How long has it been that you have written a letter or a postcard? A handwritten note? Or received one?
No, not the birthday or congratulations greeting cards, where you have everything spelled out for you. But a blank letter where you are supposed to fill up the pages.
And no, not emails or texts or posts on social websites. But using a pen and paper with your crappy or beautiful handwriting curving the letters on an actual paper.
It was forever for me. Until couple of years back, when I started writing postcards from places I traveled, to people that mattered to me. And I did write letters to my loved ones once in a while.
If you haven't done it in recent past, then yeah, it's slightly hard. Not only that, at times, my actual handwriting seems like an ant has dipped it's feet in ink and danced on the paper (especially when I write in languages other than English). But also because writing on paper is different from typing an online content.
You see, online, it's reversible. You can delete, proof read, re-write, clean up a 100 times and yet the final version will look like it was untouched, clean.
But when you have a postcard in hand, and you are writing, you just have one shot. What you write is pretty much final, it cannot be undone, and any changes you make cannot be hidden.
And we all know how insecure our generation is, when it comes to putting something out there as final. We always keep a backup plan. We infact keep a backup of a backup.
This year, I started writing down all my poems and snippets into a diary. I usually capture my thoughts in my blog, but I thought of putting it on paper too, so I can keep a copy in my home library.
It kind of gives a sense of finality to my thoughts. It's like the moment you carve those words on a hard surface, it has become real.
If you write, I love you, it just seems more final. And I am sorry seems more heartfelt when it's in your handwriting.
Although the amount of time spent is almost the same as that spent on writing online content, a personal touch is what makes the difference.
It somehow magically wraps a lot of emotions in a handwritten version over the same words written in an electronic version. It is sad to see that we no longer write letters anymore, the kind my parents generation have from back in their days. We no longer wait to hear from loved ones, crane our neck everytime a postman arrives, little things that used to seal and deliver emotions.
I think the smell of the ink on the paper, the stamps on the envelope, the touch of the letter, the texture you feel when you run your fingers over the words, it somehow gives a physical shape to that message. It just makes it very real. Something that's worth reading for the recepient as it's worth writing for the sender.
Well, if you haven't written in a while, try it. In times like these, it might add some life and help in spreading some smiles.
Forever?
No, not the birthday or congratulations greeting cards, where you have everything spelled out for you. But a blank letter where you are supposed to fill up the pages.
And no, not emails or texts or posts on social websites. But using a pen and paper with your crappy or beautiful handwriting curving the letters on an actual paper.
It was forever for me. Until couple of years back, when I started writing postcards from places I traveled, to people that mattered to me. And I did write letters to my loved ones once in a while.
If you haven't done it in recent past, then yeah, it's slightly hard. Not only that, at times, my actual handwriting seems like an ant has dipped it's feet in ink and danced on the paper (especially when I write in languages other than English). But also because writing on paper is different from typing an online content.
You see, online, it's reversible. You can delete, proof read, re-write, clean up a 100 times and yet the final version will look like it was untouched, clean.
But when you have a postcard in hand, and you are writing, you just have one shot. What you write is pretty much final, it cannot be undone, and any changes you make cannot be hidden.
And we all know how insecure our generation is, when it comes to putting something out there as final. We always keep a backup plan. We infact keep a backup of a backup.
This year, I started writing down all my poems and snippets into a diary. I usually capture my thoughts in my blog, but I thought of putting it on paper too, so I can keep a copy in my home library.
It kind of gives a sense of finality to my thoughts. It's like the moment you carve those words on a hard surface, it has become real.
If you write, I love you, it just seems more final. And I am sorry seems more heartfelt when it's in your handwriting.
Although the amount of time spent is almost the same as that spent on writing online content, a personal touch is what makes the difference.
It somehow magically wraps a lot of emotions in a handwritten version over the same words written in an electronic version. It is sad to see that we no longer write letters anymore, the kind my parents generation have from back in their days. We no longer wait to hear from loved ones, crane our neck everytime a postman arrives, little things that used to seal and deliver emotions.
I think the smell of the ink on the paper, the stamps on the envelope, the touch of the letter, the texture you feel when you run your fingers over the words, it somehow gives a physical shape to that message. It just makes it very real. Something that's worth reading for the recepient as it's worth writing for the sender.
Well, if you haven't written in a while, try it. In times like these, it might add some life and help in spreading some smiles.
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| Row of mailboxes along the road in remote section of Fairbanks, Alaska |
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