I’m Penny S. Tee. I’m a vodcaster, author, speaker, educator, mom and wife. I started “PEACE with Penny,” in January 2021, boy, time flies. It helps me continue to live out my desire to work on Peace. You’ll read below why.
Throughout my life, I’ve written many different types of mostly non-fiction with a bit of poetry and a couple little ditty’s written for my son thrown in. My biggest piece that took me five years to write and publish is my book, “BLASTED from Complacency: A Journey from Terror to Transformation in Israel.” I’m proud to say it earned #1 Amazon New Release in six categories.
The S is for Schwartz, my maiden name and you guessed it, I’m Jewish. I’m married and I also have a son who I’m sure will make his presence known throughout my writing, because once you become a mom, well your kids are always on your mind. Parenting is every cliché. He’s in college now and we’re still getting used to being empty nesters. Boy is that different!
I’m also a lifelong learner. I was always the kid that loved school. I think it’s because school was where I’d get the “attagirls” from teachers, unfortunately not from home. When I think of my childhood, Maya Angelou’s famous quote comes to mind, “If they knew better, they’d do better.” I believe teachers are the unsung heroes of our communities. I will always be grateful to Mrs. Hernansky for her kindness and Mrs. Borden who taught me to love to read. Can you relate?
I’ve studied with and read the works of many spiritual teachers like Deepak Chopra, Eckhart Tolle and Jean Houston, the list is quite long. I’ve spent lots of time trying to understand my past—you too? Studying yourself is key. Today I live in the present. Ahh, that’s better. I try to help others DREAM BIG! TRY IT! And BECOME THE BEST YOU!
Israel, the Western Wall
BLASTED from COMPLACENCY: A Journey from Terror to Transformation in Israel
BLASTED from COMPLACENCY: A Journey from Terror to Transformation in Israel, begins with the true account of our family’s Israeli vacation when we found ourselves at war. It was in the beginning of Operation Protective Edge, in the summer of 2014.
Let me tell you, there is no chapter in a parenting book on what to do when a war starts when you are on vacation! Think touring extraordinary, historic and sacred sites, and tourist attractions mixed with cowering in bomb shelters. I’m still trying to get over the Jewish guilt of taking my son to war for his Bar Mitzvah present! As you can imagine, there was a lot of second guessing about whether we should stay or get out of dodge.
My experiences changed me and began to unveil a path to what feels like my life’s calling. How can we help? What can we do each day to take at least a small step toward inner and outer Peace?
We were only in Israel for two weeks, yet it was the nexus for me finally finding my true purpose in life. I had somewhat fallen into accounting in my teens and that was my backbone that I relied on for many years. It paid the bills well. I worked for major companies like Deloitte and Touche as a consultant and the Los Angeles Times and Arrowhead Drinking Water, as an accounting manager. I also have an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California.
I got married at the ripe age of 41. Not long after, I discovered that it would take a bit to have a baby at my age. For my circumstances, it turned out that I needed to quit my job in order to achieve that goal. It took over three years, and now he’s an adult—which seems impossible!
I feel being a mother is the most important role I will ever aspire to perform. It’s also the hardest and most rewarding. Admittedly the teenage years kept me longing for the rewards of days gone by, but as he is now a new adult we are seeing glimmers of hope : )
As I was approaching my sixth decade on this Earth, I finally learned who I am, and who I am meant to be. Sure, I knew along the way that I liked to write and felt that I was pretty good at it. What I knew in my heart is that I had “raw” talent. As is always the pattern in my life, I needed to shore that up with some learning about how author’s write. Words always fascinated me. I was always searching for exactly the right word that conveyed what I meant. On this trip I learned to dig deep to find out what was being said, beyond the surface meaning of the words. Writing structure? I thought an outline was structure. O.K. if you’re an author reading this you can laugh, but no snickering! So clearly studying writing also had my usual pattern of working hard to achieve what is important to me, as well. My life’s purpose is working on Peace (internal and in the world) and following that path wherever it leads.
It’s my goal in my book to inform my readers on many different levels. BLASTED from COMPLACENCY: A Journey from Terror to Transformation in Israel reveals that before our trip, I was content to care about Israel from afar. I lived in a safe, American bubble – but now I truly have tremendous empathy for Israelis, Palestinians and the world—including myself. I see each step forward, small or large as a process toward the intention of Peace. What will stop this useless loop of violence? From our own destructive thoughts of I’m not good enough to missiles seeking human targets – it needs to STOP NOW!
MY PAST
Several years ago, I painfully shut down my website called: WeRMoms.com – hopefully some of you, remember it? I loved having it, writing blogs, providing “Mom-i-nars, etc. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the knowhow to run it with financial success (marketing was a cave I neglected to enter), so I decided to shut it down and stop the monetary bleeding. At that point, feeling dejected, I thought what now? What will I do? I started on a long personal growth journey.
Now I realize that too is another pattern in my life. I’ve been looking at improving myself and personal development work since I was in my twenties. I’m sure my husband and son wonder at times, what’s taking so long? So, I’ve spent the last five years reading and rereading books, taking classes, teleseminars, attending a coaching group and learning to meditate. All this learning got me to here and my latest adventure of self-discovery, www.PennySTee.com my website, my latest version of Me.
WHAT I LOVE DOING?
Finding Peace, Writing, Reading, Parenting (most days), Travel, Personal Growth, Spirituality, Learning
JOIN ME ON MY JOURNEY
The themes of www.PennySTee.com authentically reflect who I am. Over the years, I’ve learned that no one achieves anything worthwhile without the help of other people. This picture reflects this. If you notice, there are the branches out in front and then an almost separate, strong solid branch behind. I took it in a place where I sometimes meditate, and I noticed it recently : ) I’d like for you to join me and help me be a stronger vodcaster, writer, mom, wife and friend. I’m very grateful for the family and friends who have supported me along my sometimes-bumpy path. I’m looking forward to also making many new friends. I’d love to have some discussions with you about what your journey has been like.
I don’t know who we’ll be tomorrow, but I can assure you that change is the only certainty. Changing consciously is what I strive for. Deepak Chopra says that every few weeks due to our cells changing, we all are new people. He continues that “you will never be exactly who you were yesterday or who you will be tomorrow.” I hope you like who you see when you look in the mirror, and if not, remember, you have the power to change that. It’s not easy, but always worth the effort!
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To my traveling companions, I say “L’Chaim,” which means To Life! Thanks for Joining Me On My Journey…
COOL PIX I’VE TAKEN
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