LETTERS FROM LOVE

My beloved spirit animal, teacher and mentor, Elizabeth Gilbert (best selling author of books like Eat, Pray, Love and Big Magic) has me revisiting a practice from my past I'm excited to share. In her online community, she's started a substack newsletter called 'Letters From Love.' In this spiritual practice, she writes letters to herself every day from a place of unconditional love and challenges her subscribers to do the same.

This kind of practice was something I did years ago going through my first real break-up in Chicago. I remember being a full package, snotty-mess dumpster fire of 'How do I do life right now?' Intuitively, I began placing my hand on my heart and asking my 'higher self' questions. Honestly, I'm kind of surprised in hindsight, this is something I would have thought to do back then, but I did. And I was amazed by the comforting answers I received that I would journal.

All that to say, her newsletter inspired me to revisit this kind of practice again. And let me tell you... GLORIOUS. There is nothing like the most tender, gentlest voice telling you how much you are loved. The guidance and answers that come feel otherworldly. I can't say it enough.

So here is my 'Letter From Love' from my unconditionally loving Spirit Team today. It was a bit lengthy ( a bunch of Chatty Cathies over there) but I needed every word. And I'm honestly sharing this with you all not because I'm getting into blogging again per se or for egoistic purposes... but because it's helped me sooo tremendously, it literally feels selfish to sit on it. This practice is nothing less that LIFE CHANGING.

I'm so grateful for giving myself this gift of receiving today because we are all so worthy of it. And I'm also grateful to Liz, my sister from another mister, who doesn't know it yet but one day I'm going to meet her and golden retriever lick her face in gratitude for her light in the world.

Here we go... What does love have to say to you today, friends? xoxo

Dear Sweet Girl,

Breathe... Just breathe. Soooo much pain and worry trapped in there. Be kind to yourself, my darling. You're not wrong. This is hard. It's a lot of emotion for such a tender heart. It is a beautiful thing to love deeply.

You are such a beautiful soul. You're a pure light, my sweet. Not everybody is going to understand that light. Some might project onto it. And that's okay because it's none of our business. We know your heart. We know your sincerity. To some the light feels blinding and it's just too much. Don't dim your light, though. The world needs it. This is your purpose. To shine bright. To be uniquely you. And that might not feel like a 'good time' right now when pain manifests itself, but trust this is your path. And the more you heal and open, the more the right souls will gravitate toward you that are ready for laughter, joy and ease. You've done the work, sweet pea. You deserve the ease and rest. You deserve fun and energy! You deserve to experience your worthiness because you've done so much work to feel that way. This is a blessing that you've earned.

There is so much ahead on the horizon. So many fun, beautiful surprises coming in for you! One day you will look back at this time with such love and gratitude knowing how deeply it transformed you. And the story on your heart will be a worry of the past. You'll have such deep love for them because you see the blessing and humanity in all of it. Your compassion is remarkable. And your heart will overflow for all of God's creatures.

Also, we are really proud of you. You've done 'the impossible.' You've learned to love despite pain. You've learned to love unconditionally. You've learned strength and resilience-- that when things don't go to plan, and your heart is broken, you've learned how to beautifully navigate the pain. You've learned to build a solid foundation for yourself. How to no longer let things throw you off of your A-game.

And oh, we FEEL. We FEEL again!! What a gorgeous blessing to feel alive and rich with feeling that cracks us open. Burning all of that pain to the ground, purifying our lives with fire. The experience and freedom of RELEASE. A beautiful letting go of the weight and burden of it all. We no longer need to pretend, or keep it trapped inside, building all of that tension in our neck and shoulders, inflammation in our joints, etc. Instead, it's an incredible release of breath and experience we've been able to release and to get out. You're learning to be a ravishing, snot-filled, messy, red eyed and smiley child of God. You're so perfectly you!!

And-- don't shoot the messenger-- but you wouldn't have gotten here without the beloved gift of those people that hurt you. And your beloved gift to them is that you've been able to truly see them, hold space for them and love with compassion despite the humanity. That's a true spiritual give and take. We're so proud of you, my love-- you've really transformed and you're beginning to see just how much in these conversations.

A quick reminder that anything that isn't one hundred percent loving, isn't from us. Meaning, we only show love, give love, encourage and guide. Anything you hear that is unkind, harsh or self effacing, isn't us. That's your mind, my love. Your mind playing tricks on you again. We only want to see you thrive and be in beauty. We will never beat you up or make you feel unworthy or less than. That is not God. That is not light. Those are human thoughts making you feel small and keeping you feeling stuck and stagnant, okay?

Ahhhhh.... sometimes we like to breathe, too. :) Feels so good, doesn't it? Like a crisp fall morning-- that air in your lungs hits all the right places. Have to say we created a doozy out of Autumn, didn't we? Hee hee. Oh beauty, have fun today! This air reminds us of being a kid. Find some playfulness and rejoice in the blessings of this beautiful life, will you? That's your only 'job' today, okay? And let's talk soon, shall we? Oh, we are just over the moon that you're communicating to us like this!! Like our prodigal girl has come home to herself! We love, love, love our time together.

Alright, our darling, enjoy your day and don't forget to breathe. You're a gorgeous mess-- and we find that mix of strength and vulnerability just glorious!

All our love--

Your Team