Inspiration 2

August 24, 2012

It's been a couple of weeks since I started sharing about my inspiration so I thought I would continue where I left off.  I will share another three of the pictures with words of inspiration that I've posted on my Facebook and share why they inspire me and/or what I get out of them.

"BE A HILL SEEKER.  Most of us try to avoid hills, but what's so good about flat?  Think about it:  flat tires, flat hair, flat returns and the ultimate - flatlining.  Life happens on the hills.  They are opportunities to prove to yourself that you're stronger than you imagined.  If you never attempt the ascent, then you'll never know the thrill swooshing down the other side."  Now, as I have shared many times the hills are what get to me.  It's on the hills that I want to give up and choose an easier route or go back to the track or even the dreaded treadmill.  But let's face it, it is on the hills that you prove what you are worth.  It's on the hills that we find that reserve of energy or that extra push that we need to get us to the top and when you are at the top, you feel that sense of accomplishment, the knowledge that you did it and how far does that go to keep you moving?  Yeah, you know it!  The hills are goals to me, both in running and in real life.  Life situations that are tough or unpleasant or down right unbearable are like hills.  You keep climbing because, well, because what's the alternative?  Giving up?  Nope, not for me.  I will keep climbing.  I will seek the hills and I will conquer them.

"The voice that is in your head that says you can't do this is a liar."  This one is very important to me.  This is the one that I turn to so often because that voice is very loud in my head.  It screams at me in almost every life situation and I have to constantly tune it out.  Mark Schultz, a Christian singer/song writer, wrote a song called "Child of Mine".  One of my favorite lines in this song says "When I am alone at night, that is when I hear the lie, you'll never be enough."  This is a feeling I have to fight almost constantly.  That is why I turn to this inspiration more often than any of the others.  I have a BIG fear of failure because I feel like I've not accomplished much in my life and well, sometimes it just feels like everything I touch turns to poop.  I know this isn't the case but sometimes when I look back on things I've tried to do and have failed at it makes me want to not try.  It makes me afraid to try.  Like writing....why I won't sit down and write that book that so many people have told me to write.  Like running.  This is why running is so important to me, why this blog is so important to me.  In a way it's my way of tuning out that voice that says "you can't do this and you'll never be enough." If I could have mural of any one of these inspiration painted on my wall it would be this one because it reminds me that yes, I can; and yes, I will and yes, I am

"This is where I take out my frustrations, my fears, my sadness, my insecurities.  This is where I run to find my faith, my hopes, my dreams, my happiness.  This is where I belong."  Let's take this one in two parts.  The first part about taking out frustrations, fears, sadness & insecurities is something we actually used to teach our clients when I was a counselor for people with chronic mental illness.  One of the coping skills we taught was exercise.  It's no big secret that exercise releases endorphins which can lead to a sense of well being.  But let me take that a step further.  Running allows me time to think.  I posted a blog a few weeks ago about running after a fight with my husband.  When I returned from my run I wasn't magically cured of my anger or my sadness.  A run or any form of exercise won't solve problems or anything miraculous like that.  What it did do was give me the opportunity to calm down and to think more clearly about the situation and to be more open to solutions when my husband and I were ready to discuss them.  I wasn't as angry as I was to start with and I was more prepared to discuss the situation in a civil manner.  This is what running does for me.  Now the second half, the bit about finding faith, hope, dreams and happiness.  While I haven't conjured up the winning lottery numbers (Okay, yes, I do dream about that....so who doesn't?) this does confirm that other people feel that same sense of spirituality that I do while running.  There's just something about being out in the air, whether you are running on the street or in the woods surrounded by God's creations that brings you closer to God and closer to your inner spirit.  Call me crazy if you want but try and you'll see.  Even when I'm running with my headphones on there's just something about feeling my body move and feeling what my body is capable of that makes me feel more about myself.  That's the best way I can describe it.  And my happiness, well, aside from the things that are truly important to me, my husband, my children, my grand daughter, my family, yes, my happiness is running.  Take that away from me and I would feel a little like nothing more than just a nobody.  Yes, running is my happiness; it's one piece of who I am and yes, that is where I belong.

Those are three more inspirations that help me focus on my running and well, and on life too because it isn't all about running.  It's also about living life to the fullest and being everything I can be in every part of my life, isn't it?

Happy Running!

KEA