When was the last time you received a handwritten letter?
Have you ever checked your mailbox outside, fully expecting to find a fistful of flyers or bills, and instead, discovered a beautiful cotton envelope in a pretty colour with whimsical handwriting on it... addressed to you? Whether you've had a rough day or a great one, little surprises like this are one of life's treasures.
In this day of technology-dominated communication, correspondence that is personal, tactile, and thoughtful stands out like a bright star in the night sky. You might even say receiving it is appreciated more now than when it was the default form of communication.
Letter writing is a wonderful way to express gratitude, love, and good will to someone. Since no tech company is monitoring or scanning your communication, you may feel more free to express your feelings. Is there someone who's done a lot recently without thanks or said something specific that changed you in a positive way? Maybe there's someone you haven't talked to in a long time and explaining things feels too awkward over an email or text message. The act of handwriting is a great way to reflect on things and relieve stress.
A handwritten letter lets you customize your message. You can choose colourful stationery. You can decorate the letter and envelope with doodles, stickers and a sealing wax. You can enclose a personal item, such as a photograph, feather, bookmark, clipping, or recipe card. Even choosing a stamp is a detail that you can select with your recipient in mind.
Letters are creative expressions that evoke the senses. There's the feeling of the paper - smooth, textured, soft. (Some papers are truly exquisite. Next time you're at Figg Street Co., run your hand over some G. Lalo or Rhodia paper.) Colours and unusual shapes and designs that stand out in the post. Even scented inks fountain pen users can buy to add a special perfume. The sound of opening the mail, or maybe more moving, is the sound of the writer's voice that seems to come through a handwritten letter more clearly, don't you find?
Once it's sent and received, there are more creative possibilities. Have you ever gone through your keepsakes and found old letters? How did you feel? There's something thrilling about revisiting old letters. Whether they're love letters, correpondence with a pen pal, mail from a close friend or letters that expressed thanks, if they made you feel good once, they're bound to delight you again. Consider wrapping a stack of them with a pretty ribbon, piece of string or lace. Then, like a small child who buries a time capsule in the back garden, stash your lot in a shoebox or special container for future moments of discovery and joy!
