Today I am going to take a step outside of my normal format (in a way) to address you dear reader as opposed to the typical letter to myself. I decided because it is Leap Day, it was a chance to shake it up and deviate for a day.
I want to talk to you all about a subject that is very near and dear to my heart, Communication.
As defined by dictionary.com
Communication[kuh-myoo-ni-key-shuh n]
noun
1. the act or process of communicating; fact of being communicated.
2. the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing or signs.
3. Something imparted, interchanged, or transmitted.
4. a document or message imparting news, views, information, etc
5. passage, or an opportunity or means of passage between places.
In the day and age that we are in, so many people send a multitude messages and post so many comments on this site or that, but hardly say anything of meaning. The personal aspect of communication has been stripped away from our day to day life. We are able to drop a message to anyone and have it delivered to their intended recipient within seconds no matter where in the world that person is.
We have become a society that attempts to get our thoughts and purpose out in 140 characters or less. As a result we are often quick to the point and lack feeling and substance in what we say. The art of language has been butchered into quick one-liners and acronyms.
In the day before we all took to our "inbox" to search for that couple line message answering a question or sending the most recent photo we went to our mailboxes to wait for a letter to arrive, old fashioned hand written letters. They would come to us in beautiful script (which most children today can not even read as it is not taught in a large number of schools), depending on who they were directed to they might have drawings in the margins or the light scent of perfume. Often times they would be multiple pages with thought out sentiment that people today don't necessarily take the time to include.
"I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead" ~ Mark Twain
I stumbled upon a site recently that supports the importance of letters as they used to be. The organization is called Letters Live. Unfortunately for me they are based out of England, but fortunate for me it seems one of my absolute favorite actors takes part in the organization so I have gotten to watch him read several letters like this one:
YOUR CHALLENGE
I urge you - oh dedicated social media user, visit this website and look around. Go to YouTube and search for Letters Live. Listen to the thoughtfulness and beauty that is in a single letter. Let it inspire you to take up a pen and a piece of paper. Take up multiple pieces of paper if the spirit hits you and write a letter from the heart. You will not have the backspace button at hand so the thoughts you put down will be provoking and real.
Now comes the twist that you knew I would put on it. As you prepare to put your ink to paper I want you to envision the recipient of your letter. I want you to see the person as if they were right there with you, sitting just across the table from you. Imagine that person in the flesh, solid, listening, curious as to what you have to say.
Now, I want you to imagine the face of that person is yours at the age of 16 years old.
"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart" ~ Wordsworth
So many of you have expressed the feeling that you had thought of doing something like this. Today, I encourage you to write that letter.
Sincerely,
Bidy
I would love to hear from you, my readers. I would love you to share your letter with me and if inspired and are interested in writing a guest post, allow me to share your letters with my readers.
You can reach me via email at: Bidy@dearlittlerme.com
It's really sad that because of the digital age that we currently embrace, letters are no longer being used as a simple way of communication. Even though our messages can be delivered instantly either through phone or through chat, I still love receiving real hand written letters from a friend or special someone. The effort they put in writing those letters will be very much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteI can't agree with you more! There is a personal touch that we are losing as a society with the coldness of 1's and 0's. I have letters from decades ago that have grown soft with time and multiple reads. I know where they are and I treasure them. I couldn't tell you where an email from last year might be. Information overload but no one is really saying the things letters convey.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was little I used to have penfriends that I found in the musical journal ad section. I was writing letters every day. Now all my penfriends have internet so we talk online. However, I am still sending postcards to random people in the world, through a brilliant website called potcrossing. I also receive amazing postcards. And this gives me hope that letters and postcards won't die too soon :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Joanna for leading me to http://www.postcrossing.com I am going to look into it for sure! I am so jealous that you've been in London. I so want to go see LettersLive. They will be there in another week or so.
ReplyDeleteI've just been to London for a weekend. I live down south on the coast, usually 2 hours from London - but 3 now with all the road works. :)
ReplyDeleteThe good news is that when you actually write a letter, you get appreciated. At this time and age, who does? The few ones are the rare ones.
ReplyDeleteIt really is a shame , how things are changing . In all aspects , how unpersonal everything is nowadays . People do not talk to eachother anymore , they rather chat on messenger than calling and talking . It would be so lovely if letters came back .Btw , I love your site , great design !
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I was a little nervous changing the theme. Not often I get feedback on it when I ask! LOL. I agree, the art of the pen-pal just seems not to exist any more. I miss it. I would draw in the margins, include photos, to have something tangible that that person had in their hand meant so much more to me.
ReplyDeleteYes Robert, sadly it is a lost art that I regret the youth of today do not have as part of their life.
ReplyDeleteA very worthy challenge indeed. To try and talk some sense into yourself. To reassure and explain everything is going be fine, but you have to work hard and be smart. And that time is short, but important. Thanks for writing, thanks for remembering.
ReplyDeleteYou can do it! Sit down and put your pen to paper. Read it a day later and then release it to the ether. You'd be amazed how it makes you feel!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely true..in today's digital world letters are losing meaning..but I try to get my son to write letters to his cousins who live far away...as letters are not just words they are memories to be revisited and cherished
ReplyDeleteThat is wonderful Subha! I am so glad to hear that. I have a treasure trove of letters that I pull out at random, even as far back as high school (25+ years) and it puts me right back into that feeling of being there. It is like a small piece of time frozen.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad how much our communication skills are weakening due to social media. We all want everything now and don't have the time to sit down and make a phone call when we can text and don't even think about the dreaded face to face time oh the horror! Craig Groeschel wrote a book called #Struggles check it out you will enjoy it
ReplyDeleteIt is so true Miranda! Children today under 13 or 14 are in a whole new category of people. They will not know what it's like not to have that instant communication that is not really communication at all. The people who are of the social media replaces human interaction and the written word. It's up to us to teach them!
ReplyDeleteI love to write, and I will agree that I wish the art of writing letters came back into style. It is definitely something I want to teach my children as well. Thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteYou're a lady after my own heart. When my boys were little I started penpalling again (and yes Postcrossing) which made me look forward to snailmail each day.
ReplyDeleteIt was my light when I was surrounded by chores, meal prep, squabbles, etc.
Swap-bot.com was just forming and I also got into swapping friendship books and postcards. (You really should join Postcrossing it's fun).
It's been years since I've written a true letter. I may just take you up on the challenge. (not sure if my words would sound as eloquent as yours though)
I still prefer to talk over writing, I must say.Talking and listening to each other real time helps in understanding at a deeper level.Don't you agree?
ReplyDeleteThank you Sara for the kind words. I never thought of myself as eloquent! You would be surprised at how well your words come out when it is something that you are truly passionate about. (I know I am!) Join me! You'll be glad you did!
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you Swayam, we as a people are beginning to lose the ability of true social interaction as well. The tone and inflection that is left out of digital correspondence. We are fostering a generation of people who do not know how to approach social etiquette at all. I actually went to an interview last week where someone showed up to interview in pajama pants. ????
ReplyDeleteI used to love writing people letters! And then sending them in the mail, waiting anxiously for a return.
ReplyDeleteI started my blog writing unsent love letters. There are barriers in communication, like broken relationships. Sometimes, you just need to send the message across.
ReplyDeleteThat is exactly true PromKing! Even if the letters just get sent of into the ether, sometimes just to get them there is its own reward.
ReplyDelete