Rachel’s Wellbeing Blog

Let’s be real here...I’m not the fastest runner. I’m not going to break any records, I’m not going to win any marathons and some days I run slower than the day before. But what I lack in natural ability, I make up for in commitment and dedication to the sport. I run a lot. I run regularly. I am a runner. But winning races has never been the point for me. In fact, winning races, although momentarily gratifying, is probably the least enjoyable thing about running.  People in warm cars pass me in a hurry to get where they need to be while I run in the cold rain on a dark morning and probably wonder why I would ever subject myself to that.  So what is the runner’s secret? If it’s not about winning or being the fastest, what’s the point? I run because it makes me feel alive . It connects my mind, body and soul in the most beautiful way. Running is a deep meditation for me. Some people do yoga, others sit in meditation...I run. Without fail, if I’ve been mulling over so...

Can we talk about joy and fun for a minute?  This is one of my favourite topics to discuss and one I think most of us have put on the backburner for too long. We’ve put it there because we tell ourselves we will allow ourselves joy and fun once we have gotten through today’s to-do list. Just out of curiosity, have you ever gotten to the end of your to-do list? Mine is ongoing - no sooner do I complete my to-do list then there are suddenly more things to add.  Somewhere along the line, if we’re not careful, life turns into a series of tasks to check off the list: Pay the bills, pick the kids up from school, finish Christmas shopping, respond to that email, do the laundry, pick up lunch, schedule the electrician, go to the dentist, take the car in for repairs, get a haircut, walk the dog, go to the gym, schedule that playdate, fix the sink, organize photos, etc. And whether we’re talking about an actual written list or just a running list we keep in our heads, we all have...

There we sat, on my beige sofa, in my first home - a small but perfect-for-us-at-the-time townhouse. I had a great job in a field I loved, I had a good family and caring friends, a wonderful husband and the sweetest cocker spaniel puppy. I was young and successful...and miserable.  There we sat. I had invited a dear friend over for a visit. I was pensive and she knew it. Out of the silence, I said “I feel like nobody talks about real things anymore.” She watched me, considering what I was saying and trying to figure out the best way to respond in a comforting way. She said “Do you think we are having a real conversation?” in a reassuring tone implying that we were dear friends and of course all of our conversations were “real”. “Yes”, I lied. More silence. Eventually her then-boyfriend (now husband) came to collect her, we hugged, said we would get together again soon and she left. There I sat, on my beige sofa, by myself. I was left alone with that unaddresse...