The Power of the Written Word

A few years ago, I had a neighbor whose New Year's resolution was to write a note to someone each day for a year. This was before email and facebook were quite so pervasive--imagine doing that now! Imagine doing that now. That's my suggestion for today. Take the time to write a note to someone to let them know how much they mean to you. We get so much junk mail and bills--it is such a treat to find a handwritten note among them. And you can write to ANYONE--write it to a close friend. Write it to one of your old teachers. Write it to your neighbor who pulls in your garbage cans. Write it to your minister who said the right thing at the right time. Or someone who runs an organization that you believe in. Or someone who has had a baby who you know does not need another gift. Or Michelle Obama. Or. or. or. Think of how uplifted you feel when someone takes the time to send you a note.

It does not have to be a note to be read now. I was going through my childhood scrapbook the other day and found a letter that my father wrote as a "time capsule" in the 1970s. He talked about the gas shortage, Skylab falling, what we were doing as a family that summer. It was neat to read--although we all teased him for being so Pollyanna-ish in it! You might consider writing a letter like that and tucking it in a baby book or your box of children's creations--somewhere where you or a child will find it someday down the road.

To Do: Find a pen and a piece of paper. Write a letter. Find a stamp. Put it upside down on the envelope (do you remember from middle school that the upside-down stamp signifies love?) Mail the letter.

Update: Right after I wrote this, my neighbor emailed me and asked me to please send some "snail mail" to her daughter at college. In this digital age, the mailboxes are too often empty. Another good opportunity!