Category: Live Awake

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Joyride to Journey

She was a mix of so many ingredients. The batter she swirled around daily inside her wasn’t always pretty, or without messes. It wasn’t always without clumps of regret that needed smoothing, nor without constant effort to seek a better end result.

What it was though… was consistent even when she doubted. And when fear choked her of seeing a bright future… she poured her batter anyway.

I don’t know about you, but the older I get, the more I realize the essence of my timeline here on earth. I softly remember things that hurt, that drove me to change… but I boldly look toward what I am meant for.

And as for my purpose, once clouded but which is now becoming crystal… running the Boston Marathon, building a side business, and the compassionate drive to help those who are lost, lonely and addicted… can’t be accomplished by wishing, and daydreaming.

Sweat and scars, time, and tangible efforts get me there. We are only here for a blink of an eye. Our journey is a tale of our struggles, our whys, our deeper need, and our promise of hope.

It took me 40-plus years to realize the importance of enjoying my journey. Ten years ago, I was 90 pounds overweight, shooting whiskey, and allowing toxic things to erode me from inside out.

I don’t have all the answers, I can’t explain all the happenstances. But I can say this: ponder what it is that’s stopping you from your potential. Discard it, release it, flush it.

Time waits for no one. It’s time to take a joyride 💛.

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The Art of Alignment

Did you ever wake up and think how did I get here? What is life trying to teach me? And why must I stay on this path? For me, this is something I ponder with curiosity almost daily.

As I always try to move forward with Integrity and Intention… my mind wanders back to “all the things.” The whys and ways of my old life. The demand to myself of changing my habits and body. The rawness of exposing my booze addition, my previous obesity, and the hallway of self-sabotage I was trapped in.

The efforts of searching and trusting what nutrition I choose and what supplements I will make a priority in taking are all things that as I age and gain wisdom… become of utmost importance. Alignment happens when we stay in agreement with ourselves… not the wishes of others!

Alignment happens when we pray, we manifest, and we know that the people, friends, acquaintances you are connected with are pivotal in reaching your dreams and goals. The sport I love more than almost anything, has connected me with the most amazing humans. Hard work, grit, sacrifice, kindness, are just the tip of what we have in this community.

Whether you are a runner, walker, swimmer, biker, hiker, yoga teacher, friend, family member, or just along to learn and grow… know your purpose is important, the language of life you speak will be the enlaced in your legacy.

We all hide from reality. We don’t like to talk about the hard and messy things. We believe we can do it alone, we choose mediocrity every time. Find time for readjustment and alignment. Work hard to hustle for what you know is yours and claim the possibility of loving life.

I will be looking for those ready to align with me… to take chances, and discuss visions of only goodness, wholeness and wellness. We can’t do it alone… but together, we can rise 💛. May your attention be on your alignment and may only goodness cover you.

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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.

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Back in the Saddle

It’s so easy to have one disruption of life infiltrate our behaviors and mindset.

We all get used to routine. We exit out of the same side of the bed each morning. We reach for our phones before reaching to thank our universe and creators. We wallow in woe is me, and we hit repeat to ensure we halt our progress.

To get back in the saddle doesn’t mean you have to push yourself beyond what you are ready to do today. It means to take one small step towards your becoming. 

It means it’s okay to acknowledge when things suck, to breathe through pain and unsettlement, and to stop allowing people, places, and things which no longer serve your greater good covet any power over you.

Get up and show your face to the morning. Say a kind word to yourself. Move your body, inhale everything that keeps you alive and thriving, and discard what isn’t working. Take a sip of wonder, find magic in even the simplest tasks of life’s daily grind.

The joy of lacing up my sneakers today, breathing in the cold air of gratitude, feeling alive as my feet play the melody of my story on this pavement… these are the things that matter. 

The news, the lies, the dramas, the cowards, the old inflicted wounds, the heavily traveled roads of deception… will keep trying to knock on your door each morning… how unbelievably wonderful for you when they find out no one is home. 

Trust the process of your unveiling… saddle up… and let’s go. Carpe Diem.

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“New Year, New You”

Sleepless nights. Tossing and turning. Hating my choices. Angry at where life “put me.” Feelings of low self esteem. Daily wars with my inner self. HATE. EAT. DRINK. REPEAT.

That was my life for years, only I did it in silence so I could isolate myself from penetrating words, good people, and the truth.

It wasn’t until the long distance sport of running taught me to be tougher than my demons. It taught me patience, and endurance. 

It taught me humbleness, and mercy. It taught me that a little daily discipline, coupled with passion, and a good diet could be the answer to unlocking the door and leaving my living hell, and a hell I chose to stay in far too long.

We all hear the same crap. “It’s a New Year, New You”… “Start tomorrow, today is over.” “I’m going to do it… just not today.” 

I’m here to tell you: today counts. This minute counts. You don’t need a new month, or new turn of the numbers to give you permission to become your greatest self. Our addictions, the errors of our ways, and our poor choices can only thrive if we allow them to.

Be done with your own crap. Take the good advice you give others but never follow yourself. Make YOU a priority, don’t over complicate it. Eat a vegetable, drink more water, and let your story tell itself.

Somewhere today someone is watching you. Be a good teacher, and be a kind human. That. Is. All.

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The Little Things.

The sun is out for the first time in what feels like an eternity. Although the air feels cold, the sky above mixes hints of lighter and deeper blues.

Today I am appreciating the little things. These are things I am so very guilty of taking for granted daily. The sun hitting my face today feels like a gift. Being free and able to move my body and breathe clean air into my lungs is a gift. Being in a body that fights for us, heals… and forgives is a gift.

Feeling the “real feels” of all aspects of life is sometimes exhausting, and without a doubt a “not so subtle” reminder that we are not in charge, not guaranteed, not entitled, but beyond privileged in our being. 

How we choose to respond… how we negotiate, and our perspective, will absolutely enhance or derail our progress.

The corners of my mouth will stay upward today. Today is a good day.

Writing as Self Therapy – Self Guided Journaling Challenges Coming Soon

Run and write your way to a happier, healthier and more purpose-driven life. Sign up to hear from Suzanne via email. We’ll have some thought-provoking writing challenges, discussion groups and other empowering activities planned for 2022. Sign up for our emails here.

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Creating Joy Through the Chaos

Mayday Monday….

As the holidays draw closer with each passing day, most of us continue life as normal. We trim our trees, wrap gifts, bake cookies, and celebrate the true meaning of the season…

But what about those who are struggling? I want to talk about this because so many of us at this very moment are in a space of mental entrapment. 

One of us on this very day wakes… and struggles with not taking a drink. One of us has lost a loved one, a pet, or is mourning someone who is still alive. 

One of us is facing a job loss. A father is struggling to feed his family. A veteran is struggling to tie their own shoes. 

A woman is closet eating in shame, and another is carefully applying makeup to hide the bruises. 

Somewhere a child is feeling the brutal effects of a bully. The narcissist continues to gaslight, and still the world turns without a missed beat.

Feeling or creating joy through chaos and trial is tough. It’s a daily challenge to not let these things define us emotionally or physically. But all is not a lost cause…

Wake up and pray for someone even if you don’t know them. 

Go visit a veteran. Smile, listen to their truths and tie their shoes if they need it.

Take a walk with a friend, and listen. Don’t assume, don’t judge, don’t react… just be the ears they are desperately trying to find.

Donate to your local women’s shelter. If they are there… believe me when I say… it took courage beyond measure to get there.

Send a card of encouragement to a friend, and cut the ties of those people, places, and things whose only agenda is derailing yours…

The greatest gift you can give yourself this year is the gift of helping someone.

Not everyone faces the same lot in life. I don’t know the reasons why… but I do know this. Kindness goes a long way. Small things add up to big things, and the sum of it all = greater human decency. 

Be someone’s Mayday today… even if it’s your own.

#RUNBEFOREYOUFLY #remembertheseason #besomeonesmayday

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Wishing you peace, comfort and joy this holiday season from Run Before You Fly.

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The Gray Area.

The Gray Area… is the place between black and white. It’s the place where truths are discovered, hurts are healed, tears are wiped, and love wins.

It’s the place that tore me apart, made me whole, begged me to stop and forced me to go.

It’s the place where hatred was laid to rest, forgiveness was born. Where the glistening of the pavement, and the sounds of my feet hitting it… set me free.

It’s the place where dreams are made, wishes come true, and miracles do exist.

Yes… I love color. I love all things beautiful and bright… but may we never forget the simplistic value of what we learn in between the black and white.

Blessings, Loves…

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Seasons of Change

The snow flurries hit my vest. My fingertips are frozen, the wind whips across the bare skin on the back of my neck. And just like that, I am running into another season of change.

It’s natural for us to want things to stay steady. We get complacent. We get comfy-cozy in our steady-paced, uninterrupted lives.

We don’t like change, we un-invite ideas of challenge, and we settle for what happens to us, within us, without really fighting for what makes us feel alive, and worthy.

When the cold snap of life hits, the precipitation flies, and adaptiveness sets in… remember a few things.

Seasons of change bring elements of transformation. Awaken to the new day not just with a tolerance to accept what it brings you… but with a silent preparedness that you are here to dream big, take charge, and live a peace-filled life.

Invite the season in. Sit down with it, let your goals be known. And when it tries to pull you back, or divert you to unrest… zip up your armor and remind it just who you are.

#RUNBEFOREYOUFLY #seasonsofchange #wecandobetter

Journal Your Way to Insight, Happiness and Healing!

Journaling course is ready for you to explore!

Love to write? Ready to try journaling as form of self therapy? At Run Before You Fly, we’re inspired toward continued self betterment.

Join us for a group journaling adventure! We have an illuminating writing course for you to benefit from.

Journal solo. Share with trusted friends. Or, consult with Suzanne for a coaching session. It’s up to you.

Don’t miss discounted pricing on the new “Journal Your Way to a Peaceful Holiday Season.” This is a mini course that Suzanne and Dina are offering to our email list and Facebook group members!

We’ll have more courses coming in the new year. Sign up for our list to be notified of future writing workshop and course launches. 

-Suzanne and Dina

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The Choice is Yours.

Every day we make a choice. Today I choose to NEVER NEVER NEVER GIVE UP.

The work is hard and tiring… but the road is paved with self satisfaction, and a joy that no one person can ever take from me.

Find what you love and do it… do it with fire in your eyes. Do it with a smile. Do it happy or sad… alone or afraid. Just know that every day you are writing your legacy… how will you leave your mark on this world?

How will they remember you? Someone is watching you. Be kind… be bold… but be undoubtedly an example of good.

Now let’s get this done.

#beyourownmayday #nevernevernevergiveup #runningismylife