Apart from on your birthday, when was the last time that you received a card or a letter through the post that had been personally written for you? It’s a lovely feeling. When was the last time that you allocated time in your day to sit down and handwrite a letter to someone that is important to you?
With the speed and immediacy of our email, text and instant communication systems, the value and process of writing a letter is in danger of becoming a lost mode of communication when throughout history, it has been such an important way of people connecting with each other.
When we message, we type fast and hit send even faster. What we write may not be fully processed and the impact of it not fully considered such is the fleeting nature of it. The modern style of communication is rapid-fire, and we may even be in multiple text conversations at one time replying to different recipients in different directions. We may be in a crowd of incessant group chats where the stream of virtual traffic can feel constant, as can the feeling of needing to contribute even if we have nothing to really say.
By contrast, the process of writing a letter is slower, more deliberate and requires you to engage your thoughts and feelings with the words that you write. In addition to being an act of conscious, deliberate communication, it is also an act of mindfulness. The world will slow down for you. You are required to sit still, consider your words in advance of committing them to the page and control the ink in creating your meaning and intention. You need to choose the pen, set the page to a comfortable angle, and begin to write…
The joyful feeling of a letter, handwritten and heartfelt, dropping through the letterbox is an elating one. It expresses that someone thought about you enough to take time to sit down and create something just for you, and its journey towards you mattered enough to take its time in a hurried world.
Try it:
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Write a letter to someone who is important to you. Take the time to write what the recipient means to you and why you are grateful to have them in your life. It could be a friend, a parent, a grandparent, or someone you haven’t seen in a while; they will be pleased to hear from you.
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Write a letter to yourself. No one apart from you may ever see this letter but write a letter to yourself when you are feeling brave, strong, and confident reminding yourself of all the reasons that it is good to be you – the unique, worthwhile individual that you are. Keep it safe and take it out to read to yourself on your struggle days. Your strong voice can help to contradict and silence your inner-critic.
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Write a letter to say: “thank you”. If you have enjoyed a show, an experience, a lesson, or someone has shown you a kindness that has been important to you, put pen to paper and write to express that sentiment. The permanence of paper and ink is meaningful and lasting.
