Life Letters™

Sometimes it feels like it's never going to end, doesn't it? In today's episode, Emma hands us another little dose of hope for these uncertain times.

If you could talk to you, this is what it would sound like. In under five-minute clips, the Life Letters™ explores the topics of growth, change, self-love, relationships, and happiness. Hosted by author Emma Grace of Instagram’s hugely popular 'Live in the Details,' the Life Letters™ will hand you a daily dose of the words you never knew you always needed to hear.

Podcast Transcript: I know you’re tired. I know you are so tired of all of this. Of the not knowing. Of the waiting for it to end. Of the not knowing how long it’s actually going to last. I know you are tired of feeling like things are spinning. And you’re not in control. I know you’re tired of grasping for something solid to hold onto— for anything that tells you you’re not in this all alone. I know you want your routine back. I know you want your normal back— your regular old life. The everyday days that seem like such a distant memory now. I know you’re tired of worrying. And thinking. And overthinking. And planning. I know you’re tired of trying to predict what tomorrow is going to throw you, and whether you’ll be ready for it when it does. I know you’re tired of buying too much. And storing too much. And not being able to hug your family. I know you are tired of not being able to see your friends, and not being able to go places, and having to cancel all of the things on your calendar you’ve been looking forward to for so long. I know you’re tired, love. From all of it. From trying. And doing. And feeling like you’re failing. But mostly, from trying to keep yourself and everyone around you safe by giving up. By giving up so very much. For something so small. And so invisible. And so terrifying. I know it feels like this is never going to end. But it will. And trust me when I say that you are not the only one feeling the way you are. Like you just can’t keep it together. Like what the world is asking for you to carry keeps getting heavier and heavier. We will get through this. We will. But until we do, let me just reassure you. You are not alone. And we are all in this together. So just keep focusing on doing the best you can, with the worst you get. Hang on, love. Hang on.

Main music by Monplaisir. Song "Helice." From the Free Music Archive. Licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Podcast intro also by Monplaisir. Song "Z Z." Licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

Do you always wonder when it will be your turn? In today's episode, Emma reminds us that nothing that is meant for us will ever get lost on its way there. 

If you could talk to you, this is what it would sound like. In under five-minute clips, the Life Letters™ explores the topics of growth, change, self-love, relationships, and happiness. Hosted by author Emma Grace of Instagram’s hugely popular 'Live in the Details,' the Life Letters™ will hand you a daily dose of the words you never knew you always needed to hear.

Podcast Transcript: I think it’s brave. I do. How you never stop believing in other people. In their ability to change— to be better— to love you more than they do. I think it’s brave that you never seem to run out of space in your heart to fit in new love stories. To keep hoping. To keep— going. I think it’s brave. I think that YOU are brave. I do. But— I also want you to eventually realize that not everyone and everything that dances into your life deserves a permanent place to stay. Not everyone deserves— you. And you know that you only have two hands. And you can’t hold on to everything. You just can’t. And you know this— I know you do. But when you choose to hold on to the things that are trying their hardest to pull away from you, it makes it THAT much harder to hold on to the gentler things in this life. The delicate things. The beautiful things. When you are always fighting, your hands are always full of tension and your eyes are always distracted— your hands are trying like hell to hang on to things that maybe were never meant to be yours. And your eyes? They are ever-focused on what is leaving you. And not on what has stayed. So— loosen your grasp. Just a little. Nothing that is meant for you will get lost on it’s way there, love. Nothing.

Main music by Monplaisir. Song "Helice." From the Free Music Archive. Licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Podcast intro also by Monplaisir. Song "Z Z." Licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

Do you constantly ask yourself why you're going through the things you are? In today's episode, Emma hands us a little dose of hope for the uncertain times.

If you could talk to you, this is what it would sound like. In under five-minute clips, the Life Letters™ explores the topics of growth, change, self-love, relationships, and happiness. Hosted by author Emma Grace of Instagram’s hugely popular 'Live in the Details,' the Life Letters™ will hand you a daily dose of the words you never knew you always needed to hear.

Podcast Transcript: I wrote Untangling during one of the more tumultuous times in my life— last summer. For those of you currently reading it, just make sure you don’t miss the acknowledgments section. Just don’t. It tells a little more of the story. And you won’t want to miss it. Untangling is a book first about loss— and then, and most importantly, about growth. And for all of you, I am going to let you in on a little secret. Two weeks after I finished writing this book— after I finished navigating all the chapters of loss and growth and healing— I ran headfirst into the person that made the entire journey to get there worth it. Now, that’s a story for another book— but I do want to remind all of you who are out there searching— that life has its plans. It does. Life has a purpose for what it puts us through, and how long it takes for us to get there. Life has a purpose for every no. For every not yet. For every goodbye. And I can’t tell you how long you are going to need to wait, or where (or from whom) your growth will ultimately come from. All I can promise you (just like the story I tell in Untangling) is that this life puts things in your path to steer you in the direction you need to go. There IS a reason for what you’re walking through. There is always a reason, love. So if you’re walking through the darkness right now— through the chaos, the confusion— just hang on. Hang on because your ‘one day’ is coming. It is. And it’s incredible. 

Main music by Monplaisir. Song "Helice." From the Free Music Archive. Licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Podcast intro also by Monplaisir. Song "Z Z." Licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

Does it feel like it's just never going to happen? In today's episode, Emma reminds us how time works when it comes to the things that are ultimately right for our hearts. 

If you could talk to you, this is what it would sound like. In under five-minute clips, the Life Letters™ explores the topics of growth, change, self-love, relationships, and happiness. Hosted by author Emma Grace of Instagram’s hugely popular 'Live in the Details,' the Life Letters™ will hand you a daily dose of the words you never knew you always needed to hear.

Podcast Transcript: One day, things aren’t going to be quite so heavy. They aren’t going to seem so confusing. So chaotic. So – seemingly out of control. One day, all of the you’re-not-the-ones and the I-don’t-feel-that-ways and the goodbyes are actually going to have a place. And they are going to make sense. And even more than just making sense— one day, things are going to be right. They are going to be good. And you are going to be happy. Happy. Because one day, love, someone is going to walk into your life and get it absolutely right where everybody else got it completely wrong. They are going to say the things to you that you have always longed to hear. They are going to hold your hand and brush the hair from your face without you even asking. They are going to know what to say. And when to say it. And they will just know when a hug will fix all of the things that words cannot. One day, your person is going to walk into your life. And change everything. So the trick is, sweet soul, while you are working through all your almosts, just don’t let them make you lose hope. In what you’re looking for. In what you’re waiting for. Just because it’s taking longer than you’d hoped doesn’t mean it isn’t coming. It is. So don’t leave before you finally see what this life has been pushing you towards. It is going to be worth it. I promise.

Main music by Monplaisir. Song "Helice." From the Free Music Archive. Licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Podcast intro also by Monplaisir. Song "Z Z." Licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

Are you caught in the middle? Between a life you've outgrown and one that isn't quite ready for you? In today's episode, Emma reminds us how most big change works.

If you could talk to you, this is what it would sound like. In under five-minute clips, the Life Letters™ explores the topics of growth, change, self-love, relationships, and happiness. Hosted by author Emma Grace of Instagram’s hugely popular 'Live in the Details,' the Life Letters™ will hand you a daily dose of the words you never knew you always needed to hear.

Podcast Transcript: Most change isn’t the big, cataclysmic, shift-everything-in-your-whole-life kind of change. But that is often what we think, isn’t it? Because those are often the worries that infiltrate our hearts and minds. The worst case scenarios— the what-ifs. But as we walk the roads of our lives— what we find is actually quite the opposite, isn’t it? Most change happens so very slowly that we can’t even see it happening until it has already happened. And I’ll tell you how it works. One day, we simply make a decision. Maybe it’s a conscious choice— maybe it’s not. But we make this single choice to do something differently than we did the day before. And then we do it the next day. And the next. And all of a sudden, we have a new routine. And when that routine lasts for long enough, it tilts the direction of entire lives. And that choice— that routine— can be good or bad. It can tilt us in amazing ways— or hurtful ways. But no matter what circumstances surround our decisions everyday, one thing is always very, very true. It is impossible to move away from one thing without moving in the direction of something else. Look, I know it’s hard when you’re caught in the middle. In the place where you’re trying so hard to step out of a life that isn’t right for you. And into one that is. I know it is so hard to keep going when you’re tired. And you’re trying. But all around you, you just can’t see things changing. They are. Trust me. Think of how a flower grows. You can’t ever see it, but it happens just that same. We notice when the sprout emerges from the ground. We notice the flower when it emerges. But we don’t see— we can’t see— all the things that happen in-between. That’s where you are. Don’t stop growing when you are going towards something so amazing. Have faith in the process that is shaping you.

Main music by Monplaisir. Song "Helice." From the Free Music Archive. Licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Podcast intro also by Monplaisir. Song "Z Z." Licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

This just may be one of the hardest, but most powerful, things you ever do for love. In today's episode, Emma shares a secret about the hard times in our love stories.

If you could talk to you, this is what it would sound like. In under five-minute clips, the Life Letters™ explores the topics of growth, change, self-love, relationships, and happiness. Hosted by author Emma Grace of Instagram’s hugely popular 'Live in the Details,' the Life Letters™ will hand you a daily dose of the words you never knew you always needed to hear.

Main music by Monplaisir. Song "Helice." From the Free Music Archive. Licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Podcast intro also by Monplaisir. Song "Z Z." Licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

Your "one day" is coming. It is. In today's episode, Emma reminds us that time knows exactly what it's doing. 

If you could talk to you, this is what it would sound like. In under five-minute clips, the Life Letters™ explores the topics of growth, change, self-love, relationships, and happiness. Hosted by author Emma Grace of Instagram’s hugely popular 'Live in the Details,' the Life Letters™ will hand you a daily dose of the words you never knew you always needed to hear.

Podcast Transcript: One day soon, all of your whys are going to be answered. You are going to stop rushing. And waiting. And wondering. You are going to stop wishing. And you are going to launch— launch— into the life that has been being shaped and curated for just you. Through all of these trials and goodbyes and ‘wait for it’s’ that you’ve been forced to navigate— your incredible life has been being created. Piece by piece. Day by day. Experience by experience. And one day, you’re just going to step into it. And it’s going to make sense. And when it does, your heart will be happy. And whole. And content. Do you know what content feels like? It’s when you know tomorrow might be hard, but you also know you can handle it. It’s when you know things may come and go, but you’re confident enough in who you are and what you’ve lived through that you *know* you can handle it. And mostly— it’s when you don’t let worry and uncertainty and regret into the drivers seat, because you know the past has only one purpose. To prepare you for YOUR future. It hurts, yes. But hurt is what strengthens us. Gets us ready. So, if you’re in the part that is shaping you but not showing you yet? Hang on. Your day is still coming. I promise. Just make sure you don’t leave before it shows you the insanely beautiful life it’s been working so hard to create for you.

Main music by Monplaisir. Song "Helice." From the Free Music Archive. Licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Podcast intro also by Monplaisir. Song "Z Z." Licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

Are you happy? Like, really happy? In today's episode, Emma gets us thinking about what it really takes to be happy.

If you could talk to you, this is what it would sound like. In under five-minute clips, the Life Letters™ explores the topics of growth, change, self-love, relationships, and happiness. Hosted by author Emma Grace of Instagram’s hugely popular 'Live in the Details,' the Life Letters™ will hand you a daily dose of the words you never knew you always needed to hear.

Podcast Transcript: I heard this morning that changes come from choice. And also that— changes are much more important than circumstances. Let those sink in. I think most of us *get* how all this works. We know what we’re supposed to do— what we are supposed to focus on. We know what we should feel and the choices we’re supposed to make. It’s just that— when we get right down to it, it is really hard to change a life, isn’t it? It is hard to change a routine. A pattern. A lifetime of doing something a certain way. Someone reminded me of that last night. “You give this advice to other people,” she had said. “Don’t you believe it for yourself?” Yikes. She called me on it. “Of course I believe it,” I said. “It’s just that— well, it’s just that it’s much harder to apply to life than it is to know it’s the right thing to apply to life.” She smiled at me. Guys— I get that we are all carrying a bunch of heavy stuff. I get that we are all working to overcome and let go and be better and have more. And I get that most of us are tired. Tired of hearing all the things we need to do that we aren’t doing. But you know, if you sift through the billions of advice-givers (myself included) out there, there are really only TWO THINGS that matter. That have EVER mattered. One— that you are living a life you will be (and are) proud of. And two— that you are happy. HAPPY. And I am telling you—every SINGLE choice you make should be tilting you in those two directions. Make a mistake? Great— make it right. And then you can be proud. And then being proud of what you did, even if it was hard— will make you happier. Not finding the one? Ok. Work on yourself. And as you do, you just may find that you attract what you create. Yes, it’s complicated. For me too. But you know, time is ticking by for all of us. And we’re spending it on things and people and worries that just don’t matter. That— won’t— matter. So here’s the message for you, love. The sign from the sea of “listen to me” messages you have to sort through out there. Be happy, love. It’s time. It has *been* time. 

Main music by Monplaisir. Song "Helice." From the Free Music Archive. Licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Podcast intro also by Monplaisir. Song "Z Z." Licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

Are you letting people and things from your past hold you from your future? In today's episode, Emma gets us thinking about how progress works. And how we must change for things to change. 

If you could talk to you, this is what it would sound like. In under five-minute clips, the Life Letters™ explores the topics of growth, change, self-love, relationships, and happiness. Hosted by author Emma Grace of Instagram’s hugely popular 'Live in the Details,' the Life Letters™ will hand you a daily dose of the words you never knew you always needed to hear.

Podcast Transcript: Trying to change is a hard thing. Perhaps— its the absolute hardest thing we ever do. And while we’re getting up early and staying up late and bleeding and sweating and sacrificing for the things we want or need in this life— we often get one more thing added to our plates, don’t we? Something that always tends to make the load heavier and the way less straight. Other. People’s. Opinions. Other people’s— push-back. You know what it looks like. It’s the “oh, wow, you’ve really changed,” and the “I just don’t understand you anymore.” It’s the family and friends and people we’ve loved sitting us down and asking if we’re alright. If we “know” what we’re doing. If we’re thinking about the big picture. If we’re— sure. And they talk and argue and push. A lot. But, if f you have already thought through what you’re doing, and you are working TOWARDS something that means SOMETHING to you— then you need to ignore those voices. You do. Completely. And— don’t be rude. Listen. Think. But it is totally up to you whether you let someone else chart the course of your life for you. Everybody means well when they give advice. They do. But advice is just them weaving their experiences and their regrets into a nice little bundle of something they want you to carry. But if you carry everything that other people hand you, your life is the thing that gets heavy. That gets hard. Your life is the thing that gets— heavy. So be selective with what you decide to make a part of you. Be selective. Be selective. 

Are you letting this world tell you what you deserve? In today's episode, Emma gets us thinking about the kind of love we accept. Rather than the kind of love we actually deserve.

If you could talk to you, this is what it would sound like. In under five-minute clips, the Life Letters™ explores the topics of growth, change, self-love, relationships, and happiness. Hosted by author Emma Grace of Instagram’s hugely popular 'Live in the Details,' the Life Letters™ will hand you a daily dose of the words you never knew you always needed to hear.

Podcast Transcript: It’s easy to get lost in broken hearts, in the waiting, in the you’re-not-the-ones. It’s easy to get lost in the you’ll-never-find-that-kind-of-love and the you’re-too-fussy and the when-are-you-going-to-settle-down. They will talk about biological clocks. And time ticking by. They will talk about you being too old to start or too young to understand. They will talk to you about who you love and what you want and where you’re looking for it are completely wrong. They will tell you those things and a million others. And you can listen. You can certainly listen to all those voices in this world that keep telling you what you’re looking for isn’t out there. That it doesn’t exist. And maybe even— that you don’t deserve it. You can listen to those voices, or you can look those people straight in the eye and smile. Smile because you know that what you want will one day find you. Smile because they don’t really get it. How this world works. How— you work. They don’t see yet that when you want something badly enough and wait for it patiently enough— that eventually those things make their way beautifully into your life. Yes, even love. So the best thing you can ever do is hold on like hell to the dreams you have for your life. The best thing you can ever do is hold on like hell to the way you want to be loved. The way— you— want to love. Because in the end, it’s not just some people who get what they are looking for while others don’t. In the end, the people who get what they want in this life are quite simply, the ones who don’t ever give up. And when the world shouts louder and louder at them to go faster and lower their standards and settle for something else, they retreat into the peace and solace and sweet contentment of knowing what they know. That time always makes things right in the end. Always.