Skinny old people probably wouldn’t do well if you put them out in a cold pasture for the winter.

I believe the comment to me could have waited another 25 or 30 years, but now it makes me laugh.  You see I don’t feel old.  I don’t act old.  I hope I don’t look old.  But the important thing is I don’t BELIEVE I am old.

I am amused that at some point I WILL be old and don’t plan to acknowledge it… or maybe I will continue to live in my happy place of Pollyanna oblivion and not notice the reality of wrinkles, achy joints and memory loss.  

I just hope someone continues to brush my mane, because I plan to have years of Best-Ever hair days ahead of me. 

               ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie’s Life Lesson:
      “The secret to staying young is
    to see humor in every day of your life!”
               ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My intent in sharing this with you is to point out the way mature adults are treated and spoken to....even long before the term "mature" should be applied to them.  Do you do this?  Has this happened to you?  How did it make you feel?


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!
 


                                                               All Rights Reserved
                                                      Copyright © 2013-2017 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: Penniehunt@gmail.com

PENNIE HEART TO HEART 
Why I wrote: Fatten Up Your Old Horse

0 Comments

    Author

    There is a certain magic about where I live both physically and spiritually – on the crossroads of Spirit and Brave. 

    It seems appropriate that my writings be found under the sign that locates my life.  I wish for all of you the ability to live in your Spirit to experience a life filled with love and gratitude and be Brave in the learning of your life lessons. 

    Enjoy!
            Pennie


     

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 Copyright © 2012- 2023  Pennie Hunt -  All Rights Reserved
Photographs by Pennie Hunt and Materpiecebysarah.com                          


  • Home
  • Blog~ Corner of Spirit & Brave
  • BOOKS
  • BIO
  • Presentations
  • Social media
  • Contact Pennie
  • Love-Life
  • Pennie's Ponderings ~ Quotes
  • Pennie's Life Lessons
  • Videos
  • Pennie in the News
  • Meditations
  • Testimonials
  • UPCOMING EVENTS