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Filtering by Category: yes.
In this moment,
close your eyes,
take a deep breath.
Now another.
Then when you are ready,
open your eyes,
and say these words aloud:
I am Whole.
I am Worthy.
I am Loved.
Yes.
(You really can trust this truth. I believe it with my whole heart.)
xoxo,
Liz
PS To receive little reminders and love notes like this one in your inbox, sign up to receive my (almost) weekly newsletter here.
Dear Governor Kernan,
This month marks 15 years since I graduated from the University of Notre Dame and sat about 20 rows up from where you gave the commencement address.
I have to admit that I don’t remember everything that was said that day. I do remember feeling fiercely proud that you were giving the speech because your name was always spoken with admiration in my South Bend, Indiana home. I remember that you made me laugh and cry on a day when I felt overwhelmed. I remember that your speech was about kindness.
And I remember this one short sentence: Let people get off the elevator before you get on.
I know it was far from the point of your speech, but I’ve thought about that line almost every single time I’ve gotten on an elevator since that day in May 1998.
Since moving across the country almost 10 years ago, I haven’t been in elevators much. I work from home and seldom visit the tall buildings in Seattle. However, since my daughter Ellie Jane’s birth, most of the places I’ve encountered elevators have been hospitals and doctor’s offices.
When she was a few weeks old, Ellie Jane almost died of heart arrhythmia issues. And then at four months old, she had open-heart surgery at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
I was in and out of a lot of elevators during those months, moving from waiting rooms to appointments, to cafeterias, to the corner of the hospital reserved for parents to take showers while their children sleep in rooms above them.
Some of those days found me in a thick fog of fear and hope.
But in the moments when I would wait for someone else to get off of the elevator before I got on, I found myself grounded in this simple act of common courtesy. Kindness would cut through the fog and remind me that I was not alone. The other person often acknowledged me with a “Thanks” or even “Have a good day.” And more than likely that other person was in her own fog of fear and hope. We were seeing one another with kindness in the midst of the unthinkable experiences families have in children’s hospitals.
Today, I’m thinking about how we never really know what other people are experiencing when we pass by them in the everyday moments of getting on and off an elevator to paying for gas to picking our kids up from school to standing in line at the grocery store. For any one of us, a relationship is ending, a daughter is about to have a baby, a new job has been offered, someone has just been diagnosed with cancer. We could extend kindness in these moments if we would pay attention, look up, and even just smile at one another.
So today, I really want to tell you this: In the midst of all the graduation speeches that are given this time of year telling young people that they should get out there and live their dreams and change the world, I deeply appreciate you reminding me that one of the most important ways we change the world is when we look one another in the eye with kindness.
I’m happy to share that little Ellie Jane will be three in a couple of weeks and is doing great! The surgery was a success and she’s been off her daily medication for almost a year now. And before long, when we go on our adventures and need to go in an elevator, she’s going to be telling everyone around us that we need to wait for everyone else to get off before we get on.
Warmly,
Liz Morgan Lamoreux
University of Notre Dame
Class of 1998
***
While I seek out ways to get this letter to former Governor Kernan, I felt moved to share it here with you, especially because I hope you will take a few minutes and read his full speech that I was able to find here.
(now available as a print, iphone cover, etc. on Society6)
Your weekend homework: Get outside and find 10 beautiful things. Capture them with your camera or with pen and paper. Breathe them in. Listen to what they have to teach you. Come back here and tell me all about it.
Happy weekend,
Liz
Yesterday was supposed to be my first full day in my studio in weeks. But instead, it unfolded a bit upside down.
While gathering the dirty dishes to one place on the counter last evening, I looked down and saw all these happy colors and this message on my mug and I couldn't help but pause and pay attention.
Trusting the process is a true practice. It isn't easy. Some days I look at this mug in the cupboard and practically roll my eyes and choose another one. But this message appears again and again and not just in my kitchen cupboard.
And when I'm quiet enough and give myself space to really listen to what I know, these are often the words I hear.
Invitation: This weekend, pay attention to the secret messages appearing on your path, and then come back here and tell me about them.
***
The "Trust the Process" mug is from The Universe Knows. They're having a 15% off sale through May 6. Love their mugs and hoodies.
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little girl me
Just thinking about this little girl today. Feeling so grateful for the ways she teaches me when I am quiet enough to listen to her wisdom.
Sending love and light to you in your corner of the world...
Last Friday, I felt an urge to give away four of my "You Are Loved" Soul Mantra lockets. When I put up the post on my blog, I decided to ask people to share who they would give the locket to if they won.
Your responses blew my heart wide open.
I was deeply moved by the first few comments that started trickling in. And it didn't take long for me to realize that magic was about to unfold (and that I'd have to give away more than four lockets; I'm sending out eight this week). People coming over from Pinterest, long-time readers of my blog, and others paused to really think about this phrase, "You Are Loved," and who might most need to hear it.
As I read those comments, I kept wondering what might happen if every person who left a comment (or thought about leaving one) shared their words with the person they love. What if they said, "I miss you. I love you." Or wrote letters saying, "I see you. You are the strongest person I know. You are loved." Or stood in front of the mirror breathing through the truth that yes even they are loved.
I really dare you to take the risk and tell them.
I truly am so grateful for this gift of being able to create talismans that people carry with them on their journeys. Hammering phrases like "Always trust your cape" or the last words someone's grandmother spoke or "You are never alone" changes my life over here. I am reminded that I am not alone in the desire to feel seen and understood, and there is magic in the energy exchange between us. I feel it and I thank you.
In that spirit, I'm having a "spring is almost here" sale. Use code ALMOSTSPRING to receive 15% off of your order in my shop today and tomorrow. (To use the code, just click on "Apply coupon code" above the "item total" column when you check out and then enter the code.)
Quick note: My daughter and I are taking an impromptu trip to the midwest next week, so I'll be closing my shop for about two weeks starting this Sunday. In anticipation of being gone, I'm not taking custom orders at this time. They will resume when I return later this month.
Sending light and love to your corner of the world,
Liz
This morning, I stood in front of my mirror and whispered these words to myself.
Sharing them here in case you need this reminder too...
(If you want to receive stories of my adventures in creative self-care and gentle reminders like this one in today's post, sign up for my [almost] weekly newsletter here.)
