Letters

I have a question that has been eating at me lately.

Does anyone write letters anymore?

You know, the pen and paper kind? Does anyone still do that anymore? Having that pen in your hand and a crisp fresh piece of paper just waiting to be written on. With all this technology now it's hard to find someone that still writes letters. I know I write letters. I love writing letters. There's an intimacy to it.

Pouring out your feelings on this piece of paper and just letting the words flow out of your mind. Letting the pen glide, and seeing your words appear. It may not be perfect, so of course you want to rewrite it. Which is understandable. You crumple up the paper and start over. You keep going until it's ready. Until it's perfect.

You take a breath and close your eyes. Just take a moment to get your thoughts together. You just imagine what you want to say to that person. You have to put it in this letter, so you don't see what their reaction is. But you need to tell them. The words you wanted to say for so long. Now, you can.

That's the beauty of letters. You can write what you want to say and you can send it to them, or keep them. It's your choice. Remember getting letters from our Grandparents? Those were amazing. I miss getting letters from my Grandma. Think that's where I got my writing from.

There's also something about receiving letters from someone. You never know what it's going to say until you open it. You read it and you're just filled with so many emotions. Some good, some not so good. But just the joy of getting a letter from someone you care about is so heartfelt. It's more personal I believe. It's a lost art I like to think.

I want to try and bring it back, but the one person I want to send a letter to I can't. But that doesn't stop me from writing a letter to her every night. I don't know if I will ever send them. Only time will tell. Letters are so personal, romantic, intimate, and heartfelt. Every single world comes from you. Every single world is how you feel.

Every single word is on that piece of paper, because it's what you wanted to say. Letters can say the words we can't say out loud. We write them down because we don't want to forget. That's why we have notes to take in class, or at work meetings. We have something to write down so we don't forget. Even when you have letters from years ago, the words are still on that paper. Ready for someone else to read what someone said years before.

Now we have social media to express how we feel. Sometimes we express how amazing we feel and we post it for all the world to see. Hand written letters, we can keep them to ourselves. Or we can show them if we want to. Before I left for California I wrote forty eight letters. Each one to a friend of mine. Each person I was going to miss.

Each letter had words of encouragement, inspiration, motivation, and how much I love each and every one of them. I wanted them to know how amazing they are and how no matter how bad it gets, someone will always be there. They can look back on those letters anytime they need that extra push. If they needed to read those words again. There's power in words. Special powers with words on a piece of paper that came from your heart. You may not be speaking them, but you're saying something you couldn't say.

Hand written letters can help someone so much. You have no idea just how much words on a piece of paper can help someone. They can inspire. They can motivate. They can encourage. They can help. They can make a dark day brighter.

It is a lost art. But it is so meaningful in the end. So write that letter to someone. Be pen pals with someone. If you can't say it out loud, write it down. Once you do that, share it, or keep it. That power is always yours.

You're not going to label a coward or a wuss. Just because you couldn't say it out loud, doesn't mean you didn't say anything. You did! You just put it on a piece of paper and you carry it with you to help you. To guide you from one step to the next. Write the words you couldn't say. You won't regret it.

When was the last time you sent or received a hand written letter?