A couple of years ago, I was listening to an episode of the We Can Do Hard Things podcast where Elizabeth Gilbert was the guest. Now, I fully can admit that folks like Glennon Doyle and Liz Gilbert can be a little too performative at times, but I also get little nuggets of wisdom from them.
On this episode, Liz was sharing about her "Letters from Love". This practice, as she calls it, is where she sits in front of a piece of paper and asks the question "Love, what do you want me to know today?". And then, she just begins writing. Whatever comes to her mind, she writes. To Liz, "Love" is God/Creator/Spirit/whatever you want to call Him/Her. I remember listening to the episode and thinking that it sounded really powerful. I had not prayed in a long time. But I tucked this away as something I could never do. I thought that my ego would take over, or that what I thought was being said to me couldn't possibly be real.
Later, Liz came back on the podcast in a challenge to have Glennon, Abby, and Amanda do the exercise and read their "letters from love" out loud. I was again moved by the responses, especially by Amanda, the least woo woo of them all and the most skeptical of this process.
I was intrigued, again, with the desire to try this whole "letters for Love" thing. This past Spring, I started a weekly tradition of going for a walk after my shift at the gym on Friday mornings. For context, my shift is 5 am-7 am, so it's early in the morning. And I stopped using headphones to listen to music or podcasts. Instead, I just walk in silence. It's probably the only time the entire week that I am that quiet.
So, I started asking "what do you want me to know today?". I don't call "It" Love. That doesn't resonate for me, but it might for you. And while I don't write everything down like Liz does, I really take a second to listen, absorb, and repeat back what I heard. And sometimes, I post snippets to my Instagram....here are some examples
So, I guess what I'm saying is...this is how I pray.
I know there are people reading this who are going to think this is all a little to woo woo. Or doubt that they will be able to do something like this. But this practice has brought a lot of good into my life. For one, it forces me to stop and be silent. But it also has allowed me to lean into my intuition and to trust that whatever I am hearing, is what I am meant to hear that day.
One of my biggest questions before I started doing this was "how do I know this isn't just ME making up things to tell myself to make myself feel better?". I have two answers to that. One is something a Sister of Mercy told me about 15 years ago, which is "God created your imagination, so wouldn't it make sense He/She uses it to speak to you? The second is- who cares? If it draws me closer to myself and to God, and I feel both at peace and empowered, does it REALLY matter where the source is coming from?
I guess I will close by saying: If you're wanting to deepen this connection.... Just try it. You may really surprise yourself.
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