 I HELD JOY
IN MY HAND I purchased holiday door hangers that said, “JOY” for my friends and delivered them with notes that held my wish for them to haveJoy in their lives for the New Year. I found a special ornament that said “JOY”during a shopping adventure, brought it home and hung it in a prominent place on my tree. I even read the popular book that taught me how to declutter my closet by keeping only things that bring me “JOY.” Every year I choose a word. A word that will guide my life for the next 12 months. This is different than a resolution. It doesn’t cause me guilt or shame when I give up the diet I promised myself I would maintain or the exercise program that typically lasts a month. This is a word I try to live by for a year. I begin thinking about it around November. Some years I struggle to find the perfect word. Last year it came to me during a meditation. This year it slapped me right in the face. Over and Over and Over again. It took me a while to catch on. Why did I decide to read the book in November that caused me to begin really thinking about what does bring me JOY? Out of all the thousands of ornaments for sale in the stores, why was I drawn to the one small JOY ornament to bring home for my tree? Why did I choose the JOY door hangers for my friends? While shopping a few after-Christmas sales it flashed before me like a beacon guiding me to open my eyes. Everywhere I turned in the mountains of left over holiday items covered with words, sentiments and greetings - JOY jumped at me. One piece pulled me closer with intentional force. I reached through the crowed isle to pluck the simple glittery word from the shelf. I stood in the middle of the store holdingJOY in my hand. At that moment the golden statement sunk into my heart. THE WORD IS JOY! JOY had been trying to reach into my life in small and quiet ways. It had been whispering to me, “Wish ME to your friends, bring ME into your home, allow ME to fill your heart!” The in-my-face synchronicity was not to be ignored. THE WORD IS JOY! MY WORD IS JOY! I brought the golden JOY home and hung it in my office as a reminder to live the New Year in JOY. To only bring things into my life that bring me JOY. To seek experiences that bring me JOY. To share JOY with others in every way and every day. To be mindful enough to learn what really does bring me JOY and love myself enough to settle for nothing less than a JOYOUS life and a JOY-filled year! Feeling very satisfied with my decision, I moved on to my daily routine of opening the mail. The last envelope was a holiday card that had most likely been delayed in delivery. I reached in the red envelope. The silver glitter covered card reflected the sun magnifying the message into a blinding validation. The card had one simple word on it- JOY! Of course it did…. THE WORD IS JOY! Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Love yourself enough to know what brings you JOY and welcome it into your life!” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN... My intent in sharing this with you is to encourage you to experience JOY in the new year and share it with others. What is your word? 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 © 2013-2017 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: [email protected]
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ALL THINGS GROW WITH LOVE
It was just a $3 journal. I divided the pages into quarters marked by post-it notes. I wanted my year of writing to fit into one tidy book. A book of love. After writing a brief introduction of what the book was, I began the first entry. January 1, 2014 Today I love you because……. The next day I picked up the special book and wrote: January 2, Today I love you because… Then January 3rd; the 4th; and so it continued. The book became a friend that I looked forward to holding. A personal documentation of my love for him. March 31, and I removed the first post-it note. The days paraded forward and my words filled the lines. Some days a sentence. Some days 2 pages. And I watched him. I watched what he did. How he moved. How he smelled. How he talked. I began delighting in finding new ways I loved him. June 30th, Today I love you because….. and another marker removed. September 30th, and the last post-it note was peeled away. My enthusiasm grew. I was really doing it! I could see the end in sight. I could visualize his face when I handed him this gift and feel what it would mean to him. For a year I wrote. December 31 was a mix of excitement to be done and a feeling of loss for not having tomorrow to pen why I loved him. I wrote: “Well, here it is – the end of a year of writing why I love you. What seemed like a challenge at first became a joy that I am sad to see end. I began this project to show you how much I love and adore you…as a gift to YOU. What I didn’t expect was that it turned out to be a gift to me too! I found this journal stacked in my office – purchased years ago and tucked away with other journals I buy and save for just the right time. I had no idea a $3 purchase would become so important. As the title says, ‘All Things Grow With Love,’ filling this daily in my own writing and my own words has made my love for you grow! The gift intended for you became a gift of love to me. Every day as I watched you, searching for the moments, the reasons, the actions that make me love you, opened my heart to join yours in ways I never expected. The reasons became simple and complicated, old reasons and discovered reasons, logical and crazy fun! I learned that the way you brush my cheek makes me feel cherished. I learned that a big tough 6’5” man that can be brought to his knees by a tiny furball of a dog is more sensitive than anyone I have ever known. I learned that you surprise me every day with your wisdom, logic and humor. I learned that when you hold my hand you give me strength and power. I learned that you show me love in flowers and rings, but also in cleaning the kitchen and loving our grand babies. I learned that on one day- yes, there was one day - when I was challenged to find a loving thought due to frustration, anger or disappointment – I can’t even remember why – but even that one day I found a reason to write why I love you. I learned that no matter what happens, where we are or circumstance we find ourselves that “Us Together” will find a way to work through it. I learned that I’m not perfect and you’re not perfect, but the perfection of love creates a space for patience, understanding and acceptance. I learned that your quirks can make me laugh and your tenderness can bring me to tears. I learned that the little boy inside of you still lives with his insecurities, his fears, his joys and his sorrows and at times his tantrums, but this little boy needs love and shares love. I learned that I love you for more reasons than a one year journal can hold. I realized after this year that every moment you give me reasons to love you more and I only hope I can reach that level of success by touching your heart the way you touch mine. Yes, what began as a gift to you ended as a gift to me. With every moment, day, week and month that I watched you I fell in love with you over and over again. As the title says, “All Things Grow With Love,” --my love for you has grown. I closed the book. My daily companion would now be placed in the hands of the man I love. I wrapped it in white tissue paper and carefully tied the glittery gold bow around it. A bit confused by the unexpected gift, he opened the cover and read the introduction. Flipping pages he read through January before he looked up. No words. No words were needed. I knew what it meant to him. I knew what it meant to me. The gift that in his words, had made him feel more loved than anything else in his life, now sits on his night stand. Every night before he goes to sleep he reads the entry for that day and he is given a daily reminder of why I love him. He reads it out loud to me and I remember how I felt when I wrote it. It was just a $3 journal that became my friend for a year. It was just a $3 journal that became a lifetime treasure. Yes, All Things DO Grow With Love! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie's Life Lesson: "Don't wait to tell someone how you love them. Tell them every day!" ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ My intent in sharing this with you is to encourage you to tell people why and how you love them! Don't wait!!! 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 © 2013-2016 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: [email protected] 
PLAN PAST –
or Suffer from “Now What” Syndrome You planned for a year. You sent out invitations, ordered a cake and said “Yes” to the dress. The day comes and it is spectacular. It is the fairy tale wedding of the year. Even the honeymoon was perfect. And then, you came home to a new life with a partner and Now What? Now, things like laundry, negotiating finances, and toothpaste in the sink become reality and you are not adapting well. You didn’t plan past the wedding cake. You brought home one or two, maybe more, sweet-smelling bundles from the hospital. You bathed them, fed them and nurtured them through talking, taking their first step and all the steps after that right until they walked across the stage- cap and gown on, tassel dangling and your pride beaming. You help them pack their car, you make sandwiches for the road and tuck cash in their hand. The door closes on your child as they drive off to a new life leaving you in an empty nest and Now What? Your purpose has just driven away and what will you do now? You didn’t plan past parenting. The turkey is bought, or jellybean baskets are filled, or the tree is up and presents are wrapped- whichever holiday it is, you have prepared for the fun, food and family. The house is filled with laughter and joy. The day after comes and Now What? The house is quiet and empty. Your heart sinks from sudden loneliness. Your festive holiday adrenalin is drained and has puddled on the floor. You didn’t plan past the holiday. The dreaded school reunion is 6 months away, so you work out, diet, lose those 30 pounds and fit into that little black dress. The day after comes and Now What? You sleep in because working out is overrated, a cheeseburger and fries sound good for lunch- after all you haven’t had them in 6 months and so it goes. Soon the little black dress is tucked in the back of your closet with the other "too small" clothes. You didn’t plan past the reunion. It happened. Rehab. A little too much drinking, pills, gambling or whatever your addictive vice is. You can do the 30-60-90 days. You do the counseling, the group sharing, the journaling and inner work. The day comes when you finish. Your mind is clear, your body cleansed and the world looks bright and possible again. And Now What? You return to the old life, the old friends, the old habits and you are pulled further and further away from the protection of rehab and fall into the familiar arms of your vice. You didn’t plan past 30-60-90 days. This is how we do life. We look at the gold ring. We reach for it. We get it. And then what? We don’t plan the next step. We don’t plan the next goal or the maintenance of our accomplishment. Without planning past we will suffer from the slow slide backward into the darkness of depression, or relapse into old habits and routines. Planning past should become as much a part of your process as your steps to success. Plan past the wedding cake – visualize and talk about how your shared life will be. Plan past parenting. Do not curl into a tight ball of depression disappearing into your empty nest. Look at it as a new adventure, time for YOU to fill this newfound space with the experiences YOU want to pursue. Plan past the holiday, so that after the presents are gone, the tree is put away and leftovers are eaten you have scheduled what is next on your calendar to fill the quiet. Plan past the reunion. Don’t lose weight for a specific moment in time. Get in shape for yourself, your health, your longevity. You will look and feel great for every event… not just one reunion. Plan past a program. The 30-60-90 day programs might work for the time you are there, but you need a life program. One that doesn’t end when you walk out of a facility. One that is ingrained in your belief system 100%....then it becomes YOUR program. Your way of life. Your success! Be proactive. Look at your life in long-term successes. Short term goals are great stepping stones, but to be successful in life you must not look at a goal as the finale. Always be prepared and have a vision for what comes next. Only then will you walk a life-path of achievement knowing that each successful step you take creates a trail of confidence behind you and a road of determination ahead of you. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Don’t stop when you reach a goal. Plan past the achievement. Have a vision for what comes next.” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN... My intent in sharing this with you is to encourage you to think about what comes next in your life. Incorporate "Planning Past" into your life. 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 © 2013-2016 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: [email protected]  THE SLED It held my children, grandchildren, cousins, neighbors and dogs. It has been a rocket sliding down a hill, a snow wagon and a photo prop. It caused laughter, delight and joy. It caused fights, bruises and tears. I am not even sure if I remember the day it arrived in our home. Most likely it was delivered in a sleigh by a man in a red suit. I do know the sled has been around for decades. I ran across it in my garage propped in a corner. The runners once bright and shiny red looked rusty. The wood worn, the original twine colored rope long ago replaced by a red version. With the outside temperature too cold to turn on the garden hose, I did the next best thing – I brought it in the house. I gave it a shower. Leaning it against the tile I took the shower sprayer down and began cleaning off the years of neglect. As the cobwebs ran down the drain I saw my children – dressed in snow suites, hats, mittens and boots. Hardly able to move due to the layers of protection. The only skin showing was their faces with the glow of their cold blushed cheeks. The water poured brown and dirty as years of memories flashed through. The year it was taken to the lake while the men ice fished and the kids would take turns having sled rides across the frozen water. The hill that seemed Alpine-big and served as the daredevil challenge for those days when the sled was ridden until little fingers were frozen and the draw of a warm bath and hot chocolate waiting at home became strong enough to end the fun. The year my brother’s St. Bernard pulled the sled filled with squealing kids across Grandma’s yard. Drying the sled off, I rubbed the runners to polish every inch while memories continued to reach every corner of my heart. The way I felt as I watched my three most important loves, hearing their squeals of delight as I held my breath hoping they would reach the edge of the snow safely. The way I ran to them when an unseen rock would derail their speed causing a tumble, a spill and tears. The arguments over who would get the next turn. Tying greenery and a plaid bow around the wooden slats, I remembered… The day my daughter perched her babies on it to snap the perfect holiday card photo.
The Sled. Now instead of the dirty corner of the garage, it stands in a place of honor next to my antique sewing machine surround by twinkling lights. The red and green bow a crown of appreciation for work well done. I walk by it and see those chubby snow kissed faces. I hear the squeals of joy. I think of how my children are grown and their children are taller than me. I wonder how time has slid by so quickly -- year by year, snow by melting snow, and one quick ride down the hill at a time. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Pay attention to the little things in life – they slip and slide by quickly.”  YOUR TURN...
My intent in sharing this with you is to encourage you to think about the special memories in your life...what object spurs them? 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 © 2013-2016 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: [email protected] 
ARE YOU 100% COMMITTED?
Have you ever made a decision to go on a diet; stop drinking; begin an exercise program; get a degree; end a toxic relationship or make the relationship you are in more loving? And then, you either never begin or you follow through for a while and then quit. It must be your lack of willpower or other things got in the way… or you believe you are just not good enough to accomplish your dreams, right? Wrong. None of these cause you to fail. You are not successful because you are not 100% committed. Without being 100% committed you will never follow through to reach those goals. Without being 100% committed to your effort (no matter what it is) you have really never made a decision in the first place. You see, a decision is a conclusion or resolution reached after consideration of the work required and the outcome desired. If you are not 100% committed to your dream or goal you haven’t decided anything… you are just thinking about it, wondering…pondering. With that kind of wishy-washy mindset, your brain will find all the loopholes and escape routes to keep you from taking the actions required to be successful. Make a decision. Believe in it. Feel it. Commit 100%. No excuses. You will be amazed at your success! Pennie’s Life Lesson: “To be successful at anything you must make a decision, believe in it, FEEL it, and commit to it 100% - no excuses!” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN... My intent in sharing this with you is to encourage you to examine some of your past decisions, goals, resolutions. Were you successful at accomplishing them? Maybe this is why. ***Since we all learn from each other, I would love to have you share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below or on my FACEBOOK page. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2016 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: [email protected] |
AuthorThere is a certain magic about where I live both physically and spiritually – on the crossroads of Spirit and Brave. Archives
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