The age of email and instant messaging all make communication easier for everyone. It’s great to connect with someone whenever and wherever. The convenience of online communication is great, but nothing can express the contents of your soul quite like a handwritten letter.
Writing Letters is a Form of Therapy
Writing letters is especially helpful when you’re away from your loved ones. Research has shown that writing expressive letters improves your mental health. It’s even used as a therapeutic exercise for veterans with PTSD. When you’re stressed, use writing as a way to take a break from your hectic life to focus on the people you care about the most.
Personalize Handwritten Letters Better than Digital Ones
There are many ways to personalize your letter after you’ve written it. You can draw around the edges of the paper and on the envelope. If you’re looking for a quick way to decorate your message, there are stamps for every holiday and event in your life. Play with different colors of paint and paper and let your imagination run wild. Don’t worry about going overboard as long as you don’t obscure the text you’ve written.
When it comes to personalization, the sky’s the limit when you have a pen and paper. Your style won’t only be seen through the content of your letter alone. When you write a letter to someone, you’re ingraining your identity through your handwriting, spacing, and even your choice of paper.
Letters Push You to be Mindful
Writing a letter compels you to slow down and think about what you’re going to communicate. This is where mindfulness for both your letter and the environment comes in. There is no backspace or undo button to delete what you’ve already written. Omissions can come in the form of replacing your paper, but that’s just wasteful.
Mindfulness is all about being conscious enough to evaluate your own thoughts. This sensible way of thinking allows you to write without any regrets. Every word has a purpose because they all represent you.
Letters are a Delightful Surprise for Anyone
Today, you don’t really expect to receive a letter from someone. When you open your mailbox, you’re expecting bills, packages, and magazine subscriptions. It’s easier to greet people on social media or through video chat.
As authentic as your feelings might be when you speak with someone online, it’s still a nice surprise for anyone to receive a handwritten letter. Your grandparents will appreciate your letter because it’ll remind them of the good old days. Even your friends who live far away will value the genuine effort that you put into writing and sending your message.
If you want a timeless way to show someone you care about them, send them a letter. Letters create memories that endure through a number of lifetimes. Instant messages and emails can easily get lost in your online archives. They can also get deleted in a snap. And just like hard drives, human memories can fade as a person grows older. A handwritten letter can be kept and stored for decades. Its memories live for as long as the paper it’s written on does.
