The gift of a Letter

Pssst...

I'm not so gently nudged in the back and the most fabulous things happens to my teenage self...

I get a note passed in class.  Folded tight. Shaped like a football. Ecstasy...shhh...quiet, you can't let the teacher see.

For my teenage self, getting notes was the epitome of cool.  I had an entire box in the back of my closet, strategically hid from my mom. 

These pieces of paper contained all my pubescent fears, angst, troubles, joys and dreams.  I'd go into my closet, move my 15 pairs of shoes, take out my box and re-read over and over again my notes. 

If you're over 35 you may relate.

A bit older now, I still get a thrill when I receive a handwritten letter or note in the mail.  It's something you can't get from a text or email.  I'll carefully read a letter, while technology based communication just makes me skim every word.

When we sit down to actually write, pen to paper we engage our whole selves.  The energy in our body flows through us and spills out onto the paper.  I thinks it's this energetic footprint that impacts others.  It's lost in technology.  The words appear a bit more flat.

The best gifts I have ever given or received were hand written letters.  Sometime when we struggle to find just the right "gift" we over look the power of our words.

My parents didn't want a big party or major gift for their 50th anniversary.  Trying to find a meaningful way to show them how much their partnership has touch my life was hard.  I discarded all different types of gifts, because let's be honest, after 50 years of marriage they had everything they wanted.

So I wrote them a letter, as did my two daughters.  I told them about the love lessons I had learned from them, how much I've appreciate their support and acknowledge their importance in my life. 

I got it right.  My parents were speechless and deeply touched.  My mom still has that letter, she takes it out and re-reads it.  Every bit of my love is contained in the paper and ink on those pages.

Deeper and more spiritual connections are made when we write.  If you keep a journal, you understand what I'm talking about.  When putting pen to paper to we engage our bodies

more...our arms travel and shoulders move.  I personally breathe deeper, reflecting as I write.  Plus, the different colored pens and fun paper speak to me artistically, mirroring my mood.

Here are a few of my favorite ways to spread love through writing .

• For my 50th birthday, my daughters each gave me a list of 50 reasons they love me (cue the awwww...).  Adapt this for your child, partner, friend etc.
• Send New Year's cards to your friends with a special wish for them for the coming year.
• List all the fabulous attributes of a friend in a letter.  Simply start by writing "I think you're fabulous because..." and then fill the page.  Your friend can keep it and read it again when they are having a tough day.
• A special anniversary letter, like my example above, will be a treasured remembrance.
• A letter to your child on their first birthday, to be opened on their 18th birthday.  State your hopes and dreams for them, include stories from their first year of life, etc...

I'd love to hear how you spread LOVE though hand written notes. Share your ideas or stories below in the comments.

Originally Published 03-07-2018