hand written letters

Instead of buying gifts, what could we ‘give’ someone that is meaningful [to you and to them] and not some trite item we buy at a store?

The other day on one of my favourite CBC Radio programs, Now or Never, I heard the most beautiful story about just that thing. I strongly suggest listening to the podcast [click on the link ahead and you’ll see where you can “listen” to the short 8 minutes] or even simply reading about what one woman did. The title of the segment will give away what it’s about, but listening to it will warm your heart more than you may realize. The title? “Instead of buying Christmas gifts, I’m writing letters to my friends and family. This year I’m delivering letters to those most important to me. — by Elizabeth Cook “

“There is a charm to letters and cards that emails and smses can’t ever replicate, you cannot inhale them, drawing the fragrance of the place they have been mailed from, the feel of paper in your hand bearing the weight of the words contained within. You cannot rub your fingers over the paper and visualise the sender, seated at a table, writing, perhaps with a smile on their lips or a frown splitting the brow. You can’t see the pressure of the pen on the reverse of the page and imagine the mood the person might have been in when he or she was writing it. Smiley face icons cannot hope to replace words thought out carefully in order to put a smile on the other person’s face, the pressure of the pen, the sharpness or the laxity of the handwriting telling stories about the frame of mind of the writer, the smudges on the sheets of paper telling their own stories, blotches where tears might have fallen, hastily scratched out words where another would have been more appropriate, stories that the writer of the letter might not have intended to communicate. I have letters wrapped up in a soft muslin cloth, letters that are unsigned, tied up with a ribbon which I had once used to hold my soft, brown hair in place, and which had been gently untied by the writer of those letters. Occasionally, I unwrap them and breathe them in, knowing that the molecules from the hand that wrote them might still be scattered on the surface of the paper, a hand that is long dead.” — Kiran Manral wrote those words.

I know, writing all those letters seems like a lot of work doesn’t it? But what if we gave up an hour of social media scrolling — that’s easy enough, or one TV show. Then we can take that time to write one letter. Elizabeth Cook wrote a letter a day in December but there are no rules here. Write one letter. Or write two. Or write one each week. Make it our own. There is no question that receiving a letter from someone we know telling us how much we mean to them would be the best gift ever. I know I’d love to receive such a letter. We all would. So why not be the one who actually writes such a letter?

Guess what I did right after hearing that CBC segment?

My sister and I don’t exchange gifts. There is no need for that. But … since her birthday is days away and I hadn’t yet mailed her birthday card, I knew what I wanted to do. I sat down with her card and wrote a story to her about ‘when I first met her’ and told her about my feelings at that time. I added to the story by telling her about first ‘babysitting’ her. I’m so excited for her to open her birthday card this year with that little surprise inside. Probably the best thing I’ve ever given her.

Everyone who reads my blog knows how much writing letters means to me. There are so many blog posts about the topic that it would be pointless to add the multiple links in this post. I think I have most of them tagged with “letter writing” or something if you are new here and would like to check a few of them out.

The fact I’ve written such a long post is testament to how meaningful I find writing letters / receiving letters but also how deeply I was impacted by that single radio program. I’m actually listening to it again as I type. If you’re interested in listening to the entire 53 minute program titled, “how to give a truly meaningful gift” I’ve hyperlinked the title for your convenience.

I’d love to know what the most meaningful gift is you’ve ever received — or given.

Wishing you all heartfelt meaning in all that you do and receive in the week ahead.