I
read this in the New York Times recently and shared it with my family. Their response They liked it so much that I
wanted to share it with you. I love the last line of the essay!
What the world needs now? Handwritten cards and letters.
Hand written
notes and cards may carry more weight with their
recipients than their
electronic counterparts, but research shows
they make us feel good too.
By Susan Shain
Oct. 8,
2018
Oprah Winfrey. Richard Branson. George H.W. Bush. Taylor Swift.
Besides
fame and success, what do all of these people have in common?
Something
surprisingly unglamorous and gloriously analog: a love of
physical cards and
letters. Of notes that need a lick and a stamp
instead of a click and a
swoosh.
Over the past decade, the number of first-class mail items sent
through
the Postal Service has dropped by more than 50 percent. Not counting
holiday cards and invitations, the average American household receives
just 10 pieces of
personal mail per year. Nearly half of British children,
according
to one survey, have never sent a handwritten
letter.
In an age of torrential email, incessant group texts and lackadaisical
Facebook birthday posts, snail mail has become quaint, almost
vintage.
But that doesn’t mean its days are over. As a recent CityLab story
pointed out, we can save snailmail — if we want
to.
David Sedaris, the best-selling author and
humorist, is known for writing
letters to his fans, his boyfriend and
everyone he works with on book
tours. He will also send a thank-you note if you have him
over for dinner.
“I just feel like it’s classy to do it with real mail,”
he said.
“It’s too easy to do it on email. And it also doesn’t mean as much.”
Not to mention, he added, “It’s nice to be thought of as classy.”
Whether it’s to say thank you, hi or I’m sorry — or to send a Q-tip
attached
to a sheet of paper, as Mr. Sedaris’s pen pal, the late comedian Phyllis Diller, once did — here’s why it’s
time to bring snail mail back.
Writing by hand feels good. When we write by hand, we retain
information better and may even boost our creativity. Plus, because we
do it
so rarely these days, it can be a welcome respite from typing.
“It’s more fun,” said Margaret Shepherd,
a professional calligrapher
and author of “The Art of the Handwritten Note.”
“It is such a delight
to see that ink go on that beautiful paper — to pick
out a stamp,
to slow down and realize you thanked or consoled somebody in the
best way possible.”
The warm fuzzies that accompany writing are more than anecdotal.
In one study, Steven Toepfer, an associate
professor of human
development and family studies at Kent State University at
Salem,
asked participants to compose three “letters of gratitude” over the
span of a month.
They could write to anyone, as long as the content was positive.
With each
letter, the writers experienced higher levels of happiness
and life satisfaction,
and lower levels of depressive symptoms.
Mr. Toepfer said we all have a base of gratitude inside us,
which can lead to positive psychological effects. “But we have to tap
into it — and use it —
to get its benefits,” he explained.
“I think writing letters does that.” Handwritten
notes spread love.
If you want to show you care, snail mail is an effective
method.
Think about the last time you received a hand-addressed missive —
didn’t it make you smile?
Saeideh Heshmati, assistant professor of positive psychology at
Claremont
Graduate University, recently researched what makes people
"feel loved." She
found that “small gestures in everyday life,” like people supporting you
without expecting anything back or showing compassion during
tough times,
were what participants most agreed upon as “loving.”
Since cards require more effort than email, Ms. Heshmati said recipients
will
likely “feel more loved because you took the time to do that for
them.” She
added, “It’s the care that comes with it that signals the love.”
Snail mail is,
well, slow (and unique).
Whereas emails are something to rush through on the way to
Inbox Zero, cards
and letters are something to cherish; to set on a desk,
to stick to a fridge,
to bind into a book for future generations.
In the digital age, we are “assaulted by a barrage of information —
much of
it having little or no importance,” Florence Isaacs wrote
in her
book “Just a Note to Say.” “Yet personal words on paper often are
saved in a shoe box, becoming a memory to be revisited through
the years.”
For proof, look to Letters of Note,
a popular site that offers an intimate
window into history and the characters
who shaped it. While there may
someday be an “Emails of Note,” it wouldn’t
impart the same romance.
After all, the swirl of the letters, the smudges of
ink and the pastiche of
paper are what brings us into each writer’s world.
You don’t have to be a writer or an artist to send meaningful notes.
Because of snail mail’s novelty, what you say — and what it looks
like —
often matters less than the act itself.
“My husband sends handwritten notes scratched out with a pencil,
and people
just sit up and sing,” said Ms. Shepherd, the calligrapher.
“They’re so happy
to get something in the mail, even if it doesn’t have
a lot of
production value.”
If you find yourself struggling to find the appropriate words,
she recommended
keeping it simple and writing as though you are
talking to your recipient. If
you don’t know whom to write, start with the
children in your life or reach
out to deserving strangers through initiatives
like More Love Letters or Operation Gratitude.
When one of Mr. Sedaris’s friends comes out with a new book or play,
he sends
a card with specific details like: “I loved it on Page 38 when you
did this.” “I
just realize how much it means when somebody
goes into details,” he said. “I
know it makes me feel good,
and it’s not that hard. … A little effort is all
it takes.”
Getting started is easier than you think.
Mr. Sedaris is right:
Although snail mail requires more
work than its digital kin,
it’s still not hard.
Avoid the agony of scouring last-minute, overpriced $5 cards in the
drugstore
by purchasing a set of blank cards to keep at home. Craft fairs
and farmers’
markets usually have lovely handmade ones, and
even the dollar store sells
passable sets. If you have a favorite artist or
illustrator, they may have
an Esty or Gumroad shop where
you can buy
their work printed on blank cards.
Then grab a book of stamps and a nice pen and toss it all into a shoe box.
Now you’re ready for snail mail — with minimal hassle.
(You
can even batch cards at the beginning of each month by scanning
your calendar for upcoming birthdays and celebrations.)
The next time you’re tempted to send a congratulatory email or a digital
birthday message, try a card instead. If you’re looking for an event to
kick
you off, consider making this holiday season the one where you
offer friends
a chance to get on a holiday card list — no strings or
reciprocation attached
(if that’s O.K. with you) — and send a personal
note to each loved one who
signs up.
“There’s
something permanently charming about getting an envelope
in the mail,” said
Ms. Shepherd.
“It’s as if somebody gift wrapped their words for you.”
**
[Image]
Recent sunset in Asheville, NC
"We Could All Use a Little Snail Mail Right Now"
No comments yet. -