A Love Letter to Myself

If you were to write yourself a love letter, what might it say?

I recently listened to a podcast with Elizabeth Gilbert. She discussed her daily spiritual practice of writing a letter to herself from a place of unconditional love. For weeks I contemplated this beautiful practice and doing it myself. I didn’t know what to say and had not yet taken the time to compose such a unique letter.

Imagine truly loving yourself unconditionally and writing from that!

Consider all the loving and endearing things you might like to hear someone in your life say about you, be it a family member, parent, friend, spouse, partner, or other beloved in your life.

I believe that no one is going to love you better than you love yourself (with the exception of God or whatever your word is for God—Source, Spirit, Universal Intelligence, Creator, Pure Love, Higher Power, or your Authentic Self). To love yourself is to love God and to love God is to love yourself.

What might Source/God/Spirit write to me? It wasn’t long that the answer came to me.

With the transition from summer to fall and my son starting back up at school, he went to bed with a runny nose and cough. As a mama tuned into her child, that cough kept me up and I did not have the greatest night’s sleep, but in the wee hours of the morning, I found myself starting to peacefully drift in and out, eventually gently waking, yet not quite ready to start the day. I was off my typical routine of getting up, meditating, moving, and sipping my morning tea.

I snuggled in my bed, completely content with staying there. I closed my eyes for a moment and this love letter started to come to me. As the letter downloaded in my brain, I thought, “I’ll remember this, I don’t need to get up right now,” but that inner voice was strong and encouraged me to get up and write what was coming through me, a love letter to myself. It’s easy to ignore that inner voice/intuition, but on this day I listened.

I got out of bed, grabbed my journal and pen, and started writing, while shedding a few tears along the way. When I was finished, I climbed back into bed (also very atypical of me) and rested with my partner Nicholas. My son Noah came in the room and that inner voice was calling me to read the letter out loud to them and so I did.

My eyes welled up at “Dear Sweet Anna.” I had never referred to myself as sweet before. After a joyful weepy reading with kind and humorous words from Nicholas and Noah, I was encouraged to share my letter.

This is the letter I wrote to myself from a place of unconditional love…

Dear Sweet Anna,

You are kind, generous, and thoughtful. You have a giving heart. You are full of love.
I love you.
I love you when you are enthusiastic and loud.
I love you when you are quiet and soft.
I love you when you are inspired and creative.
I love you when you are insecure and full of doubt.
I love you when you are optimistic and invincible.
I love you when you are afraid and unsure of yourself.
I love you when you are happy and free.
I love you when you are in pain and your body aches.
I love you when you are fulfilled and content.
I love you when you are frustrated and impatient.
I love you when your life is organized and put together.
I love you when your life is messy and cluttered.

I love you when you wear the same outfit for four days in a row.
I love you when you when you wear something other than yoga pants.

I love you when you get motivated in the kitchen to prepare a meal or try a new recipe.
I love you when you overpack the freezer and something falls out and hits your foot.

I love you when you eat slow, mindful, and feel energized.
I love you when you eat fast, over-eat, and feel lethargic.

I love you when you wake up in the morning and start your day with meditation and movement to nourish your body.
I love you when you are tired and just want to lay in bed.

I love you when you are silly, goofy, and laugh for no reason (or for immature reasons).
I love you when you are serious, disciplined, and determined.

I love you when you are authentic and put yourself out there.
I love you when you shy away and hide who you truly are.

I love you when you lean into your talents and strengths.
I love you when you feel inadequate and weak.

I love you when you people please and feel guilty for no reason.
I love you when you step into your power.

I love you through your ups and downs.
I love you, no matter what you think, say, or do.
I love you because you exist.
I love you because you are here.
I love you for no reason at all, but to love.

There is nothing you can do that can make me stop loving you.
You are lovable.
You exist to be loved.
I will always love and believe in you.
I believe in you!
I trust you.
I am by your side.
I am always right here loving you.

There is nothing you can do that can make me love you less.
I can only love you more.
My love only grows for you.
My love only grows for you.
I love you with all my heart.
I love you without conditions.

I love the way you dance, no matter how ridiculous you may look.
I love the way you sing, whether you are in tune or not.
I love the way you smile and spread joy.
I love the way you serve others.
I love the way you express gratitude.

I love you without exception.
I love you because you are.

I love you no matter what you do.
I love you because you exist.
There is no reason to exist but to love, and so I love you.
I love you.
I love you.

XOXOXO,

Me

Writing this letter to myself was a powerful experience and a great reminder of my power to love all aspects of myself and others. I invite you to write your own letter of love and learn more about this healing practice.