A few days ago, I heard someone say,
“I have done some things I am not proud of, but that was in the past and now it is a new time. I don’t have time to think about those things anymore. It’s a new day.”
​
Then he shared a quote from Mother Teresa. I believe it was this one.
 “Yesterday is gone, tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today, let us begin.”
 
I kept running these thoughts and the quote through my mind. This person is always happy, always upbeat, and always positive. When they enter a room, their smile enters first and the light of joy surrounds them. I always wondered why and now I believe I know. The secret is the way my friend lives. In the present. Not in the past. Not in the future.
 
We have all said things and done things we regret and are not proud of. I believe it is important to apologize, fix what we can, and make amends to those we harmed and hurt. We can’t control how they will react, but we can respect them enough to allow them the opportunity to react. After that, we need to forgive ourselves. Don’t allow the pain to be left unresolved to fester in you or in the person you hurt, because it will.
Then it is time to leave it in the past and move forward to a new day and a new time. Be the best you can be and live in the present and not in the past. Be proud of the person you are today and do not dwell on the things you are not proud of in the past.
It is easy to allow yesterday to take away your today. We have all had yesterdays that were happy, sad, and even tragic. Some we may want to relive or do-over. Some we may want to forget and wish they never happened, but we relive them in our minds over and over. We can blame ourselves for causing or creating what happened in the past, but we can’t change it. When you dwell on the yesterdays of your life you miss the day you are in now.

In the same way, if you concentrate only on the future and what is ahead of you, you will miss today. Some people wish for the future to be better. You may work hard to create a wonderful future – and that is great, but don’t work so hard that you miss today. Learn to enjoy the process today of creating the future of tomorrow.

Some people spend their time worrying and fearing what may happen tomorrow. This can be equally bad. None of our tomorrows are guaranteed. Don’t spend so much time on what is ahead of you that you look right past where you are now.  

The trick is to keep your mind and heart in the day and space you are in. There is no room for the darkness of yesterday or the uncertainty of tomorrow. Today is what you have. A new day.

I agree with Mother Teresa -- We only have today, let us begin.
​
                               ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                               Pennie’s Life Lesson: 
                                                   Spread joy today.
                        There is no time for the mistakes and regrets of the past
                                           or the worries of the future.
                                       We only have today, let us begin.
                                  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

​​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 © 2013-2024 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.
#CornerofSpiritandBrave #LoveYourLifeNoMatterWhat #JourneyThrough #PennieHunt #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happiness

When we look back at our lives, we all have turning points. We made a choice, picked the path, or committed to a decision that changed everything in our lives. If you really think about it, was that turning point tipped by one sentence?

You are probably thinking, no that isn’t possible. Oh, but it is. One sentence can change your life.

What if someone said, “I love you”, or “Will you marry me?” Wouldn’t that change your life? And the one-word sentence answer of yes or no changed theirs too. Then as you stood at the altar and said the short sentence, “I do,” that was another life changer.

When my daughter was pregnant for the second time, during an ultrasound, she heard the sentence, “You have two babies in there.” Twins changed everything about how she thought her family would look and how she and her husband planned their lives. Happiness was instantly doubled. That sentence changed their life.

How would these sentences change your life:
You have been accepted to Harvard.
You won the lottery.
You are cancer-free! I am offering you the job.
These would cause you to be happy, excited, and joyfully look forward to your future.

Conversely, how would these sentences change your life:
I want a divorce.
I quit.
You are fired.
You failed the test.
You have a terminal illness.
I’m sorry to tell you there has been an accident.
These sentences would bring fear, anxiety, grief, and sadness. They would change your life.

Words have power and when they are joined together, they can form a life-changing sentence. A sentence that can induce the highest happiness and lowest despair. The sentence can catch a person off guard and be delivered at an unexpected time.

If you are the one speaking, choose your words carefully. When you are in a position of sharing hard news that has the power to change a life, be gentle. Be compassionate. Be sensitive to the reaction your words will stir in the person receiving the information. It is a difficult situation when you know your message will break someone’s heart. When you can put yourself in their shoes, see their perspective, understand their shock, and in a small way feel their pain, you are giving the best gift you can. Empathy.

When you are the lucky one who can share words that hold the power to change a life for the better, you can still see their perspective and understand how they feel. Be excited. Share in their happiness. In that moment experience their joy with them.  
In life we will deliver a few life-changing sentences. And in life we will be on the receiving end of many. If you think about it, I am sure you have had a few already. We never know when they may be delivered to us. We never know if they will change our lives for the better or worse, but life will change.

Yes, one sentence can change our life.
                                             ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                     Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                There will come a time when one sentence can change 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 © 2013-2024 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.
#CornerofSpiritandBrave #LoveYourLifeNoMatterWhat #JourneyThrough #PennieHunt #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happiness

Do you like yourself? Most people would flinch at that question. Are we supposed to like ourselves? Should we admit it if we do? Or don’t? The answer often sounds like, “well, I am okay, but…” and then the list of self-depreciating complaints and criticisms about ourselves follows.

Why is it so difficult to like who we are? The negative critiquing can begin in the morning with our first stretch. We may feel an ache or pain caused by age or too much exercise the day before. Then we begin the day disappointed with our bodies.

The first glance in the mirror may make us cringe and upon a closer look, we immediately begin sizing up the flaws. Our hair is too thin or too short and we have too many wrinkles or scars. Stepping on the scale brings the idea that we are too heavy or too thin. Getting dressed reinforces that inadequacy.

Throughout the day we judge ourselves on all the mistakes we make. We say something we shouldn’t have or failed to speak up when we had a great thought. We may not have been as kind to someone as we should have or regretted an action we took.

We might lay in bed at night unable to sleep as we rehash all the self-criticisms because once is not enough… we may as well think all those negative thoughts again before we go to sleep.

We can be our own biggest bully. Negative self-talk works so well because we believe our own voice and thoughts more than we believe anyone else.  

What if we flipped the switch on this? What if we became grateful for this amazing, beautiful body we have been given – no matter what size or shape it is. Our body carries us through all the highs and lows, ups and downs that we experience in life. It is a gift we have been given that we should care for, appreciate, and at the very least – like.

When you wake up and take that morning stretch, be grateful for the bed you had to lay in and how refreshed your mind and body feel. Your first glance in the mirror should be one of appreciation with a smile reflecting back to you. When you look closer into your eyes, you should see the amazing person you are, filled with knowledge, abilities, and talents that belong only to you. The balding spot, the number on the scale, and the way your clothes fit is not a measure of who you are.

The outward body is like the car you drive. It takes you from one place to another, but it is the inner person that the body carries, that is the essence of who you are. Be grateful that you have a body to move in and with. Like your body and appreciate that you have one. Learn to like every part of yourself. Instead of giving yourself negative feedback, go through everything you did well in your day. Instead of laying in bed at night counting all the things you did that were disappointing, begin counting all the wonderful things you did right- no matter how small they were.

Every chance you have, think a good thought about yourself. Be proud of who you are. Make a list of reasons why you like yourself. Like yourself in every way you can think of. If you make a social media post or comment, “like” it. If you can’t give yourself a blue thumbs-up or a heart, why would anyone else? Keep those thumbs-ups and hearts floating through your mind all day.

Soon you will begin liking yourself…really liking yourself. And guess what? When you really like yourself, others will too. That will lead to loving yourself. And when you love yourself, life becomes magical.
                                                   ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                       Pennie’s Life Lesson:
              Once you begin liking yourself, the next step is loving yourself. 
​                                                     ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It takes a lot to get me mad. I layer. I layer little things, and I layer big things in my heart and in my mind. When small actions hurt me, I tuck them in. When big things happen, I lay them in my heart out of view. I rarely speak about what is bothering me or share my pain. I layer them one on top of another and another until one day… one day it erupts.

When the layering becomes too much, and my heart can’t hold any more I will purge everything. All the layers ooze out of me. It could be years of pain that spills from me. This can be in the form of a long ugly cry. It could pour out in a verbal dumping of thoughts. On a rare occasion, it could be a boiling-over of anger. Even on those rare occasions, my anger is fairly mild. It doesn’t happen often, and I am not proud of it when it does.  

I envy people who can immediately voice their opinions and say what they feel. They are constantly cleansing. They don’t allow the residue to build. I don’t enjoy hurting anyone’s feelings or making anyone mad. I do not like arguing. I avoid conflict. There are so many other positive ways of communicating. I would much rather spend my life happy, helpful, and caring. It is not that I am passive – I just don’t let small things bother me. I have been through some big stuff- I know what is important and what isn’t. I know what is worth spending anger on.

I do not like the feeling of anger or of being mad. It takes a lot to push me to that point. When I am pushed to that point, my typical explosion is not harmful or hateful. I just lay out the facts of my layers in the way I see them.

I don’t envy the ones who turn getting mad into being mean. You know the ones. The people who instead of voicing what is bothering them or expressing calmly why they feel hurt, disrespected, or unseen they pour out their anger in an aggressive way and become mean. They throw hateful words and thrash from one thing to another allowing the anger to build and grow into much more than a disagreement. I believe in their mind, it is war.

The problem with this type of angry personality is they become better at it. With every outburst they become stronger and learn how to throw more daggers the next time. They learn how to be meaner. I call them scrappers. They love to debate. They love to argue. They love to fight. They love to hold grudges. They seem to enjoy being mean.

We all have different levels of tolerance. We all receive, internalize, and voice anger and disappointment in different ways. It may be easy to recognize someone else’s traits—it can be much harder to recognize our own. We all become angry from time to time. That is okay and normal. But remember, you can get mad, but don’t get mean.

We store everything in our bodies. Whether you layer emotions or you belt out your feelings in a mean way -- we all store emotions and the aftermath of all those emotions in our hearts and bodies. It is your choice how you choose to process and react to situations. It is your choice what emotions you want to get better at. It is your choice what you do when you get mad. And it is your choice what emotions you want stored in your heart.
 
Pennie’s Life Lesson: You can get mad, but don’t get mean.