Liz Gilbert's Letter from Love
My daily pep talk, brought to you by Love (and Liz)
Hi y’all. This post is largely a transcript a podcast conversation, so it may be preferable to listen to the podcast instead (links below). But I wanted to share this, because ever since I discovered it, I recorded a snippet of it, and I listen to it almost daily.
I love the idea that God(dess)/the Universe/the Most Highest Good can morph into whatever shape suits you.
I love this Source writing Liz (and, me) a letter.
I love the feeling of surrender. Of trusting that it’ll probably be okay.
And I love being told I’ve already done enough hard work. I can let go.
A (very truncated!) additional context (shared in the two episodes Liz does on Glennon Doyle’s podcast, We Can Do Hard Things): Elizabeth (Liz) Gilbert is a writer, known most famously for Eat, Pray, Love. In that book, she had gotten divorced, and subsequently married another man, Jose Nunes. She and Jose had a best friend, Rayya, whom Liz had met in 2000 in New York. Upon learning that Rayya had terminal cancer, Liz realized she was in loved with her; and she then left Jose and married Rayya.
They tried to make the most of the time they had together, but Rayya, a recovered drug addict, turned back to drugs. She eventually became so unrecognizable that Liz could no longer be with her.
And then, miraculously, while a cancer patient in hospice care, Rayya got sober. And they were together again. Until she died.
Liz has been fairly absent from the public eye ever since; these two podcasts were somewhat of a re-entrance for Liz. Liz is active in 12-step programs/recovery rooms.
The excerpt below describes Liz’s spiritual practice, and shares a Letter from Love.
I hope you enjoy. I hope Love writes to you, too.
(For a slightly extended version of this post, see “Liz Gilbert’s Letter from Love - Extended.”)
Liz Gilbert’s Letter from Love
From the podcast “We Can Do Hard Things,” episode 95. “Why Elizabeth Gilbert Disappeared & What She Came Back to Say,” https://momastery.com/blog/we-can-do-hard-things-ep-95/ [Apple Podcast time stamp: 42:35]
“My Love,
I would have you know humility.
When first you heard my voice, nearly 20 years ago, you were so beaten down and so love starved that I could only come to you in one form: as pure unwavering, devotional, unconditional love. You would have died without it. For many years, you could only receive me as that. We had to save your life, and this is how we saved you: by loving you back into yourself and building you up.
Now that you believe genuinely that you are both lovable and loved, now that you know that I will never abandon you, that you cannot be alone, now that you believe fully in that love, I want you to learn humility.
Don’t worry, this won’t be “bogue” (Rayya’s favorite word.) This is not about beating you back down. There will be no punishing, no degradation.
My love, I want you to know the sweetness and the deep all-encompassing relief that humility will bring to your life. Look how much your life has improved by handing over so much of it to me already, but every single aspect of your life that you still hold back from me because you do not trust me, thinking in your ignorance and in your self importance that you need to handle it, that you need to control it, fix it, manage it, solve it, understand it, everywhere that you are still doing that, you will, and you are experiencing strain and suffering and stress.
Listen to what your fellow “B” passed along to you yesterday, about how she came to me and asked me not just to help her with her fourth step, but to do it for her.
And yes, My Love, I did. I did it for her, just like that.
Ask me to do things for you. That is what humility means. Ask me to do your family for you. Just say, “You do it. I don’t know how.” Say, “Here, God, you take it,” and I will.
Admit that you are powerless over everything. That’s actually humility and life will get easier.
My Love, remember the exquisite sensation you used to experience in romance when you would surrender completely to another, the way that you wanted to be devoured? I say this not to stimulate ecstatic recall, but to say, My love, that was actually nothing. That was nothing compared to the sweet, tearful, grateful relief you will experience when you give everything to me.
Ask me to write your book for you. Try it, I’ll do it. Ask me to do this interview today with Glennon, for you. I’ll do it. Say, “God, here you do it,” and open up your mouth and I will do it. Ask me to do your yoga for you. Ask me to take walks for you, not with you, for you. Ask me to schedule your life for you.
Remember what Byron Katie said to you about her life, that she has not done or said anything in years? She doesn’t do anything. Ever since her moment of awakening, she said she either just sits there or stands there, and then everything is done through her. She says, and you must believe her, for it is true, she has not made a decision in 25 years. Something decides her, for her. That is the thing that I can do for you.
Don’t make plans, My Little Love, let me arrange your life. Pause. Listen for me and let me do it.
I don’t want you to miss this experience of letting go into love and trust.
This is what I would have know, My Love: more God, less Liz is the equation for perfect peace.
You’ve worked too hard your whole life, My Love stop working so hard. Stop trying. Let me do more things. Let me do everything.
Trust me completely.
Say, “Here, God, you do it.”
See what those words that belief will create out of you.
Let me dance you. Let me live you, for you. Let me show you how much I love you when you give your whole will and your whole life to me. Let me show you how beautiful humility is.
Stop knowing anything except this, accept this: you are mine and I am you. And I love you.”