In this new year I am going to release to find space for peace. What does that mean? Over a decade ago, I gave up on New Year’s Resolutions. They never worked for me… or maybe I never worked intently on them. I always felt like I failed three weeks into the new year. So after years of trying I stopped making resolutions and I began choosing a word for my year. A word I could concentrate on that acts as a GPS to keep me on track. A concept I would ponder and pay attention to for an entire year. This has worked much better for me than a resolution. I print out the word and place it in places I see every day like on my computer screen, my bathroom mirror and my car visor. When I see it, I am reminded to keep the word, and its meaning, a priority in my life. This year I struggled with the word. I knew I wanted to clean out some areas in my life. I tried a few words on for size. I thought of how I wanted to purge some things, but I don’t like that word. When I say ‘purge’ it doesn’t feel good coming out of my mouth. It leaves a bad taste. Maybe “downsize?’ No, that didn’t hit the mark. Clean, eject, remove, eliminate, rid, dispose, declutter. None of these seemed right. I landed on release. That is what I was going for. This year I want to release things. I want to release clothes and household items I don’t use and donate them to those in need. I want to release things I keep in the hope of using them someday, but probably won’t. I want to release a few pounds and give them back to the Universe or to wherever pounds go when they leave your body. But more than that… I want to release comparison, competition and criticism that I have received and given. Resentment, anger, past hurts and wounds need to go. Then I asked myself a big question. Why? Why is releasing important to me? Why do I want to release these things? The answer was loud and clear - to create peace. I want to live in a clutter-free environment that feels peaceful. I want to be at peace with my health and body. From my closets to my heart and mind, I want plenty of space for peace. I also don’t want to feel like this is a chore or punishment. I want to learn to love the process of releasing. I’ve never been good at letting go. I become attached to things. I’m sentimental and attach emotion to items. I have sweaters that I’ve had for 20 years. I’ve held a few grudges just as long. I find places to stuff old clothes just on the chance I want to pull them out and wear them again. I find places to stuff emotions just in case I want to pull them out and carry them around again. This year I want to learn how to love walking away from what I don’t need and find joy in walking into the open space of peace it leaves. Does this sound like a lot? It is! But what if I could be successful at releasing even half of what I hope to? I would be dancing in a big opening of peace! The more I’m able to release the bigger my dance floor will be. This year my word is a phrase, Release to Find Peace. I’ll let you know how it goes. What will your word (or phrase) be? ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: When you release, you open space for peace. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 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.
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Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens Brown paper packages tied up with strings These are a few of my favorite things I bet you couldn’t read that without singing it. Here we are, Christmas week and all the decorations, wrapping, baking and music sends me back to memories of my past. Just like the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein song, I can remember a few of my favorite things from my childhood. The holiday dinners my mom made with all my favorite foods. The cut-out sugar cookies were my favorite treat. The different trees we had over the years, green, flocked, live, artificial, and yes, we had one of those silver trees with the color wheel shining on it that was oh so trendy at the time. (If you know what I am talking about we have just revealed our age.) I remember the year my brother climbed into the garage attic to find the gifts our parents had hidden there. My sister and I stood at the bottom of the ladder laughing and clapping our hands when he held up our presents. I squealed when he held up the Chatty Cathy Doll that I had begged my parents for. I also remember the lack of surprise and guilt on Christmas morning when she was standing under the Christmas tree waiting for me. My Dad was the king of giving funny gifts and teasing us about what Santa would bring. We went through a phase of eating pop-tarts every morning for breakfast. My sister and I hated the hard corners and edges. We would break them off and pile them in a corner on our plate so we could enjoy eating just the creamy soft inner part. My dad would continually grump at us for wasting half of the toaster treat. For Christmas that year we were given a box full of our broken pop-tart edges. I have no idea where he had hidden them for all those months, but I remember his glee when we opened the box. Another year he had collected enough identical boxes from his work to wrap every one of our gifts. It was impossible for my brother, sister and I to guess what was in the boxes that were all the same shape, size and even weight. My Dad was very proud of himself for pulling off such a clever scheme. One of my favorite Christmas gifts was from my brother. For days I would hear an odd squeaking sound coming from his bedroom. My entire family repeatedly told me it was something wrong with the furnace and they would call the repairman after the holidays. On Christmas morning my brother came out of his room with a very oddly wrapped gift for me. It was a cage that held my new buddy, Oscar the hamster. Oscar had been running in his squeaky wheel for days in my brother’s room. No repairman was needed. The moment that Oscar came into my life brought me joy that I have never forgotten. Because of that memory years later, my own three children woke up on Christmas morning to find 3 hamster cages with their new best buddies inside. And the joy was repeated. We all have childhood memories like this. We can all remember our favorite things about holidays in the past. Why not share these memories with others during this holiday week? My song would go something like this… Petrified pop-tarts and silver-shined trees A hamster named Oscar – oh yes, if you please! Brown paper packages that all look the same These are a few of my favorite things When the dog bites When the bee stings When I'm feeling sad I simply remember my favorite things And then I don't feel so bad ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Take some time to remember a few of your favorite things from holidays of the past. Share your memories with someone you love. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 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. For many people winter is long, cold and isolating. Many suffer from seasonal depression caused by the long dark days of winter. Many struggle with the lack of friends or family support during the holidays. This kind of cold makes us hunker down in our homes curled tightly in a “protect me” position. We try to protect our hearts. It is human nature during any type of cold to do this, not just winter. The feelings of cold and isolation can strike at any time. Anger, rejection, betrayal, grief, fear, and depression all create feelings of cold and isolation. Have you noticed when we receive difficult news, or tragedy hits we instantly reach for our heart, pull our shoulders inward, curl our back forward, and sometimes even drop to the floor? This circles our heart in protection. We want to enclose ourselves in a cocoon so that the cold and pain cannot reach us. The tight “protect me” pose closes our body posture in a way that tightens around our heart secluding it from others. Secluding us from others. We feel cold and isolated from everyone as if we are alone in a frigid storm just trying to survive. When the end of winter is in sight or the journey through a life challenge becomes easier, we see the sun fill our lives once again. The days become longer and brighter. We become lighter. As the warmth rejuvenates us, we stand up taller in a happier, open stance. Our back straightens and our hands reach away from our hearts opening our chests to breathe again. This strengthens and stretches our lives in a more openhearted way, allowing love to flow through our hearts freely once again. We break out of our cocoons to feel the sun, leave the isolation and open our hearts to others. This openheartedness creates a glow that not only warms us, but everyone we interact with. By pulling back the layers that protected us from the cold, like Superman pulling back his shirt, we reveal our hearts and come alive once again. Does this cycle sound familiar to you? Do you see it in yourself? Do you see it in others? A little introspective time alone to regroup and analyze our life isn’t always a bad thing. But when the cold feels too lonely and the isolation becomes too deep ask for help. Never be afraid to ask for help. Invite a friend or family member to listen to your fears and concerns. If you see a friend or family member cocooning too deeply, knock on their door, call their phone, or reach out to check on them. A small gesture can offer hope that they desperately need. Ask for help when you need it, offer hope when it’s needed. Let me say that again, ask for help when you need it, offer hope when it’s needed. Pay attention to how and when you curl into the “protect me” position. Pay attention to how and when you break free of your cocoon to spread your butterfly wings for all to see. There is a time for both. Power comes with knowing when to safely curl and when to fly. The real power comes from knowing when you need help and when you need to offer hope. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Ask for help when you need it, offer hope when it’s needed. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 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. He runs into the room, stops right in front of me and says, "Oh, Hi!" This is a lovely greeting that I have heard three times in the last 30 minutes. You see, every time his almost two-year-old legs carry him out of the room and then back again, he looks at me as if I have just arrived. With every, “Oh, Hi,” his enthusiasm and excitement, jumped out of his body. His expression is one of pure delight! Everyone laughs at the charm of this, but the lesson is not lost on me. Imagine if we saw everything in every moment of our lives as if we were seeing it for the first time.... even if we just saw it five minutes ago. Can you imagine being in the present moment at that level? Everything in our world would seem bigger and brighter. Looking at the sky would be like seeing blue for the first time. The sound of music would be as if we had never experienced harmony before. We would notice every petal on the flower, every flavor in our food, every breeze that brushes our cheek. Hearing the voice, laughter and seeing the faces of those close to us would be like the moment we fell in love with them – the first time. We would only see what is in front of us at that very second without giving any thought to what captured us the second before or what may be waiting for us around the next minute. Now, just right now is what fills the screen of our mind in vivid color and exquisite freshness. What pleasure! What joy! What an awesome way to experience life! Why not begin now? Yes, right now during the hustle of decorating, shopping and baking, slow down and experience it all as if it was the first time. The first time you ever experienced Christmas. The first time you ever plugged in the lights that turned your home into a sparkling wonderland. The first time you bought a special present for someone you care about. The first time you frosted a cut-out snowman cookie – and then ate it, letting the frosting line your lips and the goodness feed your happiness. It would be your first parade, your first elementary school choir concert and your first Christmas Eve church service. It would be the first time you helped your children put out cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. On Christmas morning, it would be the first time you saw a stocking with your name on it filled with goodies. You would open the first gift, wrapped in glitter paper and tied with a red bow, that you ever received. What if we went even a step further? What if it was the ONLY time you were ever going to experience this? What if each event was a once-in-a-lifetime moment? You know, the kind of moment when you rode a bike for the first time without training wheels. The moment you said, “I Do.” The moment your child was born. These are spectacular moments that happen once and can’t be done over. What if we lived our days like this? Excited for every experience and totally focused on the moment? These are two techniques to keep you in the present. Looking at things as if it is the first time and enjoying a moment as if it can never happen again. I challenge you to try these in the next few weeks. You will be involved at a deeper level in your life. You will create powerful memories. You will be more present with those you love. I hope you enjoy this season with pure delight- maybe for the first time. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson Greet every moment, person, place and thing as if you are seeing them for the first time. Savor the experience with new eyes. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 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. “If you keep saying he is shy, he is going to be shy.” I wasn’t thrilled with this comment coming from a stranger – or anyone for that matter. I was at a neighborhood rummage sale with my adorable young son. I say adorable in the most truthful and unbiased way because he was. His thick dark hair framed his face spotlighting his huge brown eyes. One blink of his long lashes and people were sucked in by his cuteness. Everyone wanted to talk to him. He didn’t want to talk to anyone. He clutched my leg hiding his face in my jeans. It was the same scenario everywhere we went. Three people at the rummage sale tried to talk to him and three times he hid his face. I just repeated, “He is shy.” A fourth woman came up behind me and in a quiet voice said, “If you keep saying he is shy, he is going to be shy.” I spun around almost knocking over my son who was firmly attached to my leg. We met eyes. Her’s with truthful intention, mine filled with disbelief and a bit of anger. As quickly as her eyes jabbed me with the depth of her comment, she disappeared down the driveway and into a car. I didn’t have the chance to defend myself for stating what I thought was the truth- a protective statement to keep strangers away from my child. How dare she tell me what I should or shouldn’t say about my son. The verbal smackdown I received kept me company as I went on with my day. Every time I replayed the interaction and heard the comment it dug deeper and deeper through my heart lodging in my stomach. My anger turned to embarrassment when I realized she was right. Each time I said he was shy it embedded in my son’s mind, teaching him to be shy and reinforcing this trait. I wondered how many times I had said it in front of him. I knew it was many more than the three times at the garage sale that day. I do know that was the last time. I have never forgotten this experience. I am grateful to the woman who gave me this lesson that made such an impact on me and without him knowing it, on my son. I have had similar experiences in my life where a stranger seemed to be at the right place at a time when I needed to be given an important lesson and then vanished as quickly as they arrived. Are they Earth Angles that arrive with special assignments to teach us, guide us and turn us toward the correct path? Maybe they are giving us a swift smackdown, a quick pick-up, or a powerful nudge to wake us up and save us from our own good intentions. I guess you will have to decide the answer to that question for yourself. I know what I believe. I believe angels don’t have to be hiding wings under a trench coat or dropping feathers with every lesson. I believe angels walk with us through our days and touch our lives right here on Earth teaching us and bringing us simple gifts of truth. Many times we don’t notice when it happens, but the lessons sink into our minds. Oh, and that adorable boy with the big brown eyes and thick dark hair, is no longer hiding behind my leg. In fact, he is now a very handsome and very successful man who can often be seen presenting on a stage to over 12 thousand people. I say that in the most truthful, unbiased and proud way because he is. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Pay attention to the lessons you learn from strangers. They may be angels in disguise delivering the most important messages of all. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 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. |
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