fbpx

The Lost Art of Love Letters

BY ROSEWELL 

JOURNAL / Culture

Journal / CULTURE

When was the last time you sat down with a pen and paper and wrote a letter to a loved one?

In the digital age, everything is instant, and everyone accessible. The only limits? How fast we can think. And type.

Do you remember the effort of crafting a thoughtful letter? Of choosing the right pen, with the perfect weight and thickness. Of writing in your best handwriting. Of sealing, stamping and sending a letter off into the postal system’s ether.

Then you had to wait. Wait for the letter to process. Wait for the postie to deliver it. Wait even longer for a reply.

While you wait, your mind begins to wander. Have they received it? How will they react? What will they say? The suspense was exciting and romantic.

Handwritten letters are personal, intentional and intimate. Writing a letter addressed to someone important to you can be the ultimate sign of affection. It can become a keepsake to the recipient, a cherished item, a memory.

Love letters call to mind an older, more simple time where something so intimate and vulnerable required thought and time, not just a rapid finger motion and an instant notification.

“The frankest and freest product of the human mind and heart is a love letter.”

– Mark Twain

There is no denying that modern communication is efficient and convenient. But, does it allow us to connect with others in a way a handwritten letter does?

The next time you feel the urge to text or email your appreciation to someone special, we challenge you to consider, instead, writing a letter.