Why the letters?

By now you have probably caught on to the idea that I love writing letters sent through the good ol' postal system, and it probably sounds like I'm trying to reinvent the pony express here or something.  Here on the blog I have broken down a thank you letter into manageable parts, provided tips for how to make writing letters more possible and organized, and suggested a template for writing a friendly letter.  But why?  What's the point of all of that?  Is it so that you can analyze my letter if you receive one?  Is it because I think every person needs to be writing a minimum number of letters each month?  Why am I obsessed with writing letters?  These are actually very valid questions.  I have provided some brief answers in previous letter blogs, but I would like to address these unspoken questions more directly here before adding to my collection of blog posts on the topic of letter writing.

My intention is not to turn everyone into a letter-writing fanatic (though that would help out the postal system!).   I like letter writing because I see it as a personal "ministry"of encouraging and reaching out to others.  That just means that I am passionate about it, but I also realize that not everyone is or even should be!  But I do want to reveal why it is important to me and why I think writing at least an occasional letter really is valuable for you, too.

First of all, letters provide practice for well-thought-out communication.  In a technology world, we don't actually have to think too carefully because it's so easy to send another message of correction or to edit something.  I really love that about technology.  😏  But I also think there is a bit of loss in that.  We lose the ability to communicate with depth and meaning. If I'm using email or a messaging system, I am less likely to put in effort to find a connection and pour myself into what I want to communicate.  Letters are your chance to take the time to think through what you want to say and exactly how you want it worded.  It's like you have the freedom to be a real writer for just a minute...and an old-fashioned movie character!  There is space for creativity, humor, and personal honesty at a whole new level, and it's on paper where your recipient can handle it and soak it up over and over.

Pouring yourself into being a writer means that it also takes more time.  The 21st century is so fast-paced.  People are rushing from here to there and trying to meet deadline after deadline.  Most of us live highly demanding lives with tight schedules.  The wonderful thing about a letter is that it departs from this routine.  It commits to not be rushed and to take a needed pause in order to reach into someone else's life, just like you would if you were going to get together for coffee.  That leads me in to the next point:

When you are separated by distance from someone you really care about, you obviously can't spend time with them to share about life, laugh together, and create new memories like you would in person.  A letter will bridge that gap while you're apart.  You have a chance to still share about life in the same depth and detail that you might in person.  In a casual email, I would struggle to write effectually about my excitement over up-coming college courses or about my discouragement over future unknowns in the same way that I would communicate those things in person or in a letter.  The time and effort required for a letter shows that you care about them and want to take time out to be "with" them in whatever way is possible, too.  It's your secret code of saying "hey!  I know we can't hang out together today; but I still want to keep you updated, and I still really care about this relationship."

Finally, your handwriting and/or writing style reveal a lot about your personality and style.  Only "insiders" to your life know your handwriting well enough to immediately recognize it or have the ability to hear your voice when they read your choice of words and your sentence construction.  That's actually a really special thing to get to experience about your friend/family member.

Writing letters also helps you look younger, lose weight, and lower your risk of disease...
if you're simultaneously drinking green tea.

My blog posts about letters are not designed to guilt you or to reverse time away from technology.  However, I think you could pass on some encouragement by simply writing a letter to that person who has been on your mind for the past few days.  Let them know how they got on your mind, what you've been busy with, and what you miss about being together.  Give them the gift of being an insider on who you are, and the world just might become a better place.