A letter is never ill-timed; it never interrupts. Instead it waits for us to find the opportune minute, the quiet moment to savor the message. There is an element of timelessness about letter writing. ~ Lois Wyse
The idea for a global letter writing [read: penpal] project was born from a desire to step back from the constant connection with technology, resolution to maintain distant friendships and effort to connect with the self.
We live in a world which expects instantaneous replies and results. At our jobs we're constantly refreshing our inbox and hitting reply, only disrupted by replies to text messages, DMs on Instagram, Facebook messenger, Snapchat, WhatsApp, GroupMe, Line, KakaoTalk, WeChat.... well you get the idea. The problem though, is that despite the constant contact, we seem to be missing connection. Our replies are often sent in a hurry, moving from one application to the next, without much thought for the person on the receiving end. |
"A letter always seemed to me like immortality because it is the mind alone, without a corporeal friend" ~ Emily Dickinson |
What if, instead of quickly hitting reply and letting one message get lost or interwoven with another, we stepped back and took some time to compose our thoughts. Letter writing has been called a "lost art" and it's precisely that, an art. Each of our handwriting is unique, unable to be replicated by another while revealing a bit of ourselves. Sitting down to compose your words on paper requires effort, there's time for self-reflection, along with awareness and consideration for the reader. The physical pen and paper adds permanence to our words, existing in more than just the ether world.
Finally, while globalization has become the new buzzword: education, markets and industries, we don't often have opportunity for real connection with those across the globe. We're often seeing, reading, or hearing about experiences second-hand and use these to create our own opinions, stereotypes or judgement. Connection comes through communication, so please, pick up a pen and join us in building these connection, one postage stamp at a time.
Finally, while globalization has become the new buzzword: education, markets and industries, we don't often have opportunity for real connection with those across the globe. We're often seeing, reading, or hearing about experiences second-hand and use these to create our own opinions, stereotypes or judgement. Connection comes through communication, so please, pick up a pen and join us in building these connection, one postage stamp at a time.