Those good old days of letter writing and greeting cards.

“There is simply nothing as personal as a handwritten note. In a stack of bills and flyers, it's a treasure in a sealed packet, full of promise and potential. It is a lovely reminder of someone far away."

Letter writing is an art, which is long lost in the modern technology of the new times. There used to be days of pen pals, which now social media and email has taken over. The art of choosing the right words and sending greeting cards for all occasions too has gone, taken over by the greetings through mails.  Very few people take pains to write a personal hand written letter or send a greeting for those special occasions.  In today's, modern world that has no value, I guess. Writing is a privilege,  a gift to yourself and others.

The process of writing is special, which is almost a personal journal of a relationship. Part of the beauty of writing, is really finding a beautiful sheet of paper and using materials that heightens the significance.  It’s an experience. The art of letter writing is one, which a person reading it feels that the sender is personally talking through the letter.  There is nothing like a hand written letter or a greeting sent personally. It’s that personal relationship cultivated with a lure of a personal touch, a love for handwritten letters. With the digital age of emails and text messages, the handwritten note that has the personality and the passion, is not valued anymore, though it is the mark of someone’s touch.

I was always one of those peculiar kinds who loved collecting letters, and the stationary that goes with it.  Selecting a greeting card too is an art. Now there is no  clue of all these, it is  just stuck to text, tweeting and twittering. Today you email or text, but not really in touch.  Hand written letters are more expressive than emails or text messages.  Though you are constantly chatting, very little is said and human emotions are substituted with punctuation or emoticons or short forms.

When is the last time you wrote someone a letter? Not an e-mail or a text message but a real handwritten one with paper and pen, mailed in a stamped envelope. One is so addicted to the instant communication that it seems very ancient and remote. An instant messaging is enough, with a lot of abbreviations that is difficult to keep up with. A letter is a personal one, more so because you hardly receive them. They matter a lot because it is something personal in an increasingly disconnected world and one that takes time and effort to write. 


 To put it in a nutshell, the greatest benefit of letter writing is that it is like keeping a daily journal, that makes you slow down to think. You can benefit from slowing down a little, think of someone you care, turn off the computer and write to them. It is like personally talking to the person you are writing to.Letters are intimate, words from one mind or heart to another. Today even e-mail letters are declining, being taken over by  instant texts and messages. 
Hand written letters need time and thought. They need sitting in solitude with your words before sending them out. It is crafted, not just dashed off, it is personal and for an individual, a little work of art. Letters allow us the beautiful ability to collect treasured thoughts and feelings, which is like talking to that individual personally. Even a greeting card takes time to be chosen, reading the words within to suit and a handwritten note in them, adds a personal touch to it. It is a tangible reminder of the life, thoughts and love shared. It holds a concrete space in this ever changing world. 

Sometimes, I do feel like we may be losing touch with how important personal connections are. It's so easy to get caught up in using our smartphones and computers to send messages and e-mails that we forget how lovely it is to receive a genuine letter.Can you reflect on the last time you received a handwritten letter or card from someone. The act of writing a letter engages you altogether differently from typing or using a computer. The combination of thoughts,  feelings, reflection and motor skills  are needed to craft your words into the letter that you are writing.

The finger has taken the place of a pen. I still cherish writing letters and sending beautifully worded greeting cards.