The Corner of Spirit & Brave

THE GRATITUDE JAR

12/30/2017

THE
GRATITUDE JAR
In January I came across an idea of documenting a year’s worth of gratitude. I found a jar- actually it was a flower vase that I perched smack in the center of my fireplace shelf with a sign that read, “Be Grateful.” I purchased a notepad and every Sunday night I wrote down what I was grateful for that week.

My goal was to fill the jar and read them at the end of the year to remind myself of how gratitude filled my life.

Sometimes it was simple things and sometimes splashy memorable experiences. I wrote notes of gratitude about lessons I learned. I wrote notes of gratitude about things I shared and taught to others. I wrote notes of gratitude about people, places and things I love.

A year goes quickly. As the weeks and months went by my jar filled higher and higher with gratitude in the shape of folded paper. The end of December has arrived and as I dump the jar out to read each grateful memory I relive the tasty morsels of my year.

Reading through my jar of gratitude I realize all my notes revolve around the three reasons I believe we are here in this life….to learn, to teach and to love. I rarely wrote notes about material things. It was learning, teaching and loving that I was the most grateful for.

As I look to the bright and shiny new year ahead of me, I do want to exercise, eat better and improve my health. I also will hold a special ‘word’ for the year as my theme for the next 12 months, which I have done for many years.

What I won’t do is set myself up for broken resolutions that revolve around things, money, or unreasonable expectations. My plan for the year ahead is simple… to learn more, to teach more and to love more. With this plan I know my life will be full, my heart will be bursting and my gratitude jar will once again overflow.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie’s Life Lesson:
“Learn more, teach more and love more. That is why we are here.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

PENNIE HEART TO HEART
THE GRATITUDE JAR

YOUR TURN...
My intent in sharing this with you is to encourage you to think about how you can track your gratitude in the coming year. It is worth the effort!
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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When It Comes to Love, Anything Will Help!

12/15/2017

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When It Comes to Love, Anything Will Help!

I turned the corner to head home after doing my weekly errands. I noticed at the street light ahead there was a man holding his cardboard sign that read,
“Anything will help.”

Pulling up next to him I rolled down my window and handed him one of my coffee shop gift cards that I carry just for occasions like this. I explained to him where the coffee shop was and that he could get something hot to drink and eat on this cold day.

After he said, “Thank YOU,” for the third time our eyes met and I believe in that second he felt love.

In that moment I felt love. I felt the love being returned from him and I also felt love for myself for showing kindness.

Love works that way.

If we don’t see love we can’t be love. In the moment he looked at me he understood that the gift card held more than a cup of coffee and a sandwich, it held love.

When he looked in my eyes and saw love, he mirrored the love back to me filling me up with love from him and magnifying the love I hold inside of myself. Once we see love, we can BE love.

How many times do we have the opportunity to show love for others to see? The answer is constantly!

Love is not just for special celebrations or certain holidays. Love is for every moment of every day. The more love we show, the more love others see, the more love they can be filled with and the more love they show to others. This is the pay-it-forward of the heart.

We see this mirrored magnification work all the time…. If you show anger, others show anger and it spreads. If you see fear, you become fear and it grows.

Why would we want to waste our time on that?

Become what you want more of.
Become Love.
Show love.

It’s easy to show it with flowers, gifts and in big ways. It is harder to show it in every moment in small ways.

Be the love that others see.
Even showing small amounts of love will be mirrored back to you.
When it comes to love, Anything Will Help!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie’s Life Lesson:
“When you become the love that others see
love will be mirrored back to you.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE
ANYTHING WILL HELP

YOUR TURN...
My intent in sharing this with you is to encourage you to think about love during this holiday season. How can you show love, be love and receive love in these last few days of the year?
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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WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN THE TOILET OVERFLOWS?

12/8/2017

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WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN THE TOILET OVERFLOWS?

I felt overwhelmed.

With several speaking engagements ahead of me, blogs to write and my self-imposed deadline for the completion of my book, I felt like the toilet had just overflowed.

You know, that panicked feeling of running to get the plunger as the water overflows and every towel you own is being thrown on the floor in an effort to control.

The smell of not feeling Good Enough was quickly rising to the top of my bowl.
How would I ever get it all done?

So I did the logical thing – I turned the valve to OFF.
I stopped the gushing stream that overflowed my mind and walked away from all the fear, pressure and commitments.

I went outside and dug holes.

I put my hands in the black dirt.
I dug holes for tomato plants.
I dug holes for bushes.
I dug holes for geraniums and marigolds.

I layered each hole with peat moss, potting soil and vermiculite and then gently placed plants inside carefully pushing the earth around the roots and up to the stem.

My body eased and relaxed as I enjoyed the process of nurturing.

My mind did nothing except watch the movement of my hands. It had emptied to a space of quiet silence with no worries of deadlines or commitments.
The valve remained OFF.

Suddenly it became very clear to me how easy it would be to complete all of my obligations. I had just been “Layering” myself in a dangerous way.

Instead of layering myself with the joy of what I was doing, in the same loving way I layered the soil around the plants, I had been layering myself in a negative way… I wasn't being gentle, careful or kind.

I was being self-demanding to the point of overwhelm. No wonder I felt blocked like the water was flooding over. In the process, instead of allowing my roots to stretch in the delightful enjoyment of these life opportunities I had tightened myself into a root bound knot with two options.

I could either continue to squeeze the grip around myself forever running in an effort to control
or
I could clear my mind, do nothing and allow myself the time to relax into the joy of life.

Meditation comes in many forms. Today it arrived while my hands were in the dirt and I realized that when you allow your mind the space to do nothing – it becomes easier to do everything.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie’s Life Lesson:
“When you allow your mind the
  space to do nothing – it becomes
easier to do everything.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pennie Heart to Heart
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOUR TOILET OVERFLOWS

YOUR TURN...
My intent in sharing this with you is to encourage you to step back when you are feeling overwhelmed. In the space between overwhelm and that step you may find clarity.
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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BOOMERANGS

12/1/2017

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BOOMERANGS
Do you remember playing with a boomerang?

You know the concept-- you hurl it into the air believing that you are throwing it far away and in seconds it is coming back aimed straight at you.
How does that happen?

We all have personal boomerangs; those pesky habits, patterns or cycles that repeat over and over again in our lives.

We love our boomerangs. We have a collection of them that we display in our mind’s trophy case. We polish them and engrave them with our favorite story.

Imagine a sparkling, bright, red lacquered boomerang with gold embedded words that say,

"I have played hokey-pokey with the
same 10-15 lbs of weight and just can't
seem to keep it off."

Can you see the shiny boomerang whooshing through the air as it is thrown with might and determination?
The weight goes down.
It feels great!
Then out of that same clear air this boomerang appears spinning straight back with precision accuracy and hula-hoops around the waist.
((PLUNK!))

There it is again that familiar 10 lbs.
How does that happen?

The story is verified and the game of hokey - pokey begins again.

What does your boomerang say? Is it engraved with words like-
"I am always sick,"
"I will never finish school,"
"I end up in the same dead end job all the
time,"
"I can't trust any man (or woman) that
I'm in a relationship with."

Do you see what all of these boomerangs have in common?

They are engraved with negative power and thrown with anger and dissatisfaction. We become so attached to these Boomerangs and the stories they carry that we keep polishing them and throwing them again and again.

And every time we are surprised when they come targeting right back to us.

What if we changed the story?
What if we changed the engraving to a positive message?
What if we threw our boomerang with love and kindness?

It would come back to us - they always do - but this time with the perfect weight, the job of our dreams, or an amazing partner.
We will wonder -- how did that happen.

Start throwing!
Throw love!
Throw kindness!
Throw hope!
Then wait.
It will come back. It always does.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie's Life Lesson:
"You can throw your life boomerang with love and kindness or anger and dissatisfaction- either way it will come back to you—it always does. The choice is yours!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pennie Heart to Heart
BOOMERANGS

YOUR TURN -
My intent in sharing this with you is to encourage you to think about how your life boomerangs return to you in the same way you throw them. Are you throwing them with love and kindness?
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]

0 Comments

THE GRATITUDE JAR

PENNIE HEART TO HEART
THE GRATITUDE JAR

When It Comes to Love, Anything Will Help!

WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE
ANYTHING WILL HELP

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN THE TOILET OVERFLOWS?

Pennie Heart to Heart
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOUR TOILET OVERFLOWS

BOOMERANGS

Pennie Heart to Heart
BOOMERANGS

Author

Archives

Categories

THE ​GRATITUDE JAR

PENNIE HEART TO HEARTTHE GRATITUDE JAR

When It Comes to Love, Anything Will Help!

WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE​ ANYTHING WILL HELP

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN THE TOILET OVERFLOWS?

Pennie Heart to HeartWHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOUR TOILET OVERFLOWS

BOOMERANGS

Pennie Heart to HeartBOOMERANGS

Author

Archives

Categories

THE GRATITUDE JAR

PENNIE HEART TO HEART
THE GRATITUDE JAR

WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE
ANYTHING WILL HELP

Pennie Heart to Heart
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOUR TOILET OVERFLOWS

Pennie Heart to Heart
BOOMERANGS