You are driving along the boulevard of life believing everything is fine and then WAM! BAM! In one flash the metaphoric airbag goes off in your face and for a moment of unconscious confusion you don't know what happened, how it happened, or why it happened… but it changes everything. These airbag moments happen in life. They can be big. They can be life-changing. They can be physically, emotionally, and financially painful. Just like in a fender bender, eventually life goes back to (at least) semi-normal. After a fender bender, your car can be repaired or replaced. You will get back in and drive, but you will always be looking in your mirrors to make sure you are safe. These moments in life work the same way. When something happens that changes your life, you patch the wound. But, you will always be looking over your shoulder trying hard to avoid another of life’s airbag moments. A soul slap hits deeper. A soul slap reaches in and grabs your heart shaking you to the core of your soul. It happens in a life-altering second when the world stops and your thinking is realigned. Life is instantly, and forever, categorized as before and after. Your brain files all memories of the past and visions of the future in relation to the soul slap moment. It can’t be fixed. It changes everything. Permanently. Soul slaps and airbag moments are at times harsh heart jabbing events and at times joyous celebrations. The moment of your child’s birth and you hold them for the first time. The moment you say goodbye to a loved one for the last time. The phone call that brings you to your knees in grief. The undeniable mistake that can't be reversed. The receiving of love and happiness or the ripping away of the same. A tragedy in your community or the world. We will all be touched by soul slaps and airbag moments. Pay attention to the highs and the lows that occur in your life and the lives of your family and friends. Look into their faces. We will all share these human experiences. The highs and the lows. The good and the bad. These all cause a slap to the heart that says, "WAKE UP!" Wake up to see what you have, what you had, and what you will be given. Wake up to be thankful for it all and for the time you held it. Wake up to understand that THIS moment is the moment that counts and don't take the people or experiences in your life for granted. No one journeys through this life without soul slaps and airbag moments. There is no secret bubble of protection that shields us from the vulnerability of being stricken. There is no shortcut through this journey of life. There is no secret path of perfection you can follow that guarantees a smooth walk with no mountains to stand on top of or valleys to fall into. Peace comes from learning to appreciate the airbag moments as lessons that move our journey forward. Growth happens when we respect the soul slaps as the breaking open of our hearts to create space for love to expand. Being brought to our knees, by pain or joy, forces us to lift our heads and look up in gratitude instead of looking down in fear. The understanding of this will bring the calmness required to feel pain and joy. The peace required to heal. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie's Life Lesson: Be thankful for all you experience in life and the ability to see the lessons in both the joyous and the heartbreaking. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ #CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. 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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This has been harder than I thought it would be. I am not sure I thought this through. When I picked my word for the year it sounded like a great idea. My word is Release. I wanted to Release to find Peace. I wanted to live in a clutter-free environment that feels peaceful. I wanted to be at peace with my health and body. From my closets to my heart and mind, I wanted to release things, thoughts, and ideas that don’t serve me. I wanted plenty of space for peace. This leads me to where I am today: my version of spring cleaning. I began over a month ago on this cleaning frenzy. It began with the junk drawers in the kitchen, then the food pantry, and now I am heart-deep in a storage closet of memories. It is the closet where all the plastic tubs live. The tubs filled with baby books, blankets, and home run baseballs from my children. Tubs filled with memories of my parents and my son. Tubs filled with my life – report cards, awards from past jobs, and old resumes. All of these are currently arranged on an old bed sheet that spreads across my family room floor. The closet is almost empty and ready to be vacuumed and neatly restocked. I plan to only allow the most meaningful items to be returned to the closet. But this has been hard. The first problem is the amount of time it takes to look at things. To read papers. To relive the memories. To make the big decisions… throw away, donate or keep. Some are easy decisions. I really don’t need six copies of a newspaper article about me when I began a new job 25 years ago. I really don’t need to keep receipts of payment for every semester of college I paid for. Nor do I need the medical details of a surgery I had in 1995 – yes, I found that. My recycle/shredding pile is large. It is the heart-throttling items that stop me. My parent’s wedding book with stories of how they met and became engaged. My son’s hoodie covered in patches he collected and had me sew on like stickers on a piece of luggage that had traveled the world. And a million photos of all the places I have been, the people I love, and this life I have lived. These slow me down, and my emotions work overtime insisting that I keep it all. The heck with releasing anything! Recently I watched a travel show where the host visited Finland. I have never been there, and it probably won’t ever be on my bucket list. One word from the show intrigued me and lodged in a wrinkle of my brain. “Sisu.” During the show, they roughly translated this Finish term to mean - strength of will, determination, perseverance, and acting rationally in the face of adversity. Sisu is not momentary courage, but the ability to sustain that courage. I love a good word and love even more a great motivational concept. So of course, I have kept this in mind during my journey through the land of plastic tubs and memories. I have a clear vision of what this storage closet should and will look like when I am done. It will be a clutter-free organized space that brings me peace. I will continue with sustained courage to wade through every memory. I will use my strength of will to make decisions about what means the most to me. What needs to be tucked safely back into its tub for me to occasionally look at and enjoy. What needs to be thrown away or donated. What I can share with others, giving them the joy of owning it. To me, the energy of Sisu means that I am going to do everything possible to get it done, whatever the task is before me. Right now, that is releasing. I will release to find peace. Next up, my clothes closet and the 80 pairs of shoes I own. The releasing will continue. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: It takes sustained courage to look at your life and decide what needs to be released to open a space of peace. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ #CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. 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 came home empty-handed. I had anticipated this shopping trip for a week. It was going to be a day of shopping alone. Me time. My enthusiasm created adrenaline just thinking about this shopping spree. I went to all of my favorite stores. I tried on clothes. Nothing seemed to fit me right. I went to shoe stores. There wasn’t a pair that I wanted to bring home. I even went to my favorite home stores where typically pillows, plants and pots excite me. None of them did. My enthusiasm and adrenaline faded. I drove home at the end of my day in an empty car and my money still in my purse. What just happened? I love to shop. It is exciting to buy new things. It is thrilling and satisfying for me to find deals. I have days when I see dozens of things I want, but I am in a hurry and don’t have the time to shop. But this day I was ready to shop in every way. So how did I come home empty-handed? I thought about this for days. Shopping didn’t seem to hold the same thrill as it used to. There wasn’t anything I really loved. There wasn’t anything I really wanted. Maybe a “shopping spree” wasn’t what I needed. Maybe what I needed was a “living spree.” Maybe I needed a day of feeling joy. A day of happiness. A day of doing things that make me feel alive. A living spree! How would I do that? How would anyone do that? I thought of a few ways. What if we… Defined what brings us joy and happiness? To refresh your memory, slow down. Watch a child play. Get down on their level. Look at the magic of life through their eyes. Remember what brought you joy as a child. Once you remember the joy, do it again. Play with a puppy, eat ice cream, dance and celebrate life! What if we… Counted? We count money. We count time. We count accomplishments and goals. We count calories and pounds. We count fingers, toes and jellybeans in a jar. But what if we counted smiles? How many we gave and how many we were given. What if we counted laughs and giggles? What if we counted blessings? What if we counted what is important? What if we… Stepped out of our comfort zone and tried new experiences? It could be anything from trying a new food to learning a new skill or hobby. Trying new things just might help us grow and discover new passions. We may find a new way to bring joy and happiness to our lives. What if we… Went deep digging into nature? Go outside. Dig deep into the dirt until you see earthworms and ants. Plant something. Trees, seeds, flowers or vegetables. Watch how the sun and the rain nurture them. Watch them grow. Let your bare feet feel the grass. Swim in a lake. Hike. Jump in the ocean. Wrap yourself in nature. What if we… Gave ourselves the gift of doing nothing? Take a peaceful pause. Stop. Sit. Breathe. Notice how it feels. Notice what you smell, what you hear, and what you see. Notice where your mind goes. Can you do this for 5 minutes? Can you do this for an hour? Have a journal nearby to write down the creative thoughts that come to you. What if we… Were surrounded by positive people? We deserve to be motivated, encouraged, supported, lifted, surrounded by love, inspired and celebrated! People we love deserve the same. Don’t settle for anything less from those you spend time with and don’t give anything less to those you love. What if we… Gave? What if we gave to others? What if we gave our time, experience and expertise to help others? What if we gave joy and happiness? What if we gave laughter and smiles? What if we gave hope? Sometimes it isn’t shopping, buying and adding to our collection of things that brings us joy and happiness. Sometimes we need to take the time to love life. Go on a Living Spree! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Treat yourself to a living spree! It may become a habit. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ #CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #journeythrough #PennieHunt YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. 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 was a crazy circle I couldn’t get out of. That is how I remember the first time I drove in a roundabout. The other drivers sped in and out, changing lanes with confidence. The rush of the cars pushed me into the comfort zone of continuing to circle a couple of times without venturing to the exits. Finally, on the third try, I clicked on my blinker, moved into the turning lane and maneuvered through my exit. Eureka! I felt relief! How many times do we get stuck in the roundabout of life? We may feel like we are not smart enough to go back to school to gain the education we want. It is easy to stay status quo watching the years pass without making that move, while life seems to speed by. So we circle. We really don’t like our job, but the fear of interviewing and trying something new keeps us in our comfort zone. It isn’t what we want, but it seems better than taking a step into the unknown. So we circle. We stay in a relationship that we know does not serve our spirit, but the idea of being alone is worse than staying where we are. So we circle. We believe we are too young or too old, or just not good enough to take a risk. So we circle. Here’s the deal -- Life Comes With Turning Lanes! We don’t have to stay in the comfortable circle watching the turns that lead to a new road or a new adventure fly by us. We don’t have to stay inside the safety of the center circle watching others speed by taking opportunities when they arise. We don’t have to accept less than our spirit deserves because we are afraid to take a risk! Stop driving in circles. Don’t continue to look at the same dotted yellow lines believing there is only one way. Life does come with turning lanes. Move over, turn on that blinker and try one. If it isn’t the right one, try another, and another, and another. This is your road of life and you are the only one who can drive it. Now, as I travel through roundabouts, I think back to my first trip through and I chuckle. In the same way, I look back at my life and the opportunities that frightened me and I chuckle. Without clicking on my blinker and moving into the turning lane I would have continued in a very small circle without exploring the turns that have taken me on magnificent adventures. Without learning how to take a risk when I knew my life needed a different path, I would have never seen the amazing scenery I have experienced in my life. Not all of my turns have been perfect, but the good news is there is always another turn ahead. Another opportunity. Another experience and journey. I still am not a big fan of roundabouts. I would rather come to a stop, look both ways and think about which way I am going to turn, and then proceed with caution. I have come to realize that the roundabouts in life allow so many opportunities to choose from. So many chances to change. And so many ways to live your life. Don’t be afraid to drive right in and pick the turn that leads you to the adventure and happiness that you deserve. Pennie’s Life Lesson: You are the only one that can drive YOUR road of life. Don’t miss the turns that lead to adventure and happiness. YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. 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. She asked me if I would teach her. I wasn’t sure I could. After all, it had been years since I crocheted anything. Decades, really. But this was an opportunity to spend time with my granddaughter and I wasn’t going to let that pass by. I decided a scarf would be a great first project. We went to the fabric store and bought yarn. She picked green and cream. I chose brown and beige. We sat down with her new set of hooks and my old set that I dug out of my craft closet. Deep breath. I thought of all the blankets, scarves, hats, and even the Sesame Street Christmas ornaments I had crocheted when my kids were small. Surely, I could remember how. It would be just like riding a bike, right? Something you never forget. We rolled our yarn skeins into big balls, chatting about how long our scarves should be and how we should design the color. Then we picked up our hooks and began. I showed her how to make the beginning loop and how to circle the yarn around her pinky finger, over the back of her hand while keeping her pointer finger up to control the tension of the yarn. I said, “wrap the yarn around the hook and pull it through the loop.” Again, I repeated, “wrap the yarn around the hook and pull it through the loop.” She watched and in a quick few minutes we were creating our chains. When they were the length we wanted, I demonstrated how to turn the project around and begin the second row. Then the third and the fourth. The yarn gliding through my fingers felt familiar. Like a friend I hadn’t been with in a while, but now that we were together again the speed of my yarn through my hook increased with every stitch. To her it felt awkward and new. She concentrated and her moves were slow and methodical. I watched her trying variations of holding the hook and controlling the tension of the yarn. I explained to her if she learned to let the yarn run through her fingers the correct way, soon she would be an expert and it would begin to feel normal. I would stop and watch her. She would stop and watch me. Hours went by as we laughed, chatted and told stories. I heard about her school and I told her how my mom taught me how to crochet and sew and how my grandmother taught me how to decorate cakes and paint. We changed to the second color and our beginning chains were turning into scarves. Her work was becoming even and consistent. Her yarn was gliding through her fingers the correct way. She began talking about other projects she wanted to crochet and other artistic endeavors we should do together. Because of my granddaughter, I was revisiting a hobby I had put away long ago. I enjoyed it again. It was creative and relaxing. It was fun and I was good at it. I remembered how to do it – just like riding a bike. She asked me if I would teach her, but with every thought, giggle, and stitch she was teaching me not to forget the fun in life. She was teaching me how to remember what I am good at and to teach it to others. She taught me how to keep the chains in life strong and how important it is to pass them on to those who follow us. Now… let’s get out the sewing machine and those paintbrushes- I have much more to share. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Don’t let your skills be forgotten. Share the chains of life. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. 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. No one believes me, but it is true. When I was in 4th-grade, I won a spelling contest. I don’t remember the words, but I do remember the prize. A small pocket-sized dictionary. The New Vest Pocket Webster Dictionary to be exact. I still have it. It’s in my desk drawer. I keep it as a reminder of what I can do, of what I am capable of, and of the possibilities of my dreams- even when no one believes in them - except me. I remember that day in 4th-grade. We were in a line around the perimeter of the classroom. I leaned next to the cabinet where the pencil sharpener was bolted to a wooden countertop. The countertop where my 4th-grade crush had carved my initials PH deep into the wood. We went around the circle spelling words and sitting down when we didn’t spell one correctly. I was the last one standing. I surprised myself! I was so proud to be given the dictionary. I quickly wrote my name inside in my best 4th-grade penmanship and tucked it in my school desk. When I tell this story now to friends and family, they all laugh. No one believes I won a spelling contest because I can’t spell. Yes, a writer that is not a good speller – it’s true. No one in my family can spell. I believed it was hereditary. Oh, I can spell thousands of words, but there are thousands of words I can’t spell. Dictionaries and spell-checking programs are my friends. Today I opened my desk drawer and saw the little red dictionary. Initially I thought of that day in 4th grade, my pride in winning and the self-confidence I felt. I picked up the reminder of my success and quickly my thoughts went to a negative place. Why didn’t I become a great speller? Why can’t I logically sound out and spell every word I think of? What gene did my family miss out on that skewed our ability in this area? I never won another spelling contest. As a teenager, I was teased if I misspelled a word. As an adult, it became embarrassing if I misspelled a word in a letter or document. (People LOVE to point out your mistakes.) These experiences added fuel to my negative self-talk. Over the years the belief in my head became bigger – I can’t spell. Do you see how easy it is to believe something? Especially if it is negative. Our ego and dreams can be squelched if we believe a story and allow it to take over our life. After I won that spelling contest it could have gone a different way. It could have fueled my interest in winning again. I could have become the best speller in my class, my school and my family. I could be a maestro of spelling! But I am not. My family still occasionally teases me about my poor spelling skills, and they continue to roll their eyes and laugh when I remind them that I did win a 4th-grade spelling contest. I keep this little dictionary in my desk drawer as a reminder. A reminder that although my 4th-grade success didn’t follow me through my life, it didn’t stop me from my dreams. Spelling is only part of writing. I followed my dream of being a writer. I am a good writer. I quilt together words to tell stories that connect with people. In doing this I check and double-check words. I use the tools of writing- paper, pens, notebooks, computers, spell check... And yes, I will still reach for my little red dictionary. I did win that 4th-grade spelling contest. No one believes me, but it’s true! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Don’t let one weakness stop you from your dreams. Dream anyway! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. 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. We were sitting in a funeral home at a round table in a small meeting room. I had been here before. Not at this funeral home and not planning this funeral, but I have been in this space. The space where someone is no longer with us. The space where we plan the final goodbye. The space of exhaustion from the days leading up to this moment. I had done this many times before- sat in a chair like this in the space of sadness, grief and yes, love. This time it was for my mother-in-law, Marion. I say her name because we should. We should say the names of our loved ones who have passed from this life. It shows respect and honor for who they were. It helps us remember them. During the conversation, the funeral director was going through a list of options when my husband said, “No, none of that is necessary. She was a simple person.” I smiled, remembering another time I heard that comment. It was a few months before my Dad, Charlie Hunt, passed. He had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and it was his last few months of life. I had treated my parents to a nice hotel room. My Dad looked around the room and said, “Oh, we don’t need anything this fancy – we are simple people.” Hearing my husband say it about his Mom made the room we were sitting in feel bigger. Suddenly it held the memories of all the funerals I had planned in the last few years. It held their faces, their last days, their last words. And it held a shocking reality. The reality is that we are all simple people. Most people don’t like to admit it. Most people don’t like to show it. We hide it behind the house we live in, the cars we drive, the toys we buy and the clothes we wear. We cover our simplicity with titles, accomplishments and awards. We spend a lifetime trying to prove that we are somebody. We use our careers and status to help us believe we are important. That we have climbed the ladder to the top and have made it far above the simple people. But, are we that important? Are we really above anyone? The truth is we are all just simple people. Stripped down to our raw nakedness of being human we are all the same. We all arrived in this life in the same way without any of these possessions or accolades. Without the house, the cars, the toys, the clothes, the awards and titles we are all just people. We all matter. We are all equally important. We are all loved by someone. We have all made a difference in our life – to someone. We are all simply living and making our way through this life the best we can. Maybe it is time to wake up to this reality. I’m not saying we should get rid of all that we have worked for or earned in our life. I’m just saying maybe it is time to put it all into perspective. The shiny things we buy and the big titles we carry don’t change who we are. They don’t make us bigger or better than anyone else. Don’t wait until you have been given a diagnosis and realize you have months to live. Don’t wait until you say your last goodbye to a loved one to see this reality. None of these things, possessions, properties, titles or awards matter. Understand this now… we are all simple people. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: We all come into this life and leave the same way- as simple people. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. 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 have over 30 spots on my body where I have been scraped, burned and lasered. I have just returned from my 6-month dermatology appointment. As I look at these fresh wounds, I remember an appointment 4 years ago… It was a quick visit. Routine really. It was more of a vanity issue to have one ugly mole removed than a health concern. The ugly one and a few others were frozen with liquid nitrogen and one removed and sent in for a biopsy – just to make sure, the doctor said. I got dressed, gathered my purse, paid the receptionist, took the brochure the doctor gave me about skin cancer and went on with my day. When I got home, I cleaned out my car and the brochure went into the recycling bin. After all I thought, - it won’t happen to me. There have been many times in my life when I have been surprised. This phone call was one of them. “The biopsy came back positive,” the nurse said. Melanoma. She scheduled an appointment for me to have a larger section of skin removed for another biopsy. Where was that brochure? I hadn’t even read it. “Melanoma is a BIG DEAL,” the doctor said as she sat down next to me in the examining room. We read the lab report together. This had been found early and the hope was that by removing a larger section it would capture all of the Melanoma cells. This was a long visit. Numbing of my leg. A larger, deeper piece of my skin was removed. Stitches. As I got dressed, I searched through the doctor’s display of information for the brochure. The one titled, “SKIN CANCER.” This time I kept it. This time I read it. It outlined three types of skin cancer. I scanned through the first two and came to the third. I read - Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer. The brochure went on to outline all the things you should do to Prevent-Detect-Live. I have pretty much done everything it said I shouldn’t do. I remember so many years ago, splashing on baby oil to lay in the sun to gain the perfect tan. The years- YEARS- of water skiing, swimming and hiking. And yes, visits to tanning beds. As time went on I heard about skin cancer and sunscreen was added to my life, but not in the amount or intensity it should have been. I always thought it won’t happen to me. Regular dermatology appointments became a must in my life. Being self-aware of changes in my skin became routine. Six months after that first Melanoma removal it was time for another skin check. This time I had one that I was suspicious of and pointed it out to the dermatologist. She felt it was probably fine, but she listened to my concerns, removed the suspicious spot and sent it in for a biopsy. Again, the phone call came, and the biopsy was again positive for Melanoma. My life repeated the scenario of taking a larger section of my skin, more stitches and more reality. It had happened to me again. That was four years ago. Now I have regular 6-month dermatology appointments. Now I continually scan every mole and spot on my body. Now I wear hats and sun-protective clothing and pay attention to the best sunscreen and how I apply it. Now I encourage others to do the same. The sting of these 30 new red sores reminds me to never forget and never get careless. The minor discomfort is a gentle reminder to love myself enough to take care of ME! A reminder that if it can happen to others why couldn’t it happen to me. And if it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Love yourself enough to take care of YOU! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. 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. Here we are knee deep in the year 2023 and tip toeing into the month of love. It is interesting that because of one little day filled with flowers, chocolates and mushy greeting cards, we think of February as the month of love. But what does love have to do with it? Should we really allow love to take over one full day, let alone an entire month? Well, my answer to that question is No. I believe love should take over every day of every month of every year of our lives! You see, I believe we are here to do three things. Learn. Teach. And Love. It’s that easy. We are here to learn the lessons we need to learn, teach the lessons we need to teach and love and be loved. When we are done learning, teaching, loving and being loved we leave. How much simpler could it be? I also believe that love is the most important of the three things we are here to do. There is a reason my tagline is, Love Your Life -- No Matter What! It is because no matter what is happening in your life or the world you need to be grounded in love. Let’s doodle for a minute. Draw a circle. Put a little stick person in the center – that is you. Begin surrounding your stick figure with the names of people, places and things you love. Add the people who love you. Be creative. You could put them all in bubbles surrounding you or connect them with lines to your heart. Color them. Paint them. Use real photos and glue them on a tag board. Can you imagine the masterpiece you could create? When you are done, look at it. Really look at it. What is missing? NOTHING. You see, everything you need, want and have is connected to you through love. That little stick person is a happy little soul. Now be grateful for everyone in the masterpiece you just created, whether it is a doodle or a work of art. Feel the gratitude right to the center of that little stick person’s heart. A funny thing happens. Being grateful leads to more love. The more you love, the more love you receive. Love becomes the answer to every question! Every problem. Every concern in your life. But it doesn’t stop there. When you are grounded in love, you begin learning lessons about love and how to love more. Then you begin teaching these lessons. I am sure by now you see how the circle completes itself. Remember why I believe we are here - To learn, to teach and to love. Being here in this body, on this Earth, and at this time is a privilege. Be humbled by the magnitude of it. Do not take anything for granted. Be grateful for every moment, every breath, every experience, and every lesson learned. Sharing love leads to a space of gratitude and being grateful leads to living in a space of love. The basis for all of life’s lessons is LOVE! Life begins and ends with love. Love yourself. Love others. Love animals. Love nature. Love your heart out every day of your life! Love your life—NO MATTER WHAT! And so, I end where I began...What’s love got to do with it? EVERYTHING! Pennie’s Life Lesson: A life of gratitude, joy, and happiness is created by love. YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. 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 name is Pennie Hunt and I am a Firewalker. That is probably not something you would expect me to say, but it is true. I even have the t-shirt to prove it! Several years ago, I attended a motivational conference. After days of inner work about personal power and strength, focus and motivation, the climax of the event was a fire walk. A huge pile of wood crackled and burned until it fell into a thick layer of chunky red-hot coals. We were instructed not to run, to walk at a slow, steady pace and don’t stop. Look up and forward at our destination, not down at the fiery hot coals. Others could stand behind the starting line, but fire walking was something we had to do alone. As I stood at the edge of this path of fire watching others successfully walk through and celebrate at the finish line, I wondered if I had the courage to do it. The previous days of learning (and believing) that I had the strength to control my own outcome circled in my head. Did I have the courage? The answer was, YES! As I stepped up to the coals, barefoot and ready, I heard the crowd cheering words of encouragement. Once I took the first step there was no turning back. The cheers became muffled behind me. I looked up, walked forward, and listened to my own voice tell me I could do it. As I stepped into the wet pad of moss waiting for me at the end, my hands flew up, my support team cheered, and yes, I may have cried with excitement-- I did it! I came home from that event exhilarated and believing I could accomplish anything, after all, I was a Firewalker!! Many times since then I have revisited the learnings of that event and the feelings of walking over burning hot coals. I realize how it has related to the many fires I have walked through in my life. Here's the thing... Everyone is a Firewalker! We all walk through fire at some point in our lives. These fires take many forms: divorce, health issues, loss of a job, or the death of someone you love. The lessons I learned that day on the burning coals work for all of life’s fires. I will share a few here. You must take the first step. If you stand at the edge of the fire yearning for the soft landing on the other side, you will either be pushed in or remain living in a place of fear. You must take the first step. You must take your time; walk slowly and experience the fire. If you try to rush the process believing that by running through you won’t feel the pain, hot coals will be kicked up lodging deeper into your skin. You will have to deal with the pain. You must feel the fire, but keep moving through. If you get stuck too long, the fire begins to feel normal to you. You become used to the burning and the attention you receive for being there. Eventually, others may lose interest in your burning and leave you standing in the heat. You must walk through your fires alone. You may have many people cheering you on from the sidelines, but ultimately you have to learn the lessons and walk through fires alone. You must look up and forward as you walk. As you walk, if you continually look down at the fire, the fear will consume you causing you to live a life of victimization and bitterness. You must look ahead to a future past the fire. You must check for smoldering sparks. Tiny pieces of hot coals stick between your toes and in the depths of your heart. These hidden sparks may seem harmless, but when left unattended may flare up again and again. Say thank you and celebrate what was good about walking through fire. When you have walked through the fire, look back at what you accomplished. Honor the fire for the lessons it gave you --strength, courage, patience and love. You must believe you can. Finally, and most importantly, from the first step to the last, you MUST believe in yourself! I am Pennie Hunt and I am a Firewalker. And guess what, YOU are too. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Believe you have the courage to walk through the fires of life and be grateful for the lessons they teach you. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. 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. Do you believe you have value? I don’t mean a monetary price tag. I mean a value of importance and worth to family, friends, coworkers, employers and your community. Do you believe you hold value to them? Do you value yourself? Hmmm. Never thought of that? We can become so caught up in our daily lives that we begin to go through the motions of work, school, caretaking, commitments, and obligations. All the things we believe we must do. We can become so mechanical in our actions that we don’t think about what value we are adding. We just move from one task to the next. This can desensitize us to feeling the emotions that attach to our movements and to the people we are moving for. We can block the acceptance of gratitude and appreciation from others because we don’t see the value we have given them. And they don’t tell us. Our self-worth can settle into a space much lower than it should be because we have blocked the energy of value from others that would feed our worthiness. If you asked someone what value you bring to them what would they say? A teenager may say things like – you take me to school and cook for me. A coworker may say – you get your work done on time so I can get mine done on time. These kinds of answers make us feel competent but might not make us feel valuable. What would your spouse or partner say if you asked the same question? Wouldn’t it be great if the answers were – when you cook for me it makes me feel loved and cared for. Or -- when you get your work done on time you make me feel supported and that we are a team that can trust each other. Your value to me is the mutual trust and support we share. Could you answer the question if someone asked what value they bring to you? It works both ways. If you want to feel valued, you must communicate to others how you value them. Action and body language communicate as deeply as words. When someone you care about walks into the room, look up from your computer or phone and show interest and happiness. Show that you value them enough to give them your full attention. In business we talk about ‘value added’ and how we can add value to our product or service. Can we use this same concept in our life and interaction with others? Can we pay attention and really think about what value we are adding? Can we pay attention to what value others are adding? Feeling valued and expressing how you value others becomes a dance of complicated simplicity. It is simple to tell people how important they are to you and why. It is simple to express your gratitude for them. We seem to make it complicated by couching our feelings in words of task accomplishments instead of words of value, appreciation and gratitude for having them in our lives. Begin telling others today what value they bring to your life. Use words of feelings and emotions. You may be surprised how they will reciprocate by telling you what value you bring to them. You will begin to understand the value you hold, and your self-esteem and self-worth will grow. Your confidence will expand. Your relationships will flourish. How you value yourself will become an important compass for your life. You will know you have value. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Express to others why they are valuable to you and your life. Believe you add value to them. Always, always, value yourself. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. 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. When he hit the ball over the fence, all the coaches seated two rows in front of me stood up and asked, “Where did he come from?” It was the third pitch and the third time in a row he struck a home run hit. We just moved to this new community and J.T. was trying out to be on one of the 10–12-year-old Little League teams. He had played baseball since he could stand on his chubby baby legs and carry around a plastic bat. He was proficient at hitting that hard and that far. It was a good thing, as he wasn’t a fast runner, so he had to hit it over the fence, or they would get him out at first base. I should explain, he wouldn’t just run the bases after he hit the ball over the fence. Every step was filled with a dancing combination of excitement, happiness and enthusiasm. He would jump on home plate with joy. He didn’t play for the score or accolades. He played to have fun and fill everyone who watched him with laughter and joy. This is how he lived his life. To have fun and spread joy and laughter. Music lit him up. He couldn’t stand still when he heard it. He would jump up and start dancing. His hands were always drumming on the steering wheel as he drove and sang along with the radio. He played his drums with a fire that came from somewhere inside of him and his guitar became an appendage of his body that he couldn’t live without. When he laughed, everyone laughed with him. He cared about family, friends and strangers in a deeply connected way. He wondered about everyone’s story. He carried the heartache and the heartbreak of others as if it was his burden to hold. And he could hug. Oh, he could hug. He would surround you in a circle of energy that would penetrate straight to your heart and back to his. Just when you thought he was done, he would squeeze a little harder for one more zap of love. You never wanted him to let go. When he was a teenager, we took him to Laguna Beach. Early one morning we stood on our hotel balcony looking out at the ocean. In the distance on a rock formation that had surfaced during low tide, my husband pointed to a figure and said, “That’s JT.” He was sitting as far out as he could at the edge of the largest rock. The ocean waves were slapping the rocks around him and the mist of the water spraying the air gave the scene a mystical feel. We watched him for a long time, imagining what he was thinking, what he was wondering about. My husband said, “He is an artist.” It was true. He was a true artist, a musician, an adventurer and a lover of nature and all beings. He had a deep connection to feelings and emotions. And an even deeper curiosity about life, the universe and what might lie beyond this human experience. After he passed at the age of 22, I found a crumpled paper in his wallet with a phone number scratched on it. I did an internet search for the number and found it belonged to a well-known artist. I sent him an email asking if he knew my son and why his number might be in my son’s wallet. His swift response included this: I remember JT coming to my Gallery. He seemed to really get involved in my work which is the greatest of compliments for me. I think his involvement in music connected him to my work. We fine arts people have a wonderful connection because of our mission. I am very sorry I didn't get to know him better as he did have that sparkle in his eye from his wondering about the Universe. I thought that was a magical way to describe my son. He did have a sparkle in his eye and always wondered. Wondered about life, people, heartbreaks, happiness, and all things that make up the Universe. To answer the question, where did he come from? Maybe someday I will find out. Someday I hope to join him in the special mystical, magical place I believe he went to… or should I say he returned to. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Some people, sweet and attractive, and strong and healthy, happen to die young. They are masters in disguise teaching us about impermanence.” - Dalai Lama XIV ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ In memory of my son, J.T. 1/14/1985—9/13/2007 YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. 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. Sometimes I hear a comment that makes me ponder. Recently I heard someone say if you have an hour of work to do and two weeks to do it in, it doesn’t matter if you complete it in the first hour or the last hour of the timeframe - as long as you get it done. I have been pondering that idea for days. I realize I have done both in my life. For the most part, I prefer to get things done sooner than later. When the task is done, I can relax and enjoy the rest of the time feeling confident that I am not running behind or putting myself under pressure at the last minute. This scenario works well for me. There are times when I relax first, believing I have lots of time to get it done. Usually, I keep thinking about it until inevitably something happens that fills that time leaving me in the pressure cooker. I become overwhelmed, nervous and afraid I won’t get the job done. I know people that the second scenario is their go-to. They wait until the last hour and then seem to work well under pressure. It is almost a game of chance for them to beat the clock right before the buzzer goes off. In most cases, I guess neither way is right or wrong as long as you complete the task. I did think of one exception. We have an entire lifetime to express love and kindness, support and encouragement, joy and happiness. If we use the idea that it doesn’t matter if we do this in the first years of our lives or wait until the last hour of our life to express these feelings, there is a difference. I don’t believe any of these can be done in the last hour or year and have the same impact. If you knew someone who was critical, mean, unhappy and never expressed love or kindness their entire life, but in the last moments tried to get it all done, would it hold the same meaning to you as someone who expressed it their entire life? Maybe this is a time when accomplishing it sooner than later is a better option. Maybe if you began expressing love and kindness, support and encouragement, joy and happiness at a very young age, it becomes a habit that you continue throughout your lifetime. It makes a difference. Maybe if you never learned how to express love and kindness, support and encouragement, joy and happiness in the early years of your life, it also becomes a habit of not showing these traits throughout your lifetime. It makes a difference. We have an entire lifetime to get this job done. The glitch is we don’t have a set time frame or know if that lifetime will be 22 or 103 years. So, I think it might be best to begin thinking about how you express feelings and emotions early in your life. If you are lucky, you were taught how to do this and began at a young age. If you are reading this and think you better start before it is too late. Don’t wait. This is one thing that you don’t want to wait until the last hour to get it done. It makes a difference. Sometimes I hear a comment that makes me ponder. I hope this one does the same for you. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Some things are better done sooner than later. It makes a difference. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. 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. 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: PennieHunt@gmail.com. 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. 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: PennieHunt@gmail.com. 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: PennieHunt@gmail.com. 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: PennieHunt@gmail.com. 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: PennieHunt@gmail.com. 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. My brother and I just returned from a trip to see our sister. We experienced snow-packed roads with stop-and-go traffic, missed flights and long security lines – all the things that come with travel. We just moved forward one step at a time to reach our destination. For two days we visited our sister. It wasn’t a visit filled with normal family activities. It was two days of my brother and I talking, while my sister watched us. My sister suffers from Alzheimer's Disease. As we sat with her, I could not help but replay memories in my mind. Memories of our childhood and growing up as the youngest in this line of three. Memories of summer days riding our bikes to the local swimming pool. Family camping trips and vacations to see our grandparents. Memories of sharing a room with her until I was 15 and the day I taped a line down the center of that room to mark the side we should each stay on. As children we were at the bottom of a tall ladder. Climbing above us were our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. We were excited to climb higher and grow into the life above us. It seemed like a long, long way to the top. Over the years the stability of that ladder weakened for us as one-by-one great grandparents and grandparents passed. As every generation passed, we moved forward one step at a time. One level higher on the ladder. Then my dad passed. Years later when we said goodbye to our mom, I remember thinking it was just the three of us now. How odd it was to realize we were now on the last step --the top level of that very high ladder. We became the stability that held the ladder tall and strong for those coming behind us. As my sister stared at us unable to comprehend our stories or remember who we were, I realized that even our foothold on the ladder is weakening. Seeing my sister in a fragile state is shaking the top of our ladder. There is no guarantee when a shift in the ladder will occur, but it is clear that one of us from the top level may be leaving soon. Our climb to the top happened so quickly. It was just yesterday that I was on solid ground looking up and anxious to climb the ladder. Now, looking down seems scary. I see the faces of those climbing the ladder below and remember the excitement and challenges of the climb. Looking up I think of all the reasons the generations before us left. Disease, accidents and aging have forced us to climb one level at a time to reach this view from the top. What seemed like a forever climb, wasn’t. It happened in a blink. We said goodbye to our sister for what may be the last time. Again, we experienced snow-packed roads with stop-and-go traffic, delayed flights and long security lines – all the things that come with travel. It didn’t feel much different than the climb we have had on this ladder of life. Always climbing through the difficult times and grateful for the easy times – all the things that come with life. We just move forward one step at a time until we reach our destination. Until we reach the top of the ladder. **November is Alzheimer's Awareness Month. I have become deeply aware of the devastation this disease causes to those afflicted and the families that love them. According to Johns Hopkins, there are over 6 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s Disease with 3 million new cases diagnosed each year. There is no cure for this progressive, deadly disease. Unless you or a loved one is touched by Alzheimer’s it is hard to understand the pain of this disease-- I hope you never do. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: We are all climbing the ladder of life. Hold on tight - it goes quickly. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. 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. I believe everyone is either a number person or a word person. Which one are you? There isn’t a right or wrong answer. A number person loves spreadsheets filled with numbers, tracking amounts and calculating percentages. When they don’t feel well, they will say things like, “I only feel about 50% today.” They like to give you scales to rate things… on a scale from 1-10 how strong is your pain. They remember the date and time that everything happened. Birthdays, anniversaries, and the day they bought their first car. They know the make and model of every car they ever owned! They can rattle off statistics about every topic they are interested in. Does that sound like you? Not me. I like numbers. I am fascinated with numerology and the connections numbers make to our name, our birth date and events that happen in our life. That may be where my fascination with numbers ends. I do have spreadsheets filled with names. I track my progress in journals filled with words explaining how much better or worse I am doing. Percentages? I don’t go there. When I don’t feel well, I will explain what hurts, how much it hurts and how long it has been hurting. I feel terrible, mediocre or fantastic! No 1-10 in my mind. My thoughts process in feelings and emotions, not percentages or scales. I might not remember the exact date when events happened, but I can tell you what season it was, how the air smelled, if the wind was blowing, how happy everyone was and what I was wearing. My memory clicks through scenes as if there is a movie camera in my mind rewinding and playing the video. I remember seeing my first car for the first time. I danced circles around it and couldn’t wait to slide into the blue seat that smelled the way old vinyl smells. I can tell you how the radio belted out Elton John’s Tiny Dancer and how the windshield wipers sounded when they swooshed from side to side. I do remember what kind of car it was because it became her name – Rambler! Word people name everything! My current car is named Ruby. She followed Liberty, Blaze and so many others. My refrigerator is Kevin. And a few years ago, on a blustery fall day when the leaves were swirling yellow and red in my driveway, Thelma and Louise were taken away to a place where old washers and dryers retire. That is the day Lavern and Shirley came into my life. They sparkle and shine proudly in my laundry room. I love words. I love the way they sound rolling out of my mouth. I love playing with them, rearranging them, and creating stories about life’s progress and setbacks with them. Number people love numbers. They love the way they bounce around in their minds. They love playing with them, rearranging them and creating stories about life’s progress and setbacks with them. Word people and number people aren’t that different. We may speak a different version of the same language, but we are saying the same thing. Sometimes the two types of people collide in disagreements and disconnection. When we realize we are just framing life in a different way communication becomes easier. I may describe my life and progress with colorful words and descriptions. A number person may chart their life and progress with percentages and monetary increases. In the end, we tell the same story. Are you a number person or a word person? ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Number people and word people frame life in a different way. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. 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. “You have to catch the crumbs and hide them so that no one sees them, and they don’t destroy the beauty of the design.” For many years I taught cake decorating for the Wilton Company. It was a skill I learned from my grandmother. Throughout high school, I created birthday, anniversary, graduation and wedding cakes in my mom’s kitchen. I ordered so many cake decorating supplies from the Wilton Company that they contacted me to teach for them. I enjoyed teaching the skill of spinning a flower nail around to create a frosting rose and bobbing a frosting-filled bag up and down to create swirling borders. In the first class session, I would explain the process of preparing the cake to decorate. I have a few decorating secrets that I rarely share, but one that I taught that first night was called crumb frosting. This is where you brush off the loose crumbs and then cover the cake with a light coating of frosting to lock in any remaining crumbs. When you add the final layer of frosting the crumbs are secured in the first layer and do not show through or tarnish the cake with unwanted speckles. No one wants to see the crumbs. I would tell my students, “You have to catch the crumbs and hide them so that no one sees them, and they don’t destroy the beauty of the design.” This technique created a smooth canvas for the final layer of flowers, borders and words. It was this top layer of beauty that people noticed without ever realizing there were crumbs hidden underneath. No one wants to see the crumbs, right? Layering is an interesting concept. We layer our makeup on our face in the morning. Foundation, blush, mascara, lipstick… all to conceal our flaws. No one wants to see our flaws, right? When I paint, I begin with what is furthest away. Painting the sky, then mountains, then a lake and trees. Layering until I paint the grass that I could reach out and touch right in front of me. If I make a mistake in the first few layers, they are easily covered by the time I am done with the painting. We don’t want to destroy the beauty of the design with mistakes, right? In life, we layer our feelings. If someone says something unkind to us, it may hurt our feelings, but we can brush off the little crumbs. The little jabs, disappointments and broken promises get locked into the layer like crumb frosting and can’t be seen on the outside. It becomes a problem when it happens over and over again. We can only layer so much. If there are too many crumbs to cover the outside is going to show the speckles and flaws. Sometimes this takes years of layering, but eventually there will be a crack. The years of hiding and covering our feelings will spill out. Just like there is a technique for frosting a cake, putting on makeup and painting, we must pay attention to how we manage our feelings. We must learn how to brush off the small ones and address the big ones. Smoothing them over into hidden layers without expressing them, talking about them or processing them can be a dangerous way of dealing with them. Your layered feelings will build until eventually exploding into health issues, relationship issues or emotional issues. Be aware when you layer your feelings. You don’t have to catch all the crumbs and hide them so that no one sees them. Learn to express feelings in a healthy, kind way. Show the true beautiful design of who you are - feelings, flaws and all. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Don’t hide your feelings- express them in a healthy, kind way. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. 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. “Are you always this positive?” This is the number one question I get asked when people meet me in person. My answer is a very quick, No! I write and speak about happiness, love and seeing the positive side of life. I also write and speak about grief, loss and sadness. We all have a stew of emotions that we carry around. Yes, I do my best to see the good side of everything and I encourage others to do the same, but there are moments when I slip. When I do, my husband will say, “That wasn’t very Pennie-Hunt-dot-com-like” – referring to my website which is packed with my uplifting quotes and writings. Yesterday was one of those days when my action was not very Pennie-Hunt-dot-com-like. This week I finished my 3rd book and sent it off to my publisher. After many months in the mental creation and writing process, I was ecstatic to be handing it over. That ecstasy was fleeting as I quickly moved into the reality of knowing it was not really finished. Now it is a process of back and forth with my editor, proofreader, and layout designer. All these steps rattle a different set of my nerves. My lovely project manager, Dana, keeps these moving pieces flowing. She has been playing middle person between me and the designer for weeks to create the vision I had in my mind for the book cover. Yesterday I opened an email containing what I thought would be the final version, only to find it had not been tweaked correctly according to my last requests. Hurriedly I sent back an email reiterating the last directions and expressing my concerns. When I received her response, it was filled with apologetic comments. I was a bit confused until I reread the email I had sent. It was strong. It sounded grumpy. It was definitely NOT Pennie-Hunt-dot-com-like! I quickly realized why I received the over-apologetic email response. I wanted to crawl under the covers and begin the day again. I wanted to take back the email. All the positivity I promote and encourage others to do was instantly sucked from my body. I had a vision of how my email must have hit her, how it must have ruined her day. I felt like a failure. I quickly sent her an email saying I was sorry about the way my email must have come across to her and blamed it on the inhumaneness of communicating through technology. Then I sent her a second email apologizing again. Past lessons that I have written about came pouring through my head. I began beating myself up with my own comments like- you can’t take back words; words hold power; be kind. And yes, the one that hits me like a dagger… “That wasn’t very Pennie-Hunt-dot-com-like! My mind was in rare form letting the negative self-talk jab me with punch after punch. Then my heart kicked in. It pushed back by reminding me that I am human and that I make mistakes. The punching from my mind and the pushback from my heart continued most of the day. It takes time for the heart to be strong enough to squelch the power of the mind. As with most of my life lessons, this one was a hard one. As much as we all try, none of us are perfect. When we slip, we should apologize and fix what we can. Then see the opportunity to practice patience, understanding, and acceptance of ourselves. Forgive the humanness in ourselves and when you are on the receiving end of someone’s bad day, frustration, confusion, or anger, offer them the same. Today is a new day. I know I will never be perfect, but today I plan to be a little better than the person that I was yesterday. The next time I am asked, “Are you always this positive?” My answer will be a very quick, “No! I try, but I’m not perfect and still have many lessons to learn.” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie Life Lesson: Today, don’t try to be perfect, just try to be a little better than the person you were yesterday. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. 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. Are you sad? Many people are. As I write this, I see a gloomy, cloudy, windy day out my office window. The trees are releasing the last of their beautiful fall leaves and the cold of winter is ready to blow in. You may be trying to get a foothold on a normal life again after our years of uncertainty only to be hit daily with more uncertainty in the headlines. You can concentrate on all this negativity. You can add to the list all of your personal problems until you are sad. Very sad. You can mix in some anger. Add a little blame or shame, and soon you are a mess. Here is what can happen… You get so used to being sad that you don’t know it’s sadness - it just feels like you. You get so used to being angry that you don’t know it’s anger - it just feels like you. You get so used to feeling blame and shame that you don’t know it’s blame and shame - it just feels like you. Fill in your blank with any negative emotion you have. You get so used to feeling ____ that you don’t know it’s ____it just feels like you. Think about that. Do you even know what YOU should feel like? You become so used to talking about being sad that it becomes who you are. Be careful how you allow your emotions to take over your life. They can become a habitual personality trait You begin protecting this trait. Don’t touch my sadness, it’s all mine. You begin projecting this trait onto others. You talk about it, you think about it and you live in the bubble of it without letting anyone or anything positive in. It is easy to fall prey to this negativity. If you weren’t sad before you began reading this, by the time you read the first paragraph you were probably thinking about how sad you must be. What if the first paragraph read like this: Are you happy? Many people are. As I write this, I see a glorious fall day out my office window. The trees are releasing the last of their beautiful colorful leaves. It is a lovely sight to watch the leaves flutter down, swinging back and forth in the wind until they softly settle on the ground. Soon sparkling snow will cover the leaves with a blanket of white. The coziness of winter will quickly be here and the headlines will be filled with tips on holiday baking and shopping ideas. Do you see the difference? Do you FEEL the difference? I was looking out the same window. I just saw and felt it differently. My emotions were different. Monitor how happy emotions can easily take over your life. They can become a habitual personality traits. Protect your happiness and don’t allow others to disrupt it. Begin projecting positive emotions onto others. Nurture and share love, joy and happiness. Here is what can happen… You get so used to being joyful that you don’t know it’s joy - it just feels like you. You get so used to being happy that you don’t know it’s happiness - it just feels like you. You get so used to feeling love that you don’t know it’s love - it just feels like you. You control how you see things, how you describe things, and how you react and respond to life situations. Look out your window right now. I hope you see the beauty of a glorious fall day. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Be the one who gets so used to feeling joy and happiness that you don’t know it’s joy and happiness— it just feels like you. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. 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. We all wait. We wait in line and we wait for people. We wait for love, for marriage and for babies. We wait for holidays and happiness. Waiting is part of life. Most of us don’t do it well. We do it impatiently. We are impatient when someone doesn’t respond to a phone call. We get frustrated in the drive-through line waiting for our coffee. We become angry when the doctor keeps us waiting for our appointment. We think our perfect love will never show up. We think 9 months is a painfully long time to be pregnant and wait for our baby. We don’t wait well. This impatience adds stress to our bodies and is detrimental to our physical and mental health. If impatience leads to frustration, anger, depression, and negative behaviors, then it is logical that patience would curtail stress and create a sense of calmness. So why wouldn’t we practice patience? Maybe we need to relearn patience. Remember as a child when you couldn’t wait until your birthday? You planned the party, you created a guest list and you picked a theme. You marked off the calendar days. You looked forward to it, you anticipated and you waited. Remember as a child when you couldn’t wait for Christmas morning? You made a list, you sent Santa a letter, you watched Charlie Brown search for a tree. You delighted in rituals and traditions. You looked forward to it, you anticipated and you waited. Have we forgotten how to wait? Have we forgotten how to enjoy the process? Let’s look at being in the waiting room in a new way. When you are in the drive-through waiting for your morning latte, visualize the person brewing the coffee, steaming the milk, and adding the whipped cream. Feel the ritual and appreciate the time and care that goes into your morning treat. Be grateful for it. If you have to wait a little longer for your appointment, think about who is being seen by the physician before you. Maybe they are seriously ill. Maybe they needed a few extra minutes for tests. We really don’t know what they are going through. Give them the kindness of waiting with patience while they take a little longer. If you are waiting for Prince Charming to ride up on a white stallion or Cinderella to fit into a slipper, think of the waiting time as a time to work on yourself. Learn to love yourself. Improve yourself and practice patience with yourself while you wait for love to enter your life. When you are expecting a baby concentrate on the miracle that you have been given. In 9 very short months, an entire human is created. That is miraculous! Enjoy every moment and baby movement during the waiting time. Enjoy the process. If you have ever sat next to a loved one laying in a Hospice bed you understand the most difficult time of waiting. Waiting to say the final goodbye is the most painful waiting room you will sit in. It is also the biggest honor you will experience. It is the most extreme lesson in learning to be patient and grateful for the entire process of life. Enjoy the lattés, enjoy the birthdays, and enjoy the rituals that lead to holidays. Enjoy the pauses of waiting in between every event. Enjoy the process of living your entire life. Look forward to it, anticipate it, be grateful and patient as you wait. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Notice how you wait. Be patient with yourself and others. Enjoy the process. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. 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. Last week I had a birthday. As with every year, birthdays create a time of reflection. Walking the memory path of my life the big events jump out to me. Births and deaths, weddings and divorces, trips and adventures. Large memories of happy and sad times are sprinkled throughout the years. Then I realized most of life is made up of ordinary moments. Life is one ordinary moment after another. These moments layer and build hours, days, weeks, months, years and eventually creates a life. Most of these moments we don’t even notice. We let them pass along with little fanfare. It is only as we look back on our lives that we realize that it was an ordinary moment that became an extraordinary tipping point that changed our lives in big ways. It is the small, ordinary moments that lead to the big events. We just need to look back and connect the dots. The chance meeting of a person at the post office who became your spouse. The conversation you overhear about a job opening that becomes the beginning of your career. The serendipitous impulse to bring a puppy home who becomes your soul dog and best friend. These magical, extraordinary moments are disguised as ordinary and hidden in the cracks and crevices of our lives. Could they be divinely placed for us to experience at just the perfect time? Maybe. My birthday life review turned to mentally exploring how the small, ordinary moments had strategically left the breadcrumbs for me to follow. Picking up one after another until I was led to an amazing event that changed everything. The moves I have made to new locations and the career changes were all a part of the breadcrumb gathering. Last week I had a birthday. I won’t tell you how many candles were on my cake, but it was enough to have given me the advantage of experiencing a lot of change, setbacks, and step-ups. It was enough to have given me time to learn a lot of lessons and gain a little wisdom. What I know now that I didn’t know when I blew out 30 candles is that I didn’t get to this place in my life alone. Yes, I have an education that I am proud to claim, and I have made some hard life decisions on my own, but the breadcrumbs were there for me to follow. At times I had a long-held nagging in the darkness of my stomach telling me what I should be doing. Looking back, I realize the nagging was telling me that I was stepping over the breadcrumbs. Then suddenly an opportunity would be placed right in front of me as if to say, well, if you are not going to do this on your own, then here it is for you to trip into. This is how ordinary moments work and this is how they are so easily missed. What if you procrastinated going to the post office that day? What if you blew off the conversation you overheard and never applied for the job? What if you fought the impulse to bring home that puppy and never experienced the love of your best buddy? Sometimes the ordinary moments are hard, painful and force change. Looking back, I realize even those were the breadcrumbs I begrudgingly followed that led me to a tipping event. From the view I have now from this age, I realize how seemingly ordinary moments were the catalysts for the biggest events in my life. Could they have been divinely placed for me to experience at just the perfect time? Yes, I believe so. Last week I had a birthday. I am not excited about the number of candles, but I am excited about discovering how connecting the dots in my life brought me to where I am today. Bring on another year of ordinary moments. I’ll be looking for the breadcrumbs. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: Pay attention to the magic hidden in ordinary moments. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The rest of the photo story.... ...yes, the dog became his best friend. YOUR TURN...
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: PennieHunt@gmail.com. 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. |
AuthorThere is a certain magic about where I live both physically and spiritually – on the crossroads of Spirit and Brave. Archives
March 2024
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