LETTER OF LOVE

15 Feb 2012
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We’re not surprised you enjoyed the love letters in ‘Straight from the Heart’ on page 50 of our February issue, and several of you responded to our invitation to write a love letter of your own. Congratulations to Liezl Conradie who touched our hearts with her letter to ‘passion’. A beautiful beauty hamper and three books of ELLE’s choice are on their way!

Here is Liezl’s letter:

Passion, my love

I woke up this morning with you snugly nestled in the hollow of my heart. I felt you stir, also, the moment my feet touched ground, leaving the cloud of sleep behind. You stretched, slowly expanding, limb by limb, pumping my system full of excitement for the day ahead.

You remind me once again of my youth, of all the endless possibilities that life still has to offer me, of all the plans, dreams and ambitions that I so stubbornly refuse to give up on. Why do I still find it surprising when I once again catch a glimpse of you staring back at me through the thick glass of the mirror, with that promising smile playing in your eyes? I should know by now that you are always with me, comfortable enough to take over the role of driving force in my life, yet still vigilant when it comes to keeping me on my toes. Your decisions may be a bit hasty and off-key, sometimes, but they are all made with the best of intentions, offering precious gems of wisdom as compensation for when the occasional mishap rears its head.

You are at your most luminous when I am among those I love. Squeezed between friends in the graduation photo or casually slumped on the couch next to me as I share the week gone by with my mother over the comforting aroma of cappuccino. You position yourself into a semi-hug while placing your arm around my shoulders, your chin grazing the side of my cheek as you read the Bible with me, respectfully listening to my calm, steady breathing as I spend time with God. Even my emotions remain unscathed by your presence, as you offer a release from pain and disappointment by chasing it from my soul, allowing me to breathe freely through my tears while digesting the sticky, tough parts of life. I am so grateful for the elation that you send shooting through me like a hot rush of warm air when I experience the freedom of dancing. And oh, how you send my senses on hopscotch frenzy when I get a whiff of your familiar scent while weaving art and memories into the fibres of a photo, your laughter echoing in my ears as I write. You are the essence of the way in which I savour my end-of-the-week reward, sending a chocolaty sugar high in waves of soft cocoa kisses to caress my throat, momentarily ridding me from the reality of my expanding thighs.

I have always been aware of you trickling through my system, but it wasn’t until later when your copious amounts of joy grew into a glittering stream of enthusiasm that you felt confident enough to make the first move and whisper a pleasant greeting in my ear. You are my leaky faucet I would not dream of fixing. I want to thank you for encouraging me to experience every aspect of my life with so much excitement and appreciation. You make my life interesting, exciting and cheerful by allowing me to be myself. I admire the way you always live life to the fullest with that contagious, somewhat dramatic flair of yours, which inspires the recognition of the beauty in the small things that life so graciously has to offer.

May you remain with me through all the seasons of my life and may our eyes still meet in the morning mirror when old age finally catches up with me.

Yours always,

Liezl Conradie