Once a month, I meet a dear friend for breakfast at a local bookstore, using our time together catching each other up on our busy lives and discussing our views on the world at large. (Oh, if only everyone would just listen to us...we could fix all of the woes of the world lol) This mornings discussion focused on the good and bad of technology.
It should go without saying that I love my computer. I love the ability to connect with people on the other side of the world through email and blogs. I love that I have information at my fingertips, but I often miss what life was like before we all got online. I'm sad that my children don't know the thrill of receiving a handwritten letter from a loved one unexpectedly in the mail; a small joy that email can not compete with.
Surely I'm not the only person who gets excited about receiving mail not requiring a check to be written (bills) or addressed to "occupant"? Most of our written communication seems to be through text messaging or email. Of course, occasionally a birthday card comes in the mail, but, more often than not even birthday wishes are now sent via e-cards. I mourn this loss of written communication...handwritten communication, that is. I miss the pleasure of looking back on the cards and letters from the past, now lovingly tied with ribbon and placed on the top shelf of my closet, awaiting a quiet moment to relive the memories. A printed email message will never be ribbon worthy and all too soon I fear there will nothing more to place on that top shelf. I just can't allow that to happen.
I am on a crusade to revive the art of correspondence. Here are some of my thoughts...
Today find a quiet place and read some of your favorite letters. While sitting there soaking up all the love and support, think of one person you love and write a beautiful, loving letter to that person. Make sure you write from the heart. Letters are intimate. Be intimate. Fancy stationery isn't necessary; write a loving note on the back of a pretty picture or inside of a book to pass along. A letter takes so little time, yet one letter in a lifetime to a mother, a daughter, or a special friend could make a greater difference than you believe.
