3 Reasons Why You Should Write a Letter
Kristine Carlson With technology, sometimes, it feels like everything we do these days is at a lightening speed pace. While instant communication can be incredibly convenient, it can also take an essential element away from heart to heart communication.
Though reaching out globally to our faraway friends happens instantly through email or text message, there’s something even better about receiving the old fashioned snail mail.
Even though letter writing is far less common now than in previous decades, it’s not a lost art—yet. In fact, many people find that returning to handwritten letters is a great way to make communication more meaningful, craft memories, and even improve relationships. One of the best strategies in Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff is “write a heartfelt letter.” Science shows us that writing a heartfelt letter gives you a rush of those positive good feeling hormones that make us feel happy.
Learn for yourself how handwritten correspondence can shine new light on your life and add meaning to your message with these reasons why you should write letters more often.
1. Add a Personal Touch To Staying in Connection
It’s easy to send a text without thinking too much about what you write. When you send letters, however, it forces you to sit down and contemplate your words more deeply. I know the last time I did this I was surprised by how foreign it was to use cursive handwriting. You have to take the time to physically write out every word, and it’s shocking how little I do this these days. Your handwriting and the thought you put into the message add more meaning to what you say. You can even take this personal touch and thoughtfulness further by drawing pictures, slipping in photographs, and adding other pieces to your letter. All these things help forge a more meaningful connection between you and your recipient—adding that special personal touch to your message.
2. Write a Heartfelt Letter
One of the greatest reasons why you should write heartfelt letters more often is that doing so leads to wonderful memories for you to look back on. When you write letters, you also create keepsakes for yourself and the recipient. When Richard wrote me a letter three years before he died, it became a national tribute back to him as I published it in a book, “An Hour to Live, An Hour to Love: the true story of the best gift ever given.” A heart felt letter can become the cherished evidence of love—healing balm to a broken heart.
3. Take Part in a Time-Honored Tradition
Humans have been signing, sealing, and sending letters for millennia. Did you know that people have been writing letters since at least the time of Ancient India, Egypt, and Sumer? Did you also know that the history of wax seals dates back to before pen and paper, when people used them to seal clay tablets? Writing to each other has always been a natural and fundamental part of society and human interaction for eons.
When you write letters—especially when you decorate them with calligraphy, wax seals, and gorgeous stationery—you take part in a timeless tradition. You turn a simple piece of paper into something meaningful to be cherished. Write a heartfelt letter to someone and get that boost of feel good vibrancy. You deserve it and so does your recipient.
