A Dying Art
We shouldn’t let the art of writing personal, handwritten cards and letters fade away. There’s nothing like the joy of both putting together—and receiving—a well-crafted message from a friend or family member.
Real handwriting from a real person makes a connection. It reaches out across the arc of our busy lives that so often drives us apart, and it seeks to build a bridge between people. For that brief moment, both the sender and receiver are able to freeze time and share in an intimate exchange of thoughts.
Sharing our cherished thoughts and insights with others brings us closer. It builds relationships.
A Personal Message
Remember the last time you received a real, handwritten card with a message lovingly crafted just for you?
We do too.
The smell of the paper. The feel of the cardstock in your hand. The sensation of tearing the envelope open and digging out the card as you wonder what is written inside.
In the modern age, we’ve developed degrees of separation from the physical world as technology has advanced and the utopian dreams of yesteryear have become the new standard of living many will not do without.
But with each of the wonderful benefits of our modern age, we grow slightly further away from nature and the people around us. For better or worse, we don’t wait in line for the phone booth—nor do we fight over the ONE phone hanging on the kitchen wall. And with all the great ways that social media helps us stay in touch, it’s really not the same as real, personal contact with other people.
Look, Mom, No Hands!
It’s also rare to receive a handwritten letter anymore. But how many texts do you get each day? Quick, easy, texts. No painstaking care to word everything the way the sender wanted. No gauging their mood/personality based on the shape of the handwriting.
And no relationship building.
How many times a day do you hear your phone alert you of a text and you don’t even respond? Electronic communication has become so easy that we take it for granted. A text could be from anyone (or no one), it could be about anything (or nothing). It might be a casual birthday message from your brother, or it could be a silly picture from a friend.
In short, it’s normal. Average. Not special.
Personal Memorial
Personal, handwritten messages are the antithesis to the quick-and-easy text. The special craft of recording your individual thoughts and sending them to someone dear to you is an act of trust and confidence. This is great practice in the art of correspondence writing—an art that’s meticulous and well thought out.
The message you write with your own hand cannot be taken away—and it cannot be so easily taken back. This medium is not one of ease and convenience; it’s not quick and disposable.
You cannot send an immediate follow-up to correct a mistake. And further, it’s expected that there are to be no mistakes. This is your heartfelt sentiment that you took time out of your busy schedule to produce with your own hand.
It is a memorial for all time.
Give it a Try!
If you aren’t accustomed to sending handwritten cards, why not give it a go? There must be someone in your life that you’d like to give a special message to. Perhaps you’ve grown apart from a cousin or a sibling when you were once close.
Instead of picking up your phone, pick up a pen.
Letters are the kind of thing people keep. Someday, years from now, they’ll find your letter—and they’ll remember back to when you took the time to think of them and handwrite a message, just for them.
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