The Lost Art of Letter Writing
I only have two New Years Resolutions. The first is to spend more time romancing myself, the second is to send more letters. In a world obsessed with being ‘more connected’ through social media, text messages and emails we lose something – the mindfulness of writing.
Writing became my friend, and it was a gentle reminder that I was not as alone as I thought I was…
I recently returned from an incredible year studying in America, and upon arriving home I went through a period of feeling lonely after having said goodbye to all those I left behind and returning to University where all my home friends had graduated. Yes, I could just check their Instagram and like their selfies, but logging into Instagram only made me feel worse: it was an onslaught of smiling faces and people who seemed surrounded by friends. It was then that I made the conscious effort of sending postcards to all of the friends I had made out there. Writing each name out reminded me of how it wasn’t truly goodbye: I still had friends out there who wanted to hear what I was up to, and who I wanted to hear from in return. Writing became my friend, and it was a gentle reminder that I was not as alone as I thought I was.
But let us not forget the act of mindfully spending ten minutes to write a carefully thought out letter on our favourite stationary…
Instant-messaging is purposefully usurping the act of letter-writing. But let us notforget the act of mindfully spending ten minutes to write a carefully thought out letter on our favourite stationary, or the time spent wandering to the post office to pick up a page of stamps. All this done for the pure intention of putting a smile on the receiver’s face when they see the mail sitting on their doorstep when they go downstairs for their morning cup of coffee. No ‘ping’ of a text message can replace that feeling of holding a surprise envelope in your hands, guessing who’s handwriting has scrawled your address on the front, and slowly opening the letter to reveal the sender’s name.
I love knowing that only ten minutes of my time will inevitably make someone I love smile…
Now that a couple of months have passed, and I’ve sent and received countless postcards to the United States, I’m feeling myself again. But that low-point got me thinking about all those who would also appreciate a thoughtful letter; a reminder that someone is thinking about them. So, I bought a beautiful letter writing set (£1.50, Wilkos; you’re welcome), and began my New Year journey of writing to as many people as I can: my technophobe Grandparents, my friend approaching the end of her Masters Degree, my brother who has just started a new job etc. I’m already finding the process liberating and mindful. I love knowing that only ten minutes of my time will inevitably make someone I love smile.
I’m in the middle of writing my dissertation on Ernest Hemingway and came across a letter he’d written to F. Scott Fitzgerald in which he urged Fitzgerald to write to him: “Or don’t you like to write letters? I do because it’s such a swell way to keep from working and yet you feel you’ve done something”. I think this sums it up perfectly; it’s both fun and the perfect way to procrastinate, as opposed to spending hours scrolling, and who needs more reason than that?
