The Power of Writing More Love Notes

If you’re a woman taking a car in for service, you are almost bound to encounter some “man-splaining.”

So last week when I took my truck in for an oil change, my experience was no different.  

I ended up waiting two and a half hours for an oil change and tire rotation after having made an appointment. The man helping me asked me if I used my truck to tow and when I answered “yes,” he asked if I hauled boats around, to which I replied, “no, live animals.” I think that stopped him in his tracks for a minute until he proceeded to tell me that I would need to get my rear brakes done soon and that I could discuss that with my significant other.

I walked away, but I found that to be quite entertaining, as 1) I am currently single and 2) Even if I was in a relationship, I would still make decisions for my vehicle on my own. And am more than capable of doing so.

Needless to say, I did some deep breathing at the car dealership last week. And in between breaths, I heard my Knowing, my inner guidance system, God –whatever you want to call it—say, “Em, flip it around.”

Flip it around.

I sat with that for a minute and then it hit me.

I had a choice in that moment to let this ruin my day or I could use it for good.

So I took out the notebook that I always carry around with me (because great ideas come when I’m out on the move!) and I started writing.

I suddenly knew: I could improve the waiting room experience for the next person who entered this room and saw my note folded up on the chair. And I knew that whatever Soul found my note would be the one who needed it most. I trusted.

And I wrote this short little love note (which took me a maximum of 3 minutes to write):

And when I walked out of the room, I left it on the chair I was sitting in:

I have no idea who received the note. But I do believe that they probably smiled and paid that love forward to someone else. I hope that it had the ripple effect that I intended it to have. I have to believe that it did because otherwise why would I have been guided to take that action?

I have to admit that the other part of the reason that I left this note is because I was sitting in the waiting room on the Thursday after the 2022 midterm elections and Dear God—the news was on and the sheer criticism and ugliness of people was blaring in my ears and I thought I was going to lose it.

Once again, I heard “Em, flip it around.”

In any moment we have a choice. We can either buy-in to what is going on around us, whether that is good or bad, or we can chart our own path and create a new story.

Thanks to my guidance, I decided to create a new story and leave some love in a place that desperately needed it.

I find that to be true in every area of our lives. There is constantly guidance around us. For some people it is a knowing, some people have visions, some people hear it, some people feel it in their gut.

Sometimes it comes in strongly in more than one way. These are the stories of people who just didn’t get into the car that morning because they felt off about something and missed a horrible car accident.

Sometimes it comes in softly, like a whisper. Something that you could easily miss if you instead chose to lean into your human ego. This might look like a little ping in your gut telling you not to work with someone or that feeling to not walk on one side of the street in the dark.

What is most important to know is what it is not: It is NOT that nagging, self-critical voice. No. That is just your fear.

Instead, it is an all-powerful voice of Love. It feels undeniable. It feels like Truth. It feels like if we ignore it, we will deeply regret it or put ourselves in an unsafe situation or not live up to our highest potential.

My love note experience, however small, was no different.

And it made me wonder how many opportunities I am missing every day to outflow love because I’m stuck in my own silly drama, engrossed in my own life or just simply spaced out and not paying attention.

Not to mention that I left the car dealership in an elevated state instead of feeling frustrated, irritated and deeply annoyed.

Love has a way of changing those we give to as much as it does us as the giver. 

So my new mission is to leave more love notes around the world, out in the wild. At the grocery store, at the airport, maybe I’ll mail more to friends and sign them as me versus leaving anonymous notes. Maybe I’ll leave them with some cash money when I feel inspired and hope that it makes a difference for the stranger who finds it.

I don’t know, but I will be listening. I will know when I am supposed to write a love note. I will be on the outlook for more ways to outflow love. Maybe, just maybe, if more of us took these small actions, our world could become a brighter, more unified place.

Where can you outflow love today? Send me a note here after you have written your first love note and let me know how you felt! 

Xoxo,

Em