In August 2013 I joined a wonderful 8-week writing class with Sarah Bamford Seidelmann and Anna Kunnecke called A Virtual Yurt for Rapscallion Wordslingers.
It was fantastic. I learned a ton, and it confirmed my love of writing as a means of connecting with the world and each other. There’s so much beauty and magic present when we share who we are. We feel less alone when we allow our wonderful humanness to be seen and when we become witnesses in return. I believe there is great value in supporting and celebrating each other as we journey through this beautiful and often bumpy road of life (and in having a hell of a good time along the way).
One of my favorite writing assignments of the Virtual Yurt was to compose a love letter to your favorite writer.
I chose Maya Angelou.
She was not only a favorite writer to me, but also a beautiful beacon of what it means to own and honor our humanness. It feels bittersweet to share this letter after her recent death. I had always hoped to meet her in person. I guess in a way, though, through her writing I feel like I did. She was a wonderful friend and confidante. It is with great love and appreciation that I remember and honor the life of Maya Angelou.
August 5, 2013
Dearest Maya,
My soul feels full of love and joy when I picture you in my mind. I adore your beautiful strong melodious voice, your radiant smile, your gorgeous body that sways and dances to the rhythms of life, and the magical way that you weave your words and stories into the most exquisite creations.
What a blessing you are to me.
Connecting with you through your stories and poems has transformed and softened my view of life. In some of my darkest times I’ve imagined your beautiful shining face smiling next to me with your twinkling eyes full of love and delightful boldness. I’d hear you saying, “stand tall, girl … be kind to yourself and don’t apologize for who you are.” Your words made me feel stronger and less alone. You gave me hope and encouragement that my seemingly flawed and imperfect life was good—better than good. You helped me to see the value and perfection in all my experiences, and most importantly in myself.
You’ve inspired me to go after my dreams, to experiment, to love, to be transformed by my suffering, to live and continue to make the best out of my life each day, and to forgive myself when I don’t … for that I am so grateful.
Thank you for being willing to share the extraordinary gift, which is you, with the world.
Your loving fan,
Linda Fennell
I now welcome you to write your own love letter to your favorite writer or a person who has greatly inspired you. I think we learn and confirm what’s important to us and what we value when we do this—and it just feels really good to be in a state of love and appreciation (and what better reason do we need than that!) Feel free to post your letter here in the comments or to email it to me privately if you like—I’d love to read it.
It was such a JOY to have you in the yurt and your letter to Maya touched me so much when you first shared it. What an amazing woman she was and her example inspires me so much- do what you love (and Maya did a LOT of different things- dancing, writing…radio shows….:):) and it will change the world in great ways! Love to you and congrats on the birth of a beautiful site!!
Sarah! Thank you for your dear note … Maya was an amazing woman – inspiring in so many ways, as are you!! So grateful for your support and encouragement along the way. xoxo
What a love-filled, delightful letter. I love the feel of this practice. I like to write notes of appreciation to people who inspire me on the blogging circuit; so often they don’t know if or ‘how’ their words touch a person and it’s so refreshing to receive such an note in a sea of requests and invitations.
Thank you for your lovely comment, Joy! I totally agree with you. I love to leave notes for people who inspire me. So appreciate how you spread the love in the world, sister. 🙂 xo
ps. I’m still getting used to my new wordpress site and I didn’t see these comments right away – what a treat to come across them!