I really admire the writer Elizabeth Gilbert. She is messy and honest and fierce and funny. She is wildly talented, relentlessly curious, and deeply devoted to a life of service. She recently started a new community project called Letters from Love, which I am taking part in. I encourage you to check it out. She shares more about the project here:
Here is my own first letter to love…
Dear Love, what would you have me know today?
Sweetest little girl. There is nothing that you need to do or say to earn love or deserve love. You are love. No one can give it to you or take it away.
My little hummingbird – I can feel your heart beating wildly with anxiety. I sense that you do not believe me but it is so. The stories that you told yourself as a child are not true.
“If I do what they say, they will love me.”
“If I agree with them, they will love me.”
“If I care for them, they will love me.”
“If I give enough, they will love me.”
“If I am good, they will love me.”
I wrap her in my arms and I hold her close. I caress her soft curls. I breathe in her sweet scent. I whisper in her perfect little ear a message for her future self, “Give love in the way that feels authentic to you. It does not need to conform to a standard. There is no gold star to earn. Love does not have a right or wrong expression. It is love. They can choose to receive what you are offering, or not, but you know what it truly is: a pure and beautiful offering from your heart. No one can take the truth away from you.”
Setting boundaries is love. Saying no is love. Holding on to yourself is love. You are teaching respect and showing love through your words and actions. They may never understand but that is ok. You know. You know the truth and that is what matters. I know that this work is really really hard and I am so very proud of you. Keep going. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. The only way out is through.
Breath by Breath 