Today’s my last day of an extended visit with my mom. I’ve been staying in my childhood bedroom for the last three weeks!
Tomorrow I hop on a plane to Tampa, FL and from there to Puerto Rico for my work with Brendon Burchard. I’ll be part of the team putting on an event.
On one hand, I am so excited to immerse myself in the waters of the Caribbean and to reconnect with my Burchard teammates.
On the other hand, there is such a sadness at leaving my mom.
This morning I was thinking about all the comings and goings of life. All of the people I love that I am always saying hello and goodbye to.
I’ve always been super sentimental and not one who easily transitions! There are always tears, even when I know I will also love the people in the next place I find myself.
I’ve learned to be gentle with myself in the transitions. I just let myself have all those mixed up feelings, especially because I know they come from a place of love.
I try to focus on that part of it. The love, not the sadness. Because, of course, the love is always there whether I’m physically with someone or not!
Are you like that? Do you get teary during those goodbye hugs? Or, are you one of those people who can more easily transition from place to place and loved one to loved one?
(Of course there is no right or wrong here. Just different ways we are wired, right?)
It’s been a huge gift to be here and have so much time with my mom, and also my sweet niece who lives in Cleveland.
AND … I’ll tell you another gift: While I was here, I unearthed two big storage bins in the closet that were stuffed with letters. I have between 1200 and 1500 letters that were written to me between 1973 and 1988.
Remember letters?
Oh, my. What a treasure trove. Just seeing all of the handwritten addresses from so many people I have loved — to all of my many different apartments and houses in many cities — opened up a doorway in my heart.
(That photo above is a PILE of letters just from my mom. She has always been one of the most consistent and caring letter writers. That’s why your gift of more than 200 greeting cards to her on her birthday a couple years ago meant so much!)
I was deeply moved by these letters and by the intimacy of this form of communication.
In my circle, almost everyone wrote letters. (Maybe because I was so intentional about it? Or maybe because it was simply a part of their own habits?)
I published a short article about the impact of these letters in a recent guest post on Kind Over Matter. In the essay, I offer 13 reasons why letter writing is so important.
I hope you will take a few minutes to pop on over and read that piece.
I want to challenge you to write to someone you love. I don’t mean a text or a tweet or even an email. I mean write something that you mail through the postal service, so they receive a handwritten card in their mailbox!
I realize that it takes some extra steps to do this. You need to find a notepad or greeting card or paper. You need to find that loved one’s mailing address. You need a stamp, for goodness sake. But you know what? The person on the other end will appreciate the time and effort you went to. They will know that you took some extra steps to express your love.
After you write your letter, will you send me a quick email and let me know how it felt? Who did you write to? Did you write a quick card or did you end up writing a whole letter? I want to know if it made you feel more connected. I’m betting on it.
Thanks for being someone who is always willing to put love into action. The world needs this.
The world needs YOU … and your own unique expressions of love!
Seek celebration — even in dark corners,
xo
Sherry