My parents were giddy.
They couldn’t wait until breakfast was over. My mom opened a small plastic black jar, carefully measured a spoonful of power and watched it trickle into a glass. Smiling, she added cool water and stirred until it was dissolved. She handed the glass to my Dad and he slowly sipped down the precious mixture.

I watched this entire ritual. The fascination of how involved my parents were in this process left me a speechless observer. When the glass was empty, I asked what the drink was. 
My Dad was in the final stages of a terminal illness. Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. He spent his time sitting in a sheep-skin-lined recliner and tethered to oxygen tubes. For several months I visited as often as I could in an effort to help my mom care for him and soak up as much time with my Dad as possible.

I knew the routine. I knew how to help him to the bathroom, how to do sponge baths, how to check his oxygen levels, how to give him medication and how to make his oatmeal for breakfast. This black jar of powder was new.

They were more than eager to tell me about it. A man had come to their retirement community with a van full of black jars. Over free coffee and pie he presented to a group in the community hall. He talked about the power of the powder in the jar. The vitamins, the minerals and the magic it held. Since my parents were confined at home to stay close to the oxygen, they were unable to attend, so the kind man came to their home and gave them a personal demonstration.

They happily bought several jars at the discounted rate of $125 each. They believed it was going to bring strength and health back to my Dad. They were convinced it was the answer to their prayers.

Being skeptical, I picked up the jar to read the ingredients. The first ingredient was sugar. I dipped my finger into the jar and licked off the powder. It tasted like pure sugar. I pointed this out to my mom and reminded her that giving Dad a glass full of sugar water twice a day was not good for his diabetes.
 
That evening the Hospice Doctor stopped by as he often did on his way home from work. He chatted with my parents, took my Dad’s vitals, adjusted the oxygen and headed out the door. I quickly grabbed the black jar and followed him to his car.

I explained the situation and handed the jar to him for an expert opinion. As he read the label I blubbered nonstop about the amount of sugar and could this possibly be good for my Dad. There didn’t seem to be anything in the jar that could be beneficial, and I was sure that it was pure sugar. I was certain it was a sham. A pyramid scheme. A modern-day version of a snake oil salesman.

The doctor calmly listened and when I stopped, he said, 
​“I think you are correct. I believe there is only one ingredient in this jar.” 
I leaned in feeling very smug that I was right.
He continued, “The only ingredient in this jar that will help your Dad is Hope. We have passed the point of worrying about a little sugar. If this powder gives him hope that he will be here tomorrow, hope that he may feel better, and hope that it might be a cure, then it is worth every cent they paid for it.”

He put the jar back in my hand, gave me a smile, hugged me and left.
I stood in the driveway holding the jar that had suddenly transformed from a jar of sugar into a precious jar of powerful medicine. The salesman had told my parents the truth. The jar did hold magic. In that moment I realized that my Dad would be leaving soon and in my hand was the only thing he needed. A black plastic jar that held Hope.
                                     ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie’s Life Lesson: We all need hope to lift our spirits and lighten our hearts. How it is delivered to us does not matter. 
                                                  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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 © 2013-2022 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. ​

We have all been taught to critique, compare, and judge each other and ourselves.  

When we have a baby, they immediately experience being weighed and measured. Every checkup is a comparison of where the child is landing on the percentile chart of expected growth. School is based on grades and the curve of classroom and grade expectations of learning.

Marketing creates an environment where we judge ourselves against the models comparing body size and shape. We critique our wardrobe and style. Are we cool? Are we hip? Are we up to date?

At times it becomes difficult to like ourselves, our environment or our lifestyle. Our inner voice is always telling us we need to change. To grow. To be better. To keep up!
What if we turned that around? What if we had been taught to admire, acknowledge, and accept ourselves and each other? After all, if you don’t like yourself, how can you expect anyone else to?

When we stand in front of a mirror we naturally zoom in on our flaws. We look at ourselves and see what we don’t like. We are harsher on ourselves than we are on anyone else.
I hate the circles under my eyes and the wrinkles that are appearing. I’d like to be taller and thinner.
 
Try this… stand in front of a mirror and look for what is good about you. What do you love about YOU? At first, we see the physical.
I love my green eyes and auburn hair. My hands remind me of my grandmother. My smile makes me happy.
 
The longer you stare at yourself the deeper you will look and the more you will see.
I am blessed to be alive. I am blessed with a strong and capable body. I am blessed with a caring heart.
 
Continue to look deeply saying out loud what is good about you, what you are blessed with, and what you appreciate and admire about yourself, your environment and your lifestyle.
I am blessed to have an amazing family. I am blessed to love and be loved. I am blessed to have a home to live in and a car for transportation. I am blessed to have clothes to wear and food to eat.
 
This is an exercise that will feel uncomfortable. You may need to repeat it until it becomes natural. When you feel down or insecure repeat it. When you feel sorry for yourself, ask the mirror what is good about you, your life and the situation you are in. It is hard to feel down when your list of blessings keeps adding up.  
 
You will create a foundation of love and appreciation for yourself that cannot be shaken by the opinion and critiquing of your inner voice or others. You will be confident in yourself, your environment, and your lifestyle. You can still grow and be better, but that desire will no longer be based on fear, the need to be cool, fit in or keep up. It will come from a place of wanting to be the best version of you. The you that already has so many qualities to love and admire.
                                    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie's Life Lesson: “When you feel sorry for yourself, ask what is good about you, your life and the situation you are in. It is hard to feel down when your list of blessings keeps adding up.”
                                               ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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 © 2013-2022 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. ​

Have you ever noticed how we all use taglines? 
I have a few taglines, like “Love Your Life - No Matter What,” and “You Are Good Enough!” I use these when I write and speak as memory markers to push my point into your mind. These are intentional and purposeful.
 
You have taglines and may not even realize it. These are unconscious taglines. My mom would begin many of her conversations with, “Let me tell you something,” and then proceed to tell her story. It was one of her unconscious taglines. She unconsciously was gaining our attention by declaring she was getting ready to say something important. 
 
How often have you heard someone end a thought with, “Do you know what I mean,” or someone repeatedly use, “seriously though” to begin speaking? There is a new one I am hearing people use lately. They weave the tagline, “Do you feel me,” into what they are saying. In a short conversation they might reiterate this several times. 
 
I began thinking about how often we use unconscious taglines and how we choose the ones we use. Is our mind overriding our thought process and telling our mouths to speak the truth about what we need?
 
Think about those phrases- Let me tell you something, Do you know what I mean, Seriously though, and Do you feel me? They are all asking the listener to understand how we think and feel. They are asking the listener to take our thoughts and feelings seriously. They are a cry to be heard.
 
Listen carefully to others when they talk. It won’t take long to pick up their taglines. You will catch the word or phrases they consistently repeat. Listen to yourself talk, or better yet, ask a family member or friend if they hear you say something over and over. They will probably immediately tell you what your tagline is.
 
It was pointed out to me that I say, “Isn’t that interesting.” I am a naturally curious person and I find life in general extremely interesting, so this is a natural unconscious tagline for me. It began as an unconscious tagline and has become an intentional habit. It is possible that my unconscious mind was pushing those words out of my mouth to teach me how to observe and not judge. Instead of giving a biased opinion or becoming angry about a situation, it is easier to say, “Isn’t that interesting.” This is a reminder to me to take time, observe and think it over before commenting further.
 
Is your unconscious tagline positive or negative? Is your unconscious mind trying to teach you a lesson? Is it crying out for a change or for help?
 
One thing I believe about people (including myself), is that we all want to be seen, heard, understood and loved. At times it takes our unconscious mind to push these taglines out of our mouths in order to repeat something we feel. Our unconscious mind is teaching us a lesson in communication. A lesson in listening. A lesson in understanding. A lesson in feelings. A lesson in taking words seriously.
Do you feel me?
                                         ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie’s Life Lesson: Listen to the words that come out of your own mouth.
​You may be unconsciously speaking words that are a lesson you need to learn. 
                               ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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 © 2013-2022 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. ​

Fifteen years ago this week I lost my son. I never use that word, lost. I hate it. I have always said he passed as if passing into a new life on the other side, passing into heaven, or passing through the white light explained where he went. The term ‘lost’ made me feel like I would forever be searching for him. That there would be a chance he would return, rejoin my life and tell stories of his adventures. When someone is lost there is always the hope that they will be found.

Death doesn’t work that way.

Grieving a child is an endless process. A roller coaster of heart-stopping drops and endless climbing. We climb to be strong enough to walk through life with the outward look of normality while covering the permanent inner change of our DNA. And we are changed. Every tiny molecule of our DNA is changed.

I remember a conversation with my older son after the funeral when he said,
   “Mom, what will it be like when he has been gone 10 years?
    What if we forget him?”
My response was,
   “Oh honey, 10 years is a long time away.
    And we will never forget him!”

Well, that marker came and went and here we are at 15 years. Comments like, “getting over it,” “being done,” or “forgetting” do not relate to my grief. If that were true, wouldn’t 15 years be long enough?

Fifteen years ago this week my son passed, but he isn’t lost. He sits with me when I write and stands with me when I speak. He giggles through the twinkle in his daughter’s eyes and belly laughs with us when we share stories of him. I can feel his baby hand wrap around my finger as I rocked him and hear his cries in the night. He comes back to me when I drive his truck and he sings along when Bob Dylan is played on the radio.

He would be 37 now, but he is not. My memories flash from his movements in my belly as I carried him to seeing him the last time when he was 22. Forever 22 as people say when talking about a loved one who has passed. I remember my 22-year-old son with clarity as if he were sitting in front of me as I type this. His beard, his smile, his crooked baseball cap and his laugh. I remember how it felt to be hugged by him while the bristles of his beard brushed against my face.

For 15 years I have searched these memories. I have closed my eyes as I held his guitar to hear him sing as he played it. I have opened plastic bins to unfold and refold his favorite clothes, holding them tightly to my face in hopes of smelling a faint scent of him. I have driven his truck to feel his hands on mine as together we hold the steering wheel. These memories don’t wear out and are never used up.

Fifteen years ago this week my son passed. Fifteen years is a long time, but not long enough to get over it, be done with grief or forget him. The reality is that I loved him from his first movements in my belly and I will grieve for him until the day I pass into a new life, into heaven or walk into the white light to join him.
When I do, I am sure he will say,
            “Mom, I never left you and now your grieving ends.
​                                  It has been long enough.”
                                                      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie’s Life Lesson:
            When your loved one dies, they are never lost.
                             They are always with you.
                                                         ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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 © 2013-2022 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. ​

Welcome to 7th grade. How’s it going for you so far?
 
We are all students in this journey we call Life. The entire Universe is our university – there is no accident in the similarity of words there. I believe our time here on earth as humans is our 7th-grade level in the University of the Universe. We have passed the grades before this and have many yet to come. We are all here at this level to learn, to teach and to love.
 
Do you remember your 7th grade year in junior high school? Some of us had great experiences and were the rock stars, the athletic jocks, the popular ones, or the studious brilliant ones. Some of us suffered through and were the unpopular ones, those that struggled, failed, flunked, skipped classes or dropped out.
 
This 7th grade level of our learning through the University of the Universe is no different. We have the shining stars of music, sports, popularity and intelligence. We have the strugglers who fall victim, slip behind and never seem to get ahead or catch a break.
 
And guess what? I believe we are all in the space we are supposed to be in to learn what we are meant to learn and to teach what we are meant to teach. 
 
We have a variety of class topics here in this version of 7th grade. If you are a star in this life you shine and share your voice and experiences with others and are in the class of teaching. If you are struggling, the course you are enrolled in is one to learn humility, patience and empathy for others.
 
The amazing news is, that there can be semesters in this 7th grade. If you begin your time struggling, you may learn your lessons and move into the next semester’s course of being a star. Conversely, if you are a star and become arrogant, ungrateful or just need to learn other lessons, the University of the Universe has the power to enroll you into a semester of struggling, to teach you humility, patience and empathy. 
 
Our task as students in this level of our life education is to understand and believe that no matter what semester we are in, class we are taking or curriculum we are guided by, we are here for the lessons our soul requires.
 
Our report cards will grade us on our ability to learn the lessons to our highest capacity. Our assignment is to teach what we learn to others. And our most important homework is to be grateful for the experiences, the teachers and the lessons – the joyous ones and the painful ones – and seek and share joy and love in the process. 
 
Most of us would like to be granted a do-over for our 7th grade year of junior high. If it was fabulous, we would like to relive the glory. If it was painful, we would like to do it right the second time. Well, you’re here now and your entire life is the 7th grade of our University of The Universe. Enjoy it, live it and dance in it to your happiest level!
 
Welcome to 7th grade!​ ​How’s it going for you so far?
​
                         ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie's Life Lesson: In the school of life, be grateful for the experiences, the teachers and the lessons – the joyous ones and the painful ones. Seek and share joy and love in the process.
                         ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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 © 2013-2022 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. ​