Postcard

A 12-hour day. Meetings, research, and prep. No complaints, but facts. I checked my snail mail cubby at work and found a surprise from one of those awesome humans hanging out on planet earth.

How wonderful to find your postcard. Heartwarming indeed! You really made my day.

Perhaps I can get you to give a talk on your adventure. The residents would enjoy your stories. I know I would!

Continue with your journey, safe and secure, my friend. We miss you at “the home.” (I couldn’t resist writing that.)

I had written the following many years ago, and it is worth posting here. Letter writing really is a lost art.

The days of writing letters on beautiful stationery, sending note cards to simply say, “Hi… Thinking of you” or “Thank you” is coming to an end. Well, maybe not to an end, but enough to say it’s becoming a dying art. It needs to be resurrected because how we communicate today has become dire. Sadly, many are committing communication suicide with emails on the computer, tweets on Twitter and texting by phone. Abbreviations have taken over our minds and hands. People are much more inclined to send multimedia cards by email, too.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I can appreciate and do participate in all forms of communication. However, the endearing quality of a handwritten letter is a gift within itself. The effort put forth goes beyond measure and has the potential of staying with the heart as long as you live.

I have a large collection of letters and cards. On occasion I pull out these wonderful treasures and review them with great affection. They are a testament to a life lived. They are a reminder that I have loved and received love in return. There are many insistences where I feel I am reading them for the first time.

I was sitting with a few friends enjoying a glass of wine with some meaningful conversation. We discussed many topics, but the one I enjoyed the most was about the lost art of writing. One of my friends, Ginger, is unapologetic when it comes to preferring letter writing over more modern forms of communication. She’s email savvy but knows quality when she sees it, and for her it’s all in the handwritten letter. She has communicated with one of her college friends for over 30 years through letters. Without a doubt, those letters have helped build a strong bond. Ginger said she wants to give them to her friend’s daughter as a gift. How great is that?! That statement alone made my night.

I know some of you are thinking by the time you sit down and handwrite a letter, reread it for errors, find an envelope, purchase a stamp, and find a mailbox, you could have just sent several emails. I guess when you look at it like that, it really doesn’t seem all that appealing. However, I beg you not to be so frivolous with your thoughts and irresponsible with your thinking.

Think about it like this… Handwritten letters are very personal. They are written with emotional depth and hopefully good Karma. Without a doubt, this correspondence has the ability to influence, shape and direct (or redirect) a life. We must always take pride when we are found to be noteworthy. Since we receive so much junk mail, bills, and other nonsense, wouldn’t it be nice to find a letter or card in the mailbox from a friend or relative for no special reason? Would it not be cool to save and find it 20 or 30 years from now, open it again and remember the joy you felt when you first received it and feel a renewed joy?

Emails are environmentally friendly, and the cost of mailing anything today is ridiculous. Allow yourself, on special occasions, to send out a handwritten letter of good intention, warmth, and love.

I hope the next time, instead of emailing, texting, or chatting on Facebook to a family member or old friend, you’ll find a moment to handwrite a letter. A single letter has the ability to impact the writer, receiver, and countless others. Write to someone today.

(PS: To a special friend in Florida, I can't help but think of you, too. Everything you have ever sent me; I value more than you will ever know. I look forward to seeing you in person, sooner than later.) – paerki