Enchantment

I recently attended the online Gathering of Creatives with Elizabeth Gilbert. The ultra fan in me was mesmerized by her vulnerability and wisdom. Liz, as she often refers to herself, is unapologetically introverted, sovereign, and free. I know, an unexpected adjective to describe one's idol, as free. Liz has learned the art of not giving a f*ck. She dropped a few famous F words in her presentation, and it wasn’t forced or cringy; it was Liz. She oozes authenticity, and every part of what she said and how she carried herself made me love her even more. I have never watched another woman sit in her pain, mistakes, love, hate, and boundaries as she does, and learning from her was inspirational and freeing.

In our workshop, Liz had us write a letter from our place of enchantment. In the way she described this, it felt much like a letter from your higher self. Liz explains it as the place where you feel the happiest and the most fulfilled. We were given 5 minutes to complete our letter, and each letter began with the following sentence: 

"I am your enchantment, and this is what I want to tell you..."

As she explained the exercise, I thought about what my letter would contain, but when she said, "go," I was shocked at what came through. 

Dear Gina, 

I am your enchantment, and this is what I want to tell you... 

I love that soft content space we have together where you are not too far ahead or too far behind in your thoughts. I love when we have time to sip coffee in the fresh air, but I hate to tell you, that hasn't happened for a long while. I love when you can feel at peace with who, what, and where you are. 

I do not like it when the weight of others' words is upon us, and you forget it's all and nothing about us. I do not like it when the clouds cover our light - our purpose is to share the light. 

I love hearing the children's laughter, the late-night talks in hallways, and the stolen kisses between texts. I like BL. He reminds us to be grounded and that everything will always work out. Spend less time with M right now. She is not helping us build the foundation.

I love sitting in meditation with you, in hot yoga, and in the tub, where we read and receive the most answers. Please, don't ever get too busy to do these things. 

Love, Your Enchantment

After completing our letter, Liz asked us, "How many of you would have to be a millionaire to do the things your enchantment loves? What if everything on this list was your life's purpose? If you live your enchantment, your creativity lives in its purpose." 

It's simple, this life, and we are experts at overthinking, overanalyzing, and creating spaces where we feel inadequate. 

What if you allowed yourself to live in your space of enchantment every day? 

Those 5 minutes of writing brought so much clarity to my anxious mind. It reminded me my best writing comes when I am at my best and when I listen to my center and intuition. Liz talked about how our society is fixated on finding our "life's purpose" and how toxic that has become. Taking away the heaviness of "who am I supposed to be" and focusing more on living each day in our place of enchantment. 

What if that is our purpose? 

Thank you, Elizabeth Gilbert, for the permission to be unapologetically authentic and free in my speech, relationships, writing, and myself. 

Try this writing exercise. It only takes 5-10 minutes and when you’re done write yourself a permission slip to do every single thing in your letter that brings you to your place of enchantment.