I have an old box of handwritten letters, and occasionally I take it down from my closet. I enjoy looking through them, seeing the peculiar handwriting styles of my friends and relatives, and the stationary they selected to deliver the message or the mood. The colors of ink and crayoned images, the light scents of people’s hands, the stains of coffee or tears or dirt, the scribbled art and poems make each one a unique piece of art filled with memories.
I find it sad that letters written by hand are becoming obsolete in our modern world. It is difficult to find beautiful quality stationary these days. Many stores sell cards for certain occasions, but there are few tools for real letter writers who enjoy mailing sentiments to people.
I have thought a great deal about dying traditions like letter-writing, and ways that I might help to restore some of the beauty and meaning that is being lost in our technological society.
Instead of just pecking out quick emails, I want to slow down and put forth the effort to buy or create pretty stationary, take out a fancy pen and write a letter by hand in my best cursive writing, seal it into an envelope with a charming sticker or two on the outside, and lick an artistic commemorative stamp to place upon it. Then I’ll drive to the post office and slip it into the big blue mailbox. It’s the least I can do for people I love who have enriched my life.
It’s time to look for ways to slow down and enjoy moments and people more, to dig a little deeper for meaning. Writing letters will be one of my contributions to this cause. And maybe I can help save the post office too.
~♥~
(I am working on a series of editorials called “Dying Traditions” to be posted here as time permits.)
Drifting into the Divine ~♥~ 