Run With a Happy Heart: Guest Post by Ruth Ayres

As part of my quest to run with joy, I asked Ruth Ayres to write a post. You probably know Ruth from her two blogs, TWO WRITING TEACHERS and RUTH AYRES WRITES. I was inspired by her recent keynote at All Write Summer Institute.  She reminded us all that nurturing joy was our biggest role in the classroom. Ruth is brilliant and supportive and joyful. The joyful classroom made sense to me but, of course, I related it to running. I know that joy is often a mindset but I cannot seem to find joy in running.  So I asked Ruth how she found joy in running. I wanted to know her secret. My question prompted her to think about this and the things that are not quite as joyful as others.

She started paying attention to things that she had difficulty doing joyfully--like housework-- and told me that she enjoys running better than housework because, "I think the difference between housework and running is that with running I see a difference. I can run longer than I could a month ago. With housework, it's the same thing as it was a month ago. I pick up and the next day I pick up the same things. No changes. I just keep doing the same thing over and over. At least with running I see results. ;) Of course there's a result with housework too -- when it's done, I'm not cranky. Haha. So I suppose they both keep me sane."


Ruth is my model for finding joy in all things. She lives her life (and runs) joyfully. Honored to have her guest post here:-)

When my kids were two, four, and six, a new phrase entered our conversations – with a happy heart. It sounded like this, “You can either take a shower with a happy heart or not, but either way you’ll take a shower.” At some point it changed to sound like this, “You can pick up with a happy heart or not -- either way we’ll pick up, but without a happy heart, there will be unpleasant consequences.” The reverse is true too, when we chose a happy heart there are pleasant consequences.

Sometimes I wonder if all the talk about with a happy heart has changed me more than my children. It’s a philosophy that holds solid in all aspects of life. There are many things we are going to do with or without a happy heart. And often the pleasantness of the task is directly related to the state of heart.

At the end of December, I was considering what kinds of intentions I had for the new year. I decided running was in my future. It had been years since I ran. The thought of it made my stomach clench and my toes curl. I gave myself two months before I began a jogging/walking program in March. The first steps hurt my entire body. My ankles hurt. My hips hurt.

My heart hurt. It was not happy.

Then it sounded like this, “You can either run with a happy heart or not, but either way you are going to run.” I was haunted by the reasonable logic shared with my children before leaving for this first jog. “Remember,” I said, “If you decide not to choose a happy heart, the consequences are usually unpleasant.” You should listen to your children’s mother, I told myself.

But sometimes simply choosing a happy heart isn’t enough. Running is still hard. There were many times I didn’t want to run, and many more times when I didn’t think I could make it. If I focused on the running, I would have been miserable. Instead, I looked for the pleasant consequences.  Things like:

11.  Space and quiet time to think about writing. I imagine my characters. I think about how they respond to doing something really hard (like jogging is for me) or what keeps them going when something is really hard. I imagine structures for articles, and I dream up opening lines. In fact, the lead for this post came during a jog.

22. Listening to favorite songs. I prefer to jog without music. However, when it gets really hard, I put on some music. This allows me to focus on something other than feeling like I have one hundred pound bricks for feet.

33. The new hard. In March the hard was running 30 seconds. Everything hurt. Then the hard became running 5 minutes. Now the hard is running minutes 33 – 35. Running is still hard, but it’s not the same hard. This keeps me going.

44. The gifts in nature. I run in a rural area, through woods, past a stream, around corn fields. When I’m out on a run, I see things I wouldn’t otherwise. Today I saw a raccoon, two rabbits, and three deer. I like the way the trees change, and the stream bubbles a melody. I’m blessed with the smell of flowers. These things restore me.

55.  I feel better. I’m more limber. I have more energy. For the remaining 23 ½ hours of the day, I feel better than I did when I wasn’t running. This helps me put the 30 minutes in perspective.

How about you? What are the pleasant results you get from running? Make a list and let those things fodder your resolve to run with a happy heart.