A Love Letter
dear self & anyone else who needs it...
I hope the relationship you have with yourself is solid. That it is not merely functional, not just tolerable, but rooted in something deeper—a kindness that extends from you to you. The world often demands so much, and it is easy to pour all of your energy outward, leaving yourself with only scraps. But I hope you are learning that you, too, deserve the best of your love. You are worthy of patience, understanding, and gentle care.
I hope you're learning what protecting your peace feels like. Not just the absence of chaos but the presence of intention. I hope you feel rooted in more ways than one— tethered to your truth and yours alone. I hope you cross paths with the quiet realization that some doors must close for you to breathe fully. May you find the courage to walk away from what drains you even when part of you wishes things could be different. Acceptance is important, a life line, an anchor to gratitude. I hope you know that protecting your peace is not selfish–it's essential and personal and necessary. I hope you honor the life you’re building, always.
I hope you are open to love. The kind that is reciprocal, healthy, and light to hold. The kind that doesn’t lie to you while you’re looking it in the eye. The kind that reminds your body, through actions and care that you’re safe, not just inflated words. I hope you know a love that doesn't ask you to shrink yourself or silence your dreams. The kind that doesn't need you to be good or more fun or more of someone else. The kind that doesn’t make you forget your core or try to fit you in a mold. I hope the love you get feels like an exhale after holding your breath for too long—or like a belly laugh, or like friendship, or like you’ve found your home away from home. I hope you remember that love shouldn't leave you questioning your worth and that on the right side of it you will be met exactly where your feet are. I hope the love you get to touch finds you in the trenches and at the peeks. Fully seeing and holding space for all of you.
I hope you remember that the days will get better—brighter, fuller, longer in the best ways. Things won't always feel this hard or be this heavy. I hope you trust that the weight pressing against your chest today is not forever. Seasons shift, and so will you. There will come a morning when you wake up and realize that the ache has softened, that joy has made its way back into your bones, that the light has returned to you, because it always does.
Hold on for those days. They are coming.
I hope you learn to cradle yourself through every ebb and flow. To be your own place of refuge and solace. I hope you remember to speak to yourself with tenderness, even when you falter. Life will not always be steady, and neither will you, but steadiness has never been the goal. Remember? The intention has always been presence, even when life is wobbly. Be with it, all of it. There’s a lesson somewhere. Resilience is formed when we stumble. Grace takes root in the missteps. I hope you believe in your ability to bend without breaking—to struggle and still move forward, to trust that even in uncertainty, you are still whole.
And I hope that when you feel like you can't show up, you still hold close that you're worthy of softness. I hope you cling to your worth, relentlessly. Never forgetting the truth about what you deserve. Unswayed by anything not in alignment with your truest self or highest good.
May self-compassion greet you and treat you well this season. May it meet you in the quiet moments, in the spaces where you are learning to love yourself better. May it soften the sharp edges of your thoughts and remind you that you are doing just fine. May you always remember that you are, and have always been, a safe and soft place to land.
Have a beautiful week, everyone,
xo,
Alex
Gratitude Journal is a free (bi-weekly'ish) community newsletter. If you'd like to support my work, please consider subscribing and sharing this free Substack. If you’re looking to monetarily support, buying my books, listening to my podcast, or joining me at a retreat or workshop are options. I even made a perfume for us! I have plenty of offerings for you to choose from. I'm grateful for your support in whatever capacity.
This landed so deeply. The reminder that protecting my peace isn’t selfish but necessary is something I’m really sitting with. I’ve spent so much time trying to be easier for others to hold, but I’m learning to hold myself—with patience, with softness, with the same care I give so freely to everyone else. Thank you for these words. They feel like a permission slip I didn’t know I needed.
It is amazing how, sometimes, when you read something, it feels like it was written just for you, for what you are going through - and this was that for me today. Thank you Thank you Thank you, for expressing your soulful wisdom in beautifully crafted sentences and sending them out into the world like seeds in the wind. This was a gift for me today...