Category: Healing from Trauma

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Shadow Self

Our shadows hold the essence of who we are. They hold our stories… they become our platform for growth, and reflection. 

Shadows are beautiful, and equally important as the light.

When we swirl in spaces of deep trust versus mistrust, faith versus control, patterns of painful choices, we purposefully turn our face from the light.

There is always a divide of what we dream of being as opposed to where we stand at this very moment. 

This morning, let yourself rest in who you are. Do not let your joy be stolen, and know the light does return. 

Accept, not resist, what you can accomplish today.

Shadows and light… love and hope… faith and fear. These things are necessary for change. 

Live your story, and love all the humanness about you that got you there.

Amen.

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Go Get It.

Go Get It.

As she pulls the covers back, she notices a faint whisper of all the old voices meant to deteriorate her mind and derail her progress.

Her past buddies of laziness, discontentment, and self pity attempt to follow her to the closet… where her courage, self healing and strength– her sneakers, lay waiting.

She laces up, drinks her rocket fuel… and escapes outside to the pavement of progress.

She glides carefully, one step at a time. She hears the crunching of gravel, feels the slight change in temperature on her skin as she dips in the familiar valley of her back roads. 

It is then she realizes that no thing, no voice, no hater, no critic, no substance can undo what she has… and that is her joy.

She is me, and she is changing hearts and stirring minds… and she is extending her hand for you to come along.

Let’s go get it! #RUNBEFOREYOUFLY

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Purpose Fuels Passion

In the meantime…

You’ll arrive at the place of finding purpose and fueling passion when you stop feeding the monsters of negativity and failure.

You’ll arrive at the crossroads of change when you rise with gratefulness and thanks, and seek more blessings… not count more curses.

But in the meantime… do not waste any further time wishing you were someone else. Do not wear jealousy of another’s success… or anger at the ignorance of what someone does not understand.

In the meantime, make sure you are loving with your whole heart.

In the meantime, set your standards high and keep your judgements low.

In the meantime, do the very thing that scares you to death, but brings you to life.

In the meantime, do some living… haven’t we punished ourselves enough for things we had little or absolutely no control over?

Set your goals, run your races, swim the oceans, climb the mountains, grow your business, make new friends, make new plans, cross out, scratch off, re-write, do over, release, repeat…

Just remember in the meantime… that person inside you is begging you to love them. You can be anything you set your mind to. But in the meantime… let’s start by being perfectly, wonderfully, no matter what you weigh, or where your scars are, or what you did, or what you couldn’t… YOU 💙.

In the meantime, just do your best. In the meantime say please, and thank you, I love you, and I’m sorry. Stay excited, and keep believing. In the meantime… the universe is watching… be ready when it shakes you 🌎.

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Path of an Empath.

My story is not unlike that of many others. Beautiful people all around me have shared similar experiences, allowed me to visit their private space of struggle, and let me peer through their personal viewfinder of challenge and uncertainty.

Growing up, I was a kid who had low self-esteem. I struggled with who I was, and where I was headed. Even so, I comfortably knew two things about myself:

  1. I had a deep appreciation and love of books, and reading… of pretty pens and notebooks.
  2. I connected deeply with how people felt. Their sadness, their joy, their happiness or anxiety… I could feel it all… and even at a young age pondered how I could help to fix it.

Circling back through my kaleidoscope of life… I am starting to better understand why I am here, why I had to endure my particular lot of darkness, and how through my re-discovery of healing through writing and running was able to overcome my disastrous relationship with food and alcohol.

I am no longer interested in trivial things that absorb my time and cease my progress. Today, I invest my time in what serves my greater purpose and yours. I am not perfect in my ways, but what I am is dedicated to my health, my mindset, and the well-being of people as a whole.

Don’t quit your daydreams 💭 ‼️ Because when you arrive at the doorstep of believing you can… kick your shoes off… you’re going to want to stay a while.

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Study Your Ingredients

Did you ever stop to think about all the virulent crap we put into our bodies and minds daily? I am not just speaking about foods we ingest, but in all facets of life. We are so conditioned to wake up… hear the bad news of the day, stuff it down, go to work, come home, REPEAT!

I overhear conversations at the grocery store, the gas stations, and the coffee shops all the time. People are on their phones, screaming, wanting more, or demanding less, fighting over yesterday’s deals, and sharpening the blades of their tongues to hurt others.

This year I have promised myself to study my ingredients a little closer, and to really examine who I will let in and who must go. I write down the things that are important to sustain my wellbeing, and how I can choose the better-quality ingredients of life to get me there.

We all need balance. We need a piece of cake once in a while… we need rest days and mind resets. We need retreats and refocus. For years I was too one-sided… all or nothing. I didn’t care about the quality of the ingredients as long as it served my purpose.

Today I am more selective. I am more patient. I am more intuitive with what matters to me and what I will and will no longer tolerate.

I am not just concerned about the quantity of things… but the quality first and foremost. This road, this pavement, these sneakers continue to enlighten and surprise me with their teachings. The time spent on this familiar, yet ever-changing route has afforded me new insight to creating joy… and being happy, just because!

Study your ingredients. Watch out for fake substitutes sneaking their way in to arrest your progress. Settle for less if it means gaining the essence of who are. Today starts with grace and it starts now. Onward… 🖤

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An Intentional Life

An intentional life accepts only things that do not serve yourself or others. Embrace only those things that will add meaning.

Seek only what adds to the value of your being. If your soul is searching, there’s a reason. Do not let your existence slip through the hands of doubt and fear.

You are here to live with intention, to love with open arms, and to pursue the blueprint that was designed for you.

Believe in something greater, something unseen, something better… it’s out there waiting for you to land softly.

Wait not another day to create your dreams and work your goals into action.

Onward…

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Why Are You Smiling?

Suzanne, why are you smiling?

I smile because I am seeing my dreams unfold before me. I smile because, despite what some may think, this world is still full of good people… doing abounding things to help others.

I smile because I have stood in the ring of a what seemed like a 12-round boxing match, not only to come out stronger, sober, healthier, but with increased spiritual growth and a newfound sense of purpose and passion.

I smile because the gifts I have been given by my creator have never been more clear or more precise.

I smile because when I share those gifts, my soul feels happy, and my cup is full. I smile because the toxic crap and negative self-talk that once took their liberties upon me, can never break my wall of liberation.

Today can be the day you break your chains. Today can be your day of forgiveness, acceptance, preservation, and hope.

Did you smile today? Even when it’s hard, even when you don’t want to, even still… smile. You may just make someone’s day better. Enough about that… time to move.

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Time Capsule

There are 40 years between these two pictures of myself. As most of us do periodically, I sit back in awe of how quickly time goes… and I continue to ask myself, why am I here?

There are 40 years of experience in these pictures. Forty years of ups and downs, victories and losses. Forty years of trying to discover what my greater purpose is. What is it that sets me apart?

But furthermore, why is my drive to aid people in overcoming their own personal challenges, addictions, and maladies so important to me?

The time spent in between these pictures tells a story of survival, sadness, setbacks determination, perseverance; and most importantly, joy. The roads and pavements of my traveled feet have guided me back to a life I look forward to. The gentle mobility of one foot in front of the other, the quiet push of excitement in my heart feeling alive, have had a restorative effect on my gross wellbeing.

I stare back at that little girl, and wish I could have prepared her for so many of the unforeseen days of disappointments, life’s struggles, and internal tugs of war.

She didn’t know as she was folding her hands in anticipatory excitement, that she would have to battle alcohol and food addiction, and unforeseen trauma. She didn’t know then that it wasn’t her fault, and that God’s plan was so much greater than she ever could have imagined.

Forty years later, I am thriving, and I am well. I know the plans that have been made for me are immense and full of goodness. My dream of helping you will not falter, or be dismounted. My drive to continue to be a wellness influencer, and motivational speaker keeps me alive with determination and intention.

I am a force that’s not easily tamed, I am grateful, and above all… I am living proof that re-birth is not only possible but, wondrous. Now let’s go find some joy…

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No Limit.

There is no limit to re-inventing yourself. There is no limit to the vast possibility of change for you. There is no limit to how you can affect the lives of others. 

There is no limit to how a small amount of kindness can change a person’s day. There is no limit for striking a match of hope in a world so broken. 

There is no limit for growth, and there is no limit on how your words can literally heal the pain of someone else.

Being an empath is tough sometimes. I take on the feelings of others. I want so badly for you to overcome your personal obstacles. 

I want health for you. I want you to heal from your traumas, and low self esteem. I want you to become a better athlete, co-worker, friend, parent, or partner.

Your health and wellness journey is an investment. The courage you need to rid yourself of nonsense is already within you. Pull the plug on the radio of life that continually plays a song of failure and skepticism.

There is no limit. There is no greater time than now. Find what works for you and help yourself help others. 

I am continually thankful and surprised at how much I continue to learn and be successful in my own health and wellness quest.

There is no limit… did ya hear that?

Amen.

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Take More Detours

Take a detour? Why, Suzanne? Detours are longer, they are often not the road we intended. They are sometimes scary and leave us without knowledge of where we are going or where we will end up.

The detours of my own journey were and still are crucial to where I’m headed. I wasn’t prepared for the crash and burn of several of the circumstances that were delivered to me without permission, nor the ones I allowed to repeatedly and constantly cause me self-anguish.

Taking a detour is necessary. Get off the route that has not served you. Get off the route that has continually let you down, has sabotaged your efforts, and has hijacked your mind into believing that “you can’t” or “it doesn’t matter.”

It does matter… you matter… your health and wellness matters. What you think of yourself matters. What you dream and desire to achieve matters. Take a left turn, and travel down a road unfamiliar. Ponder what it is that is stopping you. Breathe in all that is wonderful, and exhale all the BS you didn’t invite.

Take a detour today, and trust that this quiet unfamiliar place… is a space meant just for you. Be inspired at what both its softness and hardness teach you. 

May your detour today be exactly what you need. Treat your body and your mind well today. Onward, Loves.


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About Suzanne

Suzanne Swanson makes it her personal mission to help people on the path to recovery. Her own struggles with alcohol and food have led her to a place of wanting to give back to the world. Need support around setting goals, and getting healthy in every aspect of your life? Sign up for our mailing list.