To the Ones with the Tiny Little Runners:

First off, you might be wondering what in the world a "Tiny Little Runner" is.

Well for me, it's my fear. It's my anxiety. It's my inability to be okay with what's coming. My Tiny Little Runner who is located in my mind never stops when she's thirsty, and she never takes a moment to come up for air. She is always running, and she seems to take away my happiness with life away from me. While she is running her marathon, my heart is making up for her consistent running. It's beating louder than it should, harder than it should, and more than it should.

So, that Tiny Little Runner inside of you might be that fear, that anxiety, or that inability to be okay with what's going on in your life, and what's to come. Runners, I think, are different for everyone. No one has the same one, and every single one comes in different shapes and sizes. Sometimes, it's uncontrollable, much like mine, or sometimes, you're the coach of your Runner, but it rebels from your orders every now and then.

Well, I'm here to tell you that our Runners, while they seem to have it all together, and they seem to never want to back down from what they want to do, we have the ability to fight back.

Prayer, meditation, nature... These are our allies. You can choose to practice all of them, or only one. Either way, taking those walks, or simply sitting still and listening to yourself breathe, it calms your heart down. It forces your Runner to slow down, too.

But, the best thing to do to make you Runner stop is to talk about your Runner... whether that be through counseling or through fellowship with friends. Having that confidant in your life makes all the difference, I promise.

Together, we will slow down our Runners. Those Tiny Little Runners inside our minds will know what it means to take in the scenery and breathe naturally again. Our hearts will find a way to smile again, and that all comes with time.

And love. Lots of love.

And finally, hope.

Hope has the capability to save you.

So, let it.

Love,

Alayna and her very own Tiny Little Runner