A Handwritten Connection
“We have never talked together the way we have sometimes in letters. Why do I meet people better in letters?”
~Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Delighted!
It’s what I feel when I receive a handwritten letter or postcard in my mailbox. Letters seem so rare these days, but they feel essential to me now, like a refreshingly rebellious way to say no to the constant barrage and demands of instant communication and surface level connections. Preparing to write or read a letter is like a little ritual in itself: a cup of tea, a cozy corner, and a moment of alone time to reflect and express. There’s something so comforting about the sensory experience of it all: the penmanship, the scent of the paper, and the texture, color and style of the stationery. And isn’t it nice to discover, along with the note, a surprise trinket tucked inside the envelope? Or maybe the image on the card is so beautiful that it begs to be framed and displayed in your home, a daily reminder of who it came from. Reading through a handwritten letter is like having a piece of the writer there beside you.
Throughout my childhood and adolescence in the 80s and 90s, postcards and snail mail were the way to keep in touch with friends who had moved away. It eventually started to lose its popularity, but not wanting to give up completely, in my early twenties I started a correspondence club with a longtime friend. We purposely used very formal written language to make it extra amusing, but eventually our little club fizzled out as our once carefree lives gave way to the busyness of young adulting. She was deep in the experience of new motherhood and I had fallen in love for the first time, which took me abroad to live in Italy. By this time email had become the norm for written communication. Slowly the art of the handwritten note succumbed to screens and keyboards, and other forms of digital convenience.
And something magical was lost.
But not entirely.
Even though I stopped sending snail mail regularly, I still continued to collect cards and stationery sets over the years with the intention to start up again. And finally, sometime last year, a few of my friends and I decided to start sending each other letters. Not just for the old-fashioned quaintness of it all, but I believe also as a way to recover from the burnout of screen time and social media. So much of keeping in touch and connecting with distant friends nowadays is done through DMs and sharing social media posts. And chatting by phone or through video calls involves scheduling, especially through different time zones, or being mentally prepared (though, the phone issue might just primarily be an introvert problem). With letter writing, it’s exactly the absence of screen time and on-the-spot pressure, that makes it such an appealing form of communication.
Though fast and convenient, our digital devices bring about a need to constantly keep up and check in. The number of inbox messages and the ping of notifications can make communications feel urgent. In contrast, handwritten letters require time and allow time. The slower back and forth pace of sending and receiving can give a sense of being more in harmony with one’s natural rhythms. Also, letters can feel almost sacred in a way that even the most heartfelt email could never. There’s a warmth to things made and expressed by hand.
In the past, letters were an ordinary way of life. But today, it seems to me to be an extraordinary way of getting to know someone and of keeping in touch. With all the distractions of our busy world, I have found that taking time to connect with friends through writing is a calming way to pause, reflect and be in the moment. To say that it has been life changing to rediscover letter writing might sound a bit dramatic, but it has truly shifted something inside of me. It’s as if I’ve been given a permission slip of sorts, to jump off the bandwagon and to get back to slow and intentional connections.
And then there’s the stationery. The cherry on top! It’s one of my favorite things about letter writing! All the different styles to choose from for every kind of mood and recipient! Entering a stationery shop gives me the same thrill as visiting a bookstore. The scent of paper wafting through the air, a selection of pens to try out, and all the different designs to sort through.
Speaking of pens, how is your penmanship? Yikes! Mine has gone really downhill. I used to have such lovely cursive skills, but I’ve been humbled. It’s one thing to scribble in a journal that no one will see, but writing letters (and the fear of messing up a perfectly good sheet of stationery), has pushed me to make an effort in writing legibly again.
Beautiful handwriting is très chic! I’m looking forward to the practice.
Below are a few images of favorite stationery sets and notecards in my collection:
A puuurfectly adorable letter set from San-X, a Japanese stationery company, embellished with Palette’s Sweet Street designs, that I purchased at Kinokuniya Bookstore some time in the early 2010s.
Vintage Sanrio Marroncream stationery that I’ve had since the 1990s. It’s almost too pretty to use!
A lovely lemon design on a set I recently purchased from Daiso.
California Love! A small collection of state-themed/inspired notecards and postcards.
On My Bookshelf: And for some writing inspiration, if you like both letters and whimsical stories, you will love this funny and charming children’s book about a poetic letter-writing mouse who lives in the wainscoting of Emily Dickinson’s bedroom.
I hope this has inspired you to start a correspondence club of your own. In a world of urgent emails and instant messaging, be a whimsical rebel and drop a handwritten note in a mailbox. It might just make someone’s day.
Et voilà!
