How many people struggle today with maintaining authentic personal connections? In our modern gadget-filled world, sometimes we are so busy keeping up that we end sacrificing our authentic friendships with others. We text rather than call and we seem to never actually meet up in person.
But have you thought about the bigger impact here? What is the cost of our lost personal closeness with others? Quite naturally, it can lead to loneliness, depressed feelings, and a lack of enthusiasm for life. However, all is not lost! I’d like to propose a simple solution. I say that we brush off our pens and use our own words, our own unique handwriting, to start to bridge those gaps. You’d be amazed at how this first step can rebuild your world!
Getting Connected
Begin by thinking about a friend or relative you’ve lost touch with. Someone you’d love to see again and have back in your life. Sometimes you even forget what it was that caused you to drift apart. It might not have been anything earth shattering — possibly just a move across country or a change in life direction. Or it could have been something bigger between you but still, think about it, that’s all in the past now. There is no time like the present to reach out and reconnect. Start by just reaching for your pen!
Why would your own handwriting on a note or letter be more powerful than typewritten words from your keyboard and laser printer? It’s because your words on a page in ink, in your own unique handwriting, will convey your true emotions in a far more powerful way.
Putting Pen To Paper
This is because the act of handwriting engages both sides of your brain and brings all your faculties to the forefront. Your mind clicks on all cylinders as you manually hold the pen and the ink hits the page. The person getting such a personal handwritten note will be moved in a way you can hardly imagine.
I know this from personal experience and I strongly feel that there is magic within a handwritten note or letter. I cherish all of the letters and cards from my mother and grandmother because they contain the essence of their love and concern for me. Their personality shines through on the envelope and inside.
Making Memories
Even my mother’s wit on an old greeting card comes through in her unique quick script, and it still makes me laugh, decades later. If those notes were typed onto white paper, they just would not hold the same magic to me. It’s the power of the ink on the page that holds the key.
That’s why I still use my own pen every day to reach out to friends, family, colleagues and even strangers! It only takes me a few minutes to write a short daily note of thanks but it impacts the recipients in a huge way. They feel special, appreciated and remembered. No one today actually expects real mail and that’s why it touches our hearts so deeply. And I am enriched and uplifted through the mere act of writing the notes, so we all win!
Remembering Someone Special
If you’re not sure where to start and you feel a little rusty with pen and paper, start with something small. Think of some help that person gave you in the past or when they stood by you with encouragement when you faced a difficult break-up, a job loss, or maybe a death in your family. Or perhaps this person you wish to reconnect with once passed along a cherished item to you and you’d like to tell them how much it has meant to you to have that item in your possession over the years.
While you are writing your note, feel the emotion you are conveying and let it become part of your message. The emotion may be invisible but the other person will feel it when they receive and read your words. Know that the goodness you share makes an authentic connection that they can hold in their hearts until you meet again in person.
I experience every day the power sending a note of thanks, and I am often on the receiving end as well. Because of my Spread Thanks practice, each day I get handwritten notes and letters in the mail from individuals around the world who have been impacted by gratitude and the power of ink on the page.
I’d love to hear how the power of handwriting has influenced you in your life and how you use it to stay grounded and more authentically connected to those around you. Thank you for sharing your experiences below and thank you for sharing goodness and gratitude in your corner of the world.
Elena Anguita is a change agent, speaker, and author of Spread Thanks! Create Miracles Through The Power of Ink who supports education and passionately believes in the transformative power of gratitude. You can connect with Elena on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and SpreadThanks.com
Image courtesy of Annie Spratt.
