A Company With Sole

I am super excited to announce that I am now an ambassador for Kindrunner.com! This company, whose tagline is, "It pays to be kind", is the first socially responsible ecommerce site for runners who want to minimize their environmental impact and make a difference in the world.

The Environmental Factor
Have you ever wondered what happens to your old running shoes when you toss them in the trash? According to Mike Conforti, one of the co-founders of Kindrunner.com, most shoes end up in a landfill less than 10 miles from your home. A whopping 50 years later, they're still there AND in wearable condition, because it takes up to 100 years to biodegrade. Think about how many shoes you have -- and then multiply that by the millions of people who run.

For each pair of shoes purchased from Kindrunner.com, your old pair of running shoes can be returned and then you'll receive a $10 Kindness Cash Reward credit. (You can redeem it instantly or accumulate them over time.) You're also encouraged to reuse packaging  materials when you return your old shoes, so the shipping process is environmentally friendly too!

The Human Kindness Factor
Here's the best part. Most running shoes are still in wearable condition when they're discarded. They might not be good enough to run in, but for someone who has no shoes at all, they are perfectly fine to wear. Kindrunner.com, through its global shoe donation partnerships with Soles4Souls and The MORE Foundation Group, ensures that your old shoes go DIRECTLY to someone in need. These shoes will provide basic transportation and help prevent injury and disease in developing countries. Who doesn't get excited over that???

Here's The Kicker
Kindrunner.com's Virtual Running Shop (tm)  helps you find the best shoe for you. It's filled with expert staff videos profiling each product offered. A durability mileage rating and comparable alternatives are provided for each product as well. And if you need more help, Professor Fit (tm) and his experienced staff are always available so you'll find that perfect running shoe you're looking for. You are going to find what you need at Kindrunner.com.

Best of All
The first 500 customers who purchase shoes will get a free pair of running socks with every pair of shoes purchased FOR LIFE. So go check out Kindrunner.com. It's the perfect pairing of helping both the planet AND someone less fortunate -- while doing something all runners love to do -- buying new shoes!! It doesn't get much better than this.

Visit Kindrunner.com, and connect at Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

TRUTH

I'm participating in this year's A-Z challenge, and so will be posting daily about a subject focusing on a letter of the alphabet.

I was totally blown away the other day when I read the following passage from Eckhart Tolle:

“What a liberation to realize that the “voice in my head” is not who I am. Who am I then? The one who sees that.” 

All my life, I've listened to that voice tell me bad things about myself. That I'm not pretty, that I'm stupid,  that I'm not loving, that I'm not kind, that I'm not as good as anyone else. I believed this voice inside my head. After all, it was the "real me" being honest, right? I knew the hidden, dark side to my soul, right? I knew the reality of who I am, right? That voice was right, right?

Even though....
People had never run screaming from me in revulsion when I walked into a room.

Even though....
I graduated from one of the top 10 journalism schools in the nation.

Even though....
It gave me great joy to help others, and I'd been involved with numerous charitable activities over the years.

Even though....
I helped the homeless, volunteered at schools and church, stood up for the voiceless, and was there for  friends and those I don't know.

Even though....
I had been successful in so many endeavors.

That voice was right, right?? Right???

So I felt absolutely thunderstruck when I read that quote. What if that voice -- WHAT IF -- it really wasn't who I was?? What if I really wasn't the "bad" person I was always telling myself was the real me? What if.....????

My world shifted. Something cracked open. Light broke through.

TRUTH.

I am a good and decent person. 

I love.

I am.

Truth.

I will no longer hide it.

I will live it.