A Love Letter From Paris

I am writing you today from Paris—lovely, sophisticated, elegant Paris—where I’ve just arrived for a nearly six-week stay. I arrived here just before the weekend and have spent the better part of the last few quiet days dreaming about the future.

Dreaming about doing more writing, inspiring more people, working less and loving more, continuing to travel, living like a local. Dreaming, in other words, about what I want for the coming years. And then making plans around those dreams. Plans with real steps, achievable goals, and exciting results, even as they are in their infancy.

At the end of the day, the sum of all my little wishes is this: I want to love the world and to change it. I want to do work that matters. I want to see the world and understand it. I want to love.

I know that’s what you want too. To love. To change the world. To matter.

And so today here I am, in Paris, writing to tell you that you can, you will, and you do. You can love. You will change the world. You do matter.

Every act of selfless love changes the world. Even the small ones.

So today this is your reminder and your challenge: to love. To make small choices to care for people around you, be they friends, family, strangers, or even your enemies. To tell someone they’re wonderful. To offer up your undivided attention. To really listen. To do something thoughtful. To love.

Because that, my darling, no matter where in the world you are—be it Paris, France or Paris, Texas—is what really matters.

Love.

Always and ever yours,