Are you always chasing problems, cleaning up life messes, and repairing troubled relationships? If so, I bet you are exhausted!

We all have problems, life messes, and a relationship that isn’t perfect. That doesn’t mean you should spend all your time on these negative areas. What if you looked at this differently? What if instead of working so hard to take the bad things out of your life, you tried adding more good?

You know how when you fill a tub full of water that is too hot and then you add a little cold water it cools down quickly, but if you have a tub of cold water no matter how much hot water you add it never really gets hot?

Think of the hot water as all the good stuff available to you in this life. Think of the cold water as the bad problems, messes, and troubles. If you have a tub that is a stable environment and full of happy times, and good relationships, (the hot water), then a few drips of problems, messes, and relationship trouble, (cold water) will never change the warmth of your life.

What do you want? Of course, you want your life to be boiling over with good stuff. The stuff that makes you happy. The people that lift you up. The experiences that bring you joy. When the temperature of your life is hot with all good things, one little bad thing here and there will never cool it down. You want the pot of goodness to pop the bad bubbles right out like a drip that isn’t allowed to disturb your simmering happiness.

So, isn’t it logical that you should spend more time increasing and nurturing the good? More time adding to the hot water?

When you meet someone who is positive and passionate about life, intentionally work to add them to your life. People who encourage you to succeed, lift your spirit, and increase your happiness will add warmth to your life. Seek out these types of people. Work to build these friendships and add them to your life circle.

What experiences bring you joy? When you are hiking do you lose yourself in the wonder of nature? When you are painting does time slip away as you immerse yourself in the creation of art? When you are sailing does the ocean air fill your lungs and your life with energy? Look for the experiences that bring joy to your life.

The experiences that you can’t wait to do again. Do them over and over.  Every time your heart will open wider, and your spirit will feel alive. Yes, all of this will add more heat to your life. And don’t forget to try new things. You never know what experience will open a new meaning of joy for you. Keep adding to the hot water.

On the other side of this, you can’t totally ignore the problems and issues in your life. You will always have big and small messes that need attention. They will rotate in and out of importance. That is how life works. When they occur, keep an eye on them, do what you can to solve the problem, and encourage solutions. At the same time, continue to spend time on adding the good stuff. Always have your tub full of good hot water so you never allow the occasional drips of cold to freeze you into exhaustion.

Keep adding the good.
                                ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                      Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                          Spend more time adding the good things to your life
                                      than you do trying to get rid of the bad. 
                                 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt #YouAreGoodEnough #IAmGoodEnough
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 © 2013-2023 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 don’t like roller coasters. Some people love them. They get off the ride enthusiastically saying things like,
“That was the best! So Cool! Let’s do it again!!!”

Not me. If you ever get me on a roller coaster, I get off saying,
“I am glad that is over! Never again!”

I am uneasy with the clattering sound the track makes as my body is jolted and shifted from side to side and I am shaken in a way no body is meant to be shaken. I don’t enjoy the open-air insecurity. I clutch the safety handle (I use that term loosely) as the coaster moves on a slow ride up --knowing the entire time that soon I will be drastically dropped. The feeling of pending fear does not blend well with me.

After a devastating accident in 2018, a Highway Patrolman sat next to my emergency room bed. I don’t remember much about those chaotic moments, but I do remember him saying,
 “You have just experienced the most horrifying roller coaster ride
    you will ever be on.”

He had no idea how much I disliked roller coasters or how true that statement was. By all accounts, reports, and eyewitnesses, (including my own) it was a miracle that I survived. This ride included all the sounds and feelings I mentioned above - magnified a thousand times.

We all have ups and downs in life. Joyful times and tragedy. We all have events and circumstances we love and we all dislike a few. That is normal and it is normal to experience some jolts and fear in life.

But I don’t like roller coasters. I like a steady life of peace, security, and calm simplicity. (Que Disneyland’s It’s a Small World song – if you know you know.)
I like a life of certainty. I like knowing that over the years I have created a solid standard for myself and my personal mission statement is firmly engrained in my heart. These create a sturdy and steady foundation for my life. Life would be boring if there were no surprises thrown in, so I do enjoy those. What I don’t enjoy is drama and chaos. I don’t enjoy fear. I don’t enjoy pain.

Some people seem to love living life on a roller coaster of drama. Their continual moodiness and ups and downs of problems feed them. Their internal dichotomies of hate and love, joy and despair, are aired externally on a constant rotation. It is as if they require the drama in their lives and enjoy the attention it brings. They enjoy the jolts and shakes. The uncertain painful climbs and drastic drops become certain to occur in their lives. They expect it, so it continues.

Which one are you? Do you jump in line for the biggest roller coaster or are you happy to walk by the crazy ride? If you step back and see yourself living life in constant drama and chaos it could be time to change. The jolts and pain wear on your body and your soul. How much of it is real and how much of it is embellished catastrophizing on your part? Do you enjoy exaggerating and expanding a story so that it is exciting to tell it over and over? Do you enjoy the attention it brings to you? 

The first step is realizing that you are doing this. Look at yourself, your life, and your stories from an outside perspective. Be the person that watches and listens to you – what are they thinking and seeing? It takes a deep objective look to see the truth, but once you do you will have the power to slow it down and be realistic about what is worthy of drama and what isn’t. You can get off the crazy ride.

I don’t like roller coasters. Do you?
                                  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                     Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                                     Don’t live in a constant state of drama.
                                                  Get off the roller coaster.
                                            ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt #YouAreGoodEnough #IAmGoodEnough
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 © 2013-2023 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 phone flashes up a reminder to me every morning telling me how much screen time I had the day before. It gives me a bar chart of my screen time for the entire week and the average time per day I spend on my phone. Then it breaks it down between social media sites, photos, messages, and surfing the web. It also tells me how much time I spent listening to my newest audiobook, writing emails, and meditating – yes, I have apps for guided meditations and meditative music. It is then calculated by categories. My top three are typically Social, Creativity, and Information/Reading.

I love to dabble in photography and enjoy editing my photographs. I also do a fair amount of research and reading on my phone, but Social will probably always be the category that receives the most attention on my screen time chart. I post daily thoughts and updates on my social media accounts pertaining to my work and occasionally post photos of my cute Shih Tzus.

I will admit that I “follow” and “like” more than a few Influencers. In case you do not log hours every week on your screen time chart, an Influencer is a person with the ability to influence potential buyers by promoting or recommending a product or service on social media. I follow people who share my love of writing and speaking. I follow people who share decorating ideas and wonderful recipes. And yes, I follow a few Shih Tzu lovers. I will admit that I have been influenced to purchase several items and have tried many recipes posted by influencers.

Sometimes I am surprised by the amount of screen time I have built up, but I love my new latte maker, (recommended by my favorite influencer), and my husband will attest to the delicious meals I have made from recipes I have found on social media.
Here is the truth- we are all influencers, and we have all been influenced. When I post my motivational thoughts and quotes, I hope to influence my followers to have a happy day and a more joyful life. My goal is to touch hearts. But influencing goes deeper and broader than that.

We influence and are influenced in every moment of every day. Babies watch us and are influenced to talk the way we do, walk the way we do, and eat the way we do. They watch how much time we spend on the phone and reach for the hypnotizing machine.

Teenagers influence and are influenced by their peers. They see someone wearing the newest and coolest shoes and clothes and immediately they want the same ones.
We see commercials on television and ads in magazines and are influenced to buy products. We watch what books are on the New York Times best-seller list and are influenced to read them.

Watch couples when they are out to dinner. If one is looking at their phone, the other will do one of two things… stare at the person in hopes of them putting down the phone, or they will mirror the other person and pick up their own phone. When you mirror someone you have been influenced.

We are even influenced by our language. When two people are in a conversation, and one is cursing, many times the other person is influenced to curse more than they typically do.

Social media is the playground for Influencers. Social Media is where photos and filters have become the new smoke and mirrors that create a fictional world that we all want a piece of. We think we must be missing out if we don’t have those perfect shoes, eat at that amazing restaurant, or decorate our home exactly like Martha!

​Be very careful how you allow yourself to be influenced. And watch how you use your own power to influence others. Be cautious with your actions and words…someone is watching.
                                 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                  Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                      We are all influencers, and we are all being influenced.
                                            ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt #YouAreGoodEnough
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 © 2013-2023 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. ​

It happened in the buffet line. I heard a whisper from behind me say,
“You must think you are pretty darn special, to control everything.”

I dropped the spoon back into the bowl of Caesar Salad and spun around to see a woman from the group I was with. I knew her, but not well. We had never had a one-on-one conversation. I am sure the expression on my face and the speed at which I turned was surprising to her, but she didn’t show it. She looked at me with an emotionless expression and softly repeated,  
“You must think you are pretty darn special to control everything.”

I couldn’t respond. My brain was quickly trying to process what she meant and what to say in return. I wasn’t fast enough. Before I could speak, she went on with,
“No one has the kind of power you think you have - to control everything. You are not responsible for everything. And you cannot control other people. Stop believing you have that much power.”

With that, she stepped around me in line and continued to fill her plate.
I froze looking around to see if anyone else heard the lesson I had just received. Stepping out of line I took my plate with one small spoonful of salad and sat down at a table.

We were at a three-day meeting with a group we met with once a month. That morning we had broken into small group sessions. During my session, I shared what was happening in my personal life. I teetered on a downpour of tears as I told how I felt like a failure because I couldn’t control the situation and felt like it was my fault that my loved one was struggling. Moments after I told my story we broke for the buffet line.

Staring at my plate I felt the hot tears building again. Yes, I blamed myself for the life circumstance my loved one was in. Yes, I felt like a failure that I couldn’t turn it around and create a happy-ever-after ending to the situation. Yes, I felt like I should have the power to fix it.

In that brief moment, everything changed. With a soft whisper, the words I needed to hear gently flowed into my mind and made their way down seeing into my heart. In a buffet line, I received a message that changed my beliefs, my outlook, and the way I was living my life. I changed.

Life-changing words don’t need to be shouted to be heard. It was in the soft whisper of truth that I received the message I needed. I realized there was only one life I could control and that was mine. I could guide and support others, but not control them, their path, or the outcome of their choices. I was not responsible for the decisions they made.

As much as I thought I was a superwoman with a magic cape and all the answers to give - I could not ‘fix’ anything. I didn’t have a magic wand or special glitter to sprinkle that would turn a pumpkin into a white coach or someone’s mess into a perfect life— my vision of a perfect life.

It was as if in that moment I was filled with understanding. I was able to accept the reality of the situation and release control of the outcome. It was in a buffet line moment that the weight lifted from my heart, and I understood that we all walk our own paths in life. No one else can walk it for us and no one else can control the direction we go or navigate our journey. No one has that much power- not even me.
                                  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
                                                    Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                  Life-changing words don’t need to be shouted to be heard.
​    It is in the soft whispers of truth that messages are sent, and lives are changed. 
                                            ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  

#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt #YouAreGoodEnough
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 © 2013-2023 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. ​