Hand written

I am not super OLD but I can remember back to a time ~ not so far back ~ when I did not have a cell phone, our computer did not go "on-line", wi-fi did not exist (we used a cable connected to the wall and listened for the tone), music was purchased on a cd, tape or record not online....  Seems like technology advances so fast because those days were 15-20 years ago...

Back then, we had this THING called mail!  It was the handwritten word.  Rambling notes to and from people who had ideas and thoughts to share.  Some were just postcards from distant locations to say hello.  Some were long and lengthy letters.  We said thank you.  We could express ourselves as well as our hopes, dreams, fears and intentions. Letters conveyed emotion and sentiment. 

In the last years, we have perhaps forgotten what that feels like.  What the eager anticipation of waiting for the mail feels like.  What holding a letter, note or card in your hand actually feels.  The sensation of the paper, the visual scrabble of the words or perhaps the smell of where the item came from.  Our children may never know.  Our children may never have pen-pals, collect stamps, write calligraphy or secret codes. 

So while I sit here writing a blog on the internet, I am admiring an actual letter from a complete stranger.  Through the Perfect Stranger Project, I was paired with a beautiful soul who took time to just write me a rambling letter about her dreams, fears, ideas.  It was amazing to just sit and hold her letter.  I wrote her back right away... because maybe she eagerly anticipated that connection....

Her letter reminded me of my friend in Illinois who I have not seen for 5 years.  We rarely connect on facebook or phone or twitter or Skype... but randomly we share postcards and letters.  So while I was thinking about how cool it is to get a letter from a stranger, I wrote a quick postcard to my friend.... She will open her mail in the next few days and sit quietly on the front porch and devour the words I wrote.  She will know in that moment I was thinking about her.  That simple post card may bring a smile to her face or simply be enough time to allow her to pause in her day to sit quietly. 

And while I was writing that post card, I decided to send a quick postcard to a few others just to say HELLO... and literally that is all I wrote.  They will know!   

I was recently introduced to Gramr Gratitude Co., who make amazing thank you cards because gratitude makes us happy.  I subscribed to get 4 a month with stamps included so that I can easily just write a quick note of thanks.  Because it makes me happy ~ and the cards are beautiful ~ they make someone else happy. And because of this.... 

"We are a community of people who believe that gratitude changes everything, and  when you join our community we make every effort to help you build habits of gratefulness into your life."

 Twice a year I have to send a letter and photos to my sons birth mother.  Each time I have done it for the last 6 years I have used a PAPYRUS card.  Not only are the cards beautiful ~ and we all need to see beauty ~ but because of this....

"The Hummingbird ~ Legends say that hummingbirds float free of time, carrying our hopes for love, joy and celebration. Hummingbirds open our eyes to the wonder of the world and inspire us to open our hearts to loved ones and friends. Like a hummingbird, we aspire to hover and to savor each moment as it passes, embrace all that life has to offer and to celebrate the joy of everyday. The hummingbird’s delicate grace reminds us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal connection has meaning and that laughter is life’s sweetest creation."

I sat here with my beautiful letter, penning a thank you to a neighbor and a postcard to a friend, I wondered about others who enjoy hand written notes and anticipating the mail.  I wondered how we got so far from that.  And I know.... I know technology brings us closer because we can communicate quickly.  But have we lost something? 

We may have lost the ability to sit quietly and think of our responses.  We may have lost the patience and attention to wait and respond in kind.  We may have lost the sheer delight in having something to hold.  Have we lost gratitude and the ability to enjoy the smallest things?  Technology may have robbed us of that but we sure can say more faster....

While I am sitting here using my computer and wi-fi to share my thoughts on hand written notes, I wonder if others have a desire to share expressions and impressions through a "lost form of communication"?  I'd start a club ~ a secret society of hand writers who share postcards, thank you notes and random letters!  It would be a group from any place of any race.  We would use ink instead of keyboards and we would buy stamps instead of wi-fi.  We would find grace, humility and gratitude in the simple gestures and words of friends and strangers.  What a club it would be....