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Leslie Ralph

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Love You

What Lies Beyond These Walls

April 29, 2019 By Leslie Ralph Leave a Comment

I long to tell her, “Yes, yes. Come this way.” But it’s best she hears it from inside. – Love.From Love, Child. Love.  There are walls upon walls upon walls in me, and I’ll admit it, I built them myself. I laid them down, brick by brick with my own two hands.  I used to see…

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Filed Under: Expansion, Good Work, Lightness, Live Free, Love You, Words

Where there was fear now stands love.

April 2, 2019 By Leslie Ralph Leave a Comment

I sat at the shore, watching the water come and go. Beside me sat a basket filled with bottles, each one containing a note about my past and my secrets. Something’s wrong with me, one said. It broke me, said another. I can’t forgive myself for it. No one can ever know. For years, I kept the…

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Filed Under: Expansion, Grounding, Lightness, Live Free, Live Happy, Love You, Short Stories, Words Tagged With: healing stories, letting go, new beginnings, self-compassion, self-love, short stories, stories for healing, story, transformation

That’s an offering of love. (Thank you for that.)

March 26, 2019 By Leslie Ralph Leave a Comment

He kissed the top of her head at the gate and zipped up her coat. “Stay warm,” he said. She dedicated her morning yoga practice to gratitude as she unrolled the mat. They left behind a card and balloons in his hospital room. “Get well soon,” they wrote. He lit a candle for his daughter…

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Filed Under: Grounding, Lightness, Love You, Words

This is life, as far as I can see.

March 11, 2019 By Leslie Ralph Leave a Comment

abstract watercolor with text that reads: As far as I can see, it will be me who restores this heart to peace

As far as I can see, there’s been nothing wrong with me. But all this time, I thought I was broken. All this time, I feared what I might find inside. All this time, I saw myself as unsafe. And all this time, I wondered why I hadn’t fixed it yet. As far as I…

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Filed Under: Live Free, Love You, Poetry, Words Tagged With: acceptance, inner peace, mindfulness, self-acceptance, self-compassion, self-love, words of wisdom

To the voice in my head, I love you.

March 5, 2019 By Leslie Ralph Leave a Comment

She’d tell me all the ways I wasn’t enough, and I’d shrink at her words. It’s not big enough, grand enough, fast enough. You’re not smart enough, kind enough, good enough. I don’t feel pleased enough, proud enough, sure enough, she said. I could do anything to set it right, but it was never enough, and…

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Filed Under: Grounding, Lightness, Live Free, Love You, Words Tagged With: acceptance, healing words, letting go, radical acceptance, self-acceptance, self-compassion, self-love

You bring the light. Peace Week Day 5!

March 1, 2019 By Leslie Ralph Leave a Comment

Want to know the most important thing I’ve learned about peace? It’s that darkness is only made scarier by trying to outrun it and that you can always find the light through compassion. Light is in the letting go. It’s in the soft, open hands and heart. It’s being here and connected. And choosing to…

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Filed Under: Lightness, Live Free, Live Happy, Love You, Poetry, Words

#TBT and words of peace. Peace Week Day 4!

February 28, 2019 By Leslie Ralph Leave a Comment

When I dreamed up Peace Week, I knew I had to share some of my earlier essays with you for Throwback Thursday. Whenever I retrace my steps, I feel a deeper appreciation for how I’ve grown, what I’ve learned, and how I came to be where I am. Even though I know that our stories…

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Filed Under: Grounding, Live Happy, Love You, Words

5 days of peace, love, and strength – starting now!

February 25, 2019 By Leslie Ralph Leave a Comment

Her heart felt so heavy, she wished she could pull it out and leave it behind. She’d go through her life without it if she could, for she couldn’t be heartbroken without a heart to break. “Heart, be still,” she commanded. “No one’s moving an inch. Not me, not you, not my body, not my…

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Filed Under: Love You, Poetry, Words

Simple Instructions for Loving Yourself

February 18, 2019 By Leslie Ralph Leave a Comment

A few simple instructions for loving yourself. May they serve you well today. Lift yourself up with kindness. Even when you’re mad at yourself. Even when you don’t think you deserve it. Be generous when remembering your own story. Heal yourself first. Every time you think you need fixing, turn your heart to healing. You’ll soon…

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Filed Under: Lightness, Love You, Words

I thought that’s what “keeping it together” looked like.

January 30, 2019 By Leslie Ralph Leave a Comment

I came upon a great divide one day. Towering cliffs faced each other, each a world of its own. The people on either side, certain they were right, shouted instructions on which way to go. I stood at the edge, lost and confused. Fear appeared beside me, fretting, “What should you choose? Who should you…

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Filed Under: Expansion, Live Free, Love You

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Hi, I’m Leslie!

I'm a writer and artist on a mission to leave this world a little brighter than I found it. Read More…

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Simple Instructions for Loving Yourself

Poetry & Meditation for Inner Peace

A Shop for your Beautiful Heart:

NEW: Written Collection

NEW: Love Free Flowers poster from Love, Child. Love.

NEW: Goddess Poster

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