by MaryO

Created on: July 07, 2008

The art of the handwritten letter has seen better days. Even though there is no substitute. Letter writing delves one into a meditatiive thought process. A time of focus. a non verbal communication that unlike emails, texts, typewriters, word processors, or other means of communication, is able to convey emotion, feeling, connectedness.

The expressiveness of letter writing comes not just by the words, but by the way they are written. The stroke of pen on paper, the pauses, the paper and ink itself all contribute to something much more complete than any other written form of communication.

There is time in letter writing, time to process, time to develop a thought throughly.

There is something divine in a hand written letter. It brings closeness even when coming from a great distance. It is personal in the way one shapes letters, sentences and ideas. I remember letters being the highlight of my day. Going down the road to the mailbox and finding a letter from a friend was such a treat. Unlike emails, letters also provide the recepient with something to savor, to take time to read over, whereever you like and whenever. Like reading a book, having words from a friend on a written page takes you on a journey to be explored and enjoyed, and engulfed in. The handwriting itself leaves an imprint of uniqueness to the context. That letters take time to write and read, they hold more value than an email.

It is the one form of written communication that is personal, unique and set apart. I notice when writing emails and getting replies to what i've sent, that it often appears the reader didnt read half of it! The language that we have learned to speak in electronic communication does more to express, a pace, than a thought. The interesting thing to me is that before i ever got a computer, everyone told me how necessary it was. How much easier and quicker it was to communicate, and that it was such a greater way to stay in touch. Well i did get a computer and i eventually got an email, but in no way did this increase the frequency of correspondence. In fact I felt constantly frustrated by what i did occassionaly receive. Forwards, jokes, junk. I actually ended up deleting some people after begging them not to send me these sorts of things and just to drop a line. The consistant response to that request was that it was their way of staying in touch, saying hello. I thought it would be much easier to just write an email that said hello!

I have always been a letter writer. I love to write letters. I've joined the email age, but there is still nothing more wonderful than a written letter. They even smell good!

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