Chants to Write

Think of a time when you gave someone a short piece of handwriting that really made their day. Was it a birthday card? A love letter? A short thank you note? I am sure their reaction put a smile on your face and set your heart at ease, if only for a moment. Creating such moments are what I would like to delve into with you, here.

To clarify, this is not a buying guide or gift guide or product review of any kind. In fact, I will simply take our common foundation to be a piece of paper with room enough for you to write something on it with the whole intent of giving it to someone to make their day. Not a napkin, though. Those are for spur-of-the-moment contracts and we’re talking pure appreciation and acknowledgment of others here.

Ok. Back to our happy place.

As you gaze at the pen and paper in front you and you are thinking of that other person, what comes to mind? Do you struggle with choosing whether you should write about a specific moment or a sensation or a feeling you inspired in them? I must admit, these kinds of thoughts add some pressure to what will be a moment of joy.

Arguably, it doesn’t always help when you can think of a lot of things to write, does it? I mean, you can’t write everything because it simply creates one big mess as opposed to a message. That may have been how my grade four teacher discovered my penchant for writing after having written three times more than any other student for a short story assignment, but we’re talking the gift of messages here.

Can’t I just cheap out and just sign a card with a close-enough message?

I will skip a TED talk on the matter and jump to something that happened to me not long ago. The equivalent of a Vice President that was new to the organisation actually stopped by my desk to compliment me in saying that the handwriting on a holiday card I had given her was the best handwriting she had ever seen. Positive impressions matter.

That’s why “blank on the inside” cards matter.

If you are still wondering what the hell to write, flip the question to identify what not to write and look at the leftovers. Trust me, those words will be much better than refrigerated pizza! The rest is simply geometry.

Yeah, you heard me. I am not sure what you learned in high school, or in what course. Being acutely aware of the above three points and the relationships between them have really helped since I first learned them in grade ten. Suffice it to say, my choice in cards improved exponentially as I am sure yours will! Then comes a second hurdle.

What font do I use?

Believe it or not, this actually has an impact. You wouldn’t think so, but it does.

When Steve Jobs went nuts on fonts, that really opened up something in me. Even simple word processors back in the day made selecting from a smorgasbord of fonts easy - and it just keeps getting easier! Initially, I took this to be another tool in my writer’s arsenal that added another level of creativity to my writing. I mean, words can mean something, but also how they appear can also impact their message as well.

Have you ever given somebody something that was loaded with creativity and they could not make heads or tails of it? Me, too. Unbridled creativity often requires an explanation, which I kind of got tired of providing. After all, I just wanted it to be a gift given, not a mini pseudo-lecture on aesthetics. So, I stick with something legible (particularly to the recipient), consistent (on the card), and only a few items of flare. That way they know they have received extra attention and an extra helping of style. That’s it, keep it simple.

Pause.

Something tells me you’re just like me in this moment. A bit of pressure to write, excitement at giving something to that person, and a message. Would you like something to help steady your hand and provide a mild boost of patience? Cue monks. The chanting type to be precise. Their chanting is smooth, has a steady melody, notes are held as opposed to belted out, and they are saying something in a language I do not understand in spite of my awareness of their words being somewhat profound. Personally, I find that the closest match to how I want the ink to flow on a card. Plus, it helps me to match the speed of my desire (to write) with the speed of creation (the desired handwriting speed).

Do you do those big, funky capital letters?

If there is one thing in calligraphy I have yet to dabble in, it’s those uber-fancy first letters on the first page of a new chapter. Those take quite a long time and I am way too eager to get my message out to spend hours on an individual letter, let alone a few days on a sentence! But chanting monks, even to my secular ears, have enabled me to fill an entire small notebook that I gifted to someone.

What if I cannot find all the words?

Chanting monks have helped remind me of the above triangle. If there is some kind of gap, then imbue your words with the positive vibes of the chants and the permission they give to explore the unknown with permission and kindness. In practical terms, you can acknowledge the gap as something to be tackled by the two of you or what you wish instead of the gap. Super simple and profound melodies I find helpful in asking for mutual acknowledgment and nothing else in such instances. It’s okay.

Now that I have the words, do I have to design the card from scratch?

That is not my art, so the design is up to you. Being colour deficient and not the greatest drawer/sketcher means I choose something in the region of what I am aiming for that enhances my words, as opposed to the other way around. If that is how you would like to up your game with cards to give, feel free! If you would like to boost your gift-giving, do check out an appendix to this book I wrote:

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Thank you!