The Joy of Writing A Letter to Someone

The Lost of Art of Letter Writing

Before I met my husband, I read books about letter writing. Many of these books were historical in nature. I loved reading love poems sent in letters by lovers separated by the hands of fate, or letters detailing the nuances of a particular historical era. It was all very romantic in my head. Well, a few years down the line, little did I know the important role letters would play in my own life.

When my husband and I first got married in 2004, he was stationed in Fort Knox, Kentucky to do his Officer Basic Training. I, on the other hand, went out to Seattle to get settled at his first duty station and find a job. So the one way we decided to keep in touch was to write letters to each other. I brought something called “Circle Journey” to correspond with him. The kit had this journal we both had to send back and forth, along with pictures or drawings. I bet one day someone will read this and compare mailing something of that nature, to the days of the pony express. I found journaling and sending it back to him was a way to connect more deeply than a phone conversation. It really helped me through the time we had apart, and now I still have that journal as a memory.

Letters from the Battlefield

Skip ahead about two years in 2006, and my husband was deployed to Iraq. Although there was some internet access, it was shoddy at times, and letters were our primary means of communication. My husband wrote me a letter every single day that was possible. Some letters were really hard to read. And others brought me the most immense joy I have ever experienced from a piece of paper. One such letter was the first letter I received from my husband when he arrived in Kuwait for in-processing. Up until that moment, I never fully appreciated the depth of emotion that our connection could impart. That is the only way I can explain it. And every trip the mailbox thereafter was a reminder that he was okay, and he had made it through another day.

So as you can see, letters are a big deal, and in my life, they’ve been one of the most impactful pieces of communication. In that same year, my mother wrote a letter to my husband in Iraq, thanking him for his service and praising him for being a good spouse and father to our first child. My mother dictated me that letter to me from her hospital bed, when she could no longer write herself, to send my husband, the month before she passed away. It is the last thing she wrote, and I will never forget it. I still carry its beautiful words in my heart.

Write Letters about Causes You Care About

Fast forward years later, I wrote an email letter to President Barack Obama about Veterans. I expressed concerns about the VA system and some of the problems that I saw at a time when many veterans were returning from war. A few weeks later, I received a paper letter from the White House, on official stationary signed by President Obama. I still have that letter because of the impact it had on me to see a paper reply in response to an issue that is dear to my heart from the White House. Sometimes a real letter just feels different because you can touch it, hold it, take it in to your heart. A real letter has weight, in both senses of the word.

Find Joy: Letter Writing Challenge

I hope with these stories I can show you the impact that letters can have on people’s lives. So my challenge to you today is to write a letter to someone. Anyone. A nice letter, a letter telling them that you love them, appreciate them, or miss something about them. It can be anything, but it has to be sent on paper stationary. :) Why on paper? There is something magic about writing words on a page and sending them sealed and addressed to one person in the world. Letters are different than any other form of communication. A letter says open me now! It reminds us to savor each moment, and live in the moment. It is like a time capsule that seals our emotions on a page, and allows the reader to truly own them. A letter is a gift of words. It fills the other person with your presence. Letters have the capacity to bring so much joy.

So as I write this, I hope that you feel appreciated and know I am taking the time to try to pick the right words, although this letter is on a screen. I hope you do something that brings you joy related to letter writing. In today’s day and age, letter writing is a thing that tends to get put off for tomorrow, so I suggest only giving yourself a week to write a letter to someone you love.

A Letter from You

I imagine getting a letter from people like Iylana Vzant, Brené Brown, Michelle Obama, Mark Twain, Meghan Markle, Deepak Chopra, Pema Chödrön to name a few that just came into my mind right now. I think, what would a letter from them sound like?

Then I am reminded that every person has a unique presence that can be felt-and the only other time I have felt this presence is through letters-not as much on email or phone. In a letter, you can get lost, and truly feel that person’s energy. So share that magic with someone you love today. Or even write a letter to yourself a year from now, and yes, have someone mail it.

Originally published at www.joymailed.com.