Joy is subjective. How we reach it and what we choose to do with it when it lands in our arms is based on our beliefs and experiences.
This route I’m on tonight is a road I have walked and run countless times… the bends… the cracks and splits in the pavement… the familiar landscapes, and trees… the same fallen down fence, and tiny creek that has displayed both softness and fierceness, takes me through the pages of my personal story.
I have taken this road through many roadblocks, setbacks, and milestones. I have walked this road through tear-stained eyes of “just another” attempt at sobriety and healthy living.
I have prayed incessantly on this road for new beginnings and purpose. I have revealed my deepest secrets and regrets here, and have found overwhelming contentment is my success and healing.
Tonight, as I look to all the sights and sounds that have embraced all my metamorphoses… I am simply thankful that I get to tell my tale.
I get to give back and spread hope… and most of all, that my joy was not in front of me or behind me… it wasn’t beside me or gone from me… it was there all along… inside of me.
Scream your story from the rooftop… someway… somehow… someone needs to hear it. Amen.
She is somewhere between where she was and where is going. She doesn’t dwell or stay in the past, but she visits occasionally to be reminded of all she has overcome.
She visits occasionally to allow her demons and villains to see they no longer control her, and that their voice is no longer audible.
Crappy food, drained bottles of booze, low-budget thoughts, and self-doubt are now replaced with high hopes… mixed with healthy nourishment for the mind, body, and soul.
She reflects this morning not only on all that life has taken from her… but more importantly how much it has given her.
Transformation comes in many forms… physical, mental, spiritual, and with a rebirth of gratitude and healing.
Most of all… life has been good to me.
Lace, tie, run, repeat… I’m a lucky girl .
Ladies… Say YES to Fit and Fabulous in Your Forties and Fifties.
Living in the moment detached from the bothers of this life.
Sometimes we find pure joy and pleasantries by accident… seeing something in a new appreciative view, not having expectations but hope, and thanking God just for the very breath I was given at this dawn…
She is a glorious mess of what-ifs and used-tos. She continually tells her story as if the whole world is listening. She is messy but kind… bold and deliberate… yet soft and purposeful.
She knows her endurance is neither too strong nor too weak… and she knows that to win her race of life, she must balance between raising the bar, and steadily pacing her feet.
Oh, how those inner voices try to persuade her that it won’t matter in the end… but she knows it will… she sees her goals… and she is going to continue to fight like hell to crush them.
When you stop dreaming, it’s over. See it… want it… believe it… and don’t you ever stop reaching for it.
I had Covid in December. It knocked me flat on my ass, quite frankly. As a runner… it took me years to develop speed, to train wisely, and set the goal of my dream someday… the Boston Marathon.
It wasn’t until about mid-January that I could start to slow jog again. By February I got back out there to try and start increasing my mileage to what it was.
My point… my pace is way off from where I left it… My joy, however, my love of this pavement… the lessons of what these cracks and bends in it have taught me… and my drive to train even harder… and come back stronger is amplified.
Sometimes you have to step back… see the bigger picture. Give thanks for where you are… be grateful for your true friends who inspire you, who encourage you, and who believe in you.
Dust settles… I don’t . Focused and ready… we’ve got some training to do.
Most of us will wake up today with a burden we have been carrying around full of heaviness.
These little pieces of anger, sadness, depression, anxiety, unworthiness, self-loathing, self- criticism, and negativity move in unannounced and work tirelessly to set us up for failure.
I am reminded today of the lesson a sunflower teaches… they are made to grow roots deep and wide, to survive strong winds, and always put their face to the light.
Today I am choosing to put my face to the sun, ground my feet, and be truly grateful for the strength I am “growing.”
She is reminded like the rain of spring… of the new growth that prepares for her. We have all weathered some awful events, stood through tragedies unforeseen, and crawled to reach for a rung on the ladder to lift us upward to health and wellness.
Be ready to reset your standards, tolerate less BS, and prioritize your daily routine to secure victory, not defeat. Live with purposeful choices, instead of weak intentions. Run the race designed for you. Speak your truth in love and honesty… and do not give your demons permission to hold your happiness… they will drop it every time.
My passion is in my sneakers, my teacher is the pavement, and my power is in me. Life has been waiting for you. Isn’t it time? Go meet her, she is ready to give you all you desire.