Imagine living during the
pre-electricity era. Suddenly, the ability to talk on the phone, text, or email
vanishes. How are you
going to communicate without the quick responses that exist with today’s
technology?
The answer is writing a
letter and waiting, yes waiting, patiently for a response. Although it may seem
ancient, people still write letters, including myself. Today’s culture promotes
quick and
easy
tasks for everything. Communicating by way of letter writing will not promote
quick but it is easy and will teach you to have patience.
There are many reasons why you should embark on the journey of writing a letter, but my favorite reason is to unplug from the busy technology life.
Unplugging: Time for a Small Detox
A typical day of using screens may look something like
this:
- The alarm on your phone rings to wake you
up.
- At school or work, assignments are
completed on a computer.
- You text your friend of family
member.
- In the evening, you look up a recipe on your phone or order food from a restaurant.
Look closely at the third bullet point: texting. This is one of the most common ways to use a phone. In fact, it is not often that we go a whole day without it. A good way to unplug for a short amount of time is to write a letter. Instead of sending that text, I encourage you to write a letter. It could be as simple as a short note or as long as a five-page letter. The sky is the limit so feel free to choose your length and style!
 |
| A handful of letters from my pen pal of nine years. We started out with short notes on cards and eventually began writing long letters. |
Of course, writing a letter will take longer than
sending a text, but the appreciation will be greater and more meaningful. There
are no suggestions for words or a voice option so the letter will be truly
written from your heart. The recipient will read the words that were written
from your ink pen and be grateful you took the time to write just for
them.
When the mailbox is opened, and a handwritten letter is found, that person will truly appreciate you and may take the time to write back.
 |
| Letters in cursive are my favorite! (and yes, it's supposed to be blurry) |
“To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart”. -Phyllis Theroux
