Tuesday, August 7, 2012

The lost art of snail mail

When I was a kid my friends and I used to mail letters to each other. Like with stamps and envelopes. We used to say things like "send it to me" which meant it would be received a few days later via US Post. I especially did this with my international friends and cousins. Sometimes I'd keep the letters. Much like text messages, my friends and I in school, used to write notes to each other on loose leaf paper...fold them up and put them in each other lockers. Or hide them in classrooms if we know we'd be in the same classroom on the same day...or just pass them to each other during class. To me, this was an art. We had different hand writings, would fold up notes in different ways, decorate envelopes and leave little drawings or doodles on the edges of the paper. Now we send text messages and emails to each other so often we lose the tactile sense in our friendships. We rarely have physical things that we exchange between each other, especially if we don't get to see each other. I try to keep my friendships as real as possible...by real I mean there having physical evidence like objects, cards and letters exchanged. As a form of communication I really believe in STILL sending people thank you cards/notes. And p.s. THEY WORK! After job interviews, meetings or even just one time gigs, I always try to send a little hand written thank you note. And to be H.S. about it, I draw a little doodle or flower on it so its like they get a unique piece of "art" along with the thank you. I will tell you that if nothing I will always get a nice email in return saying that they will keep my name on file. Sometimes months later they will contact me offering more work, etc. In December during the holidays, I still send real cards in the mail too. I get a 30% return on my holiday cards. Even if its just an email in response, but many people actually will give me a call too. The 30% is totally worth it!

The more we sit in front of computers and type away, or look at our tiny smart phone screens and text away, the more we lose that tactile sense of our relationships. As people it is important to be able to connect with each other. I truly believe this is a huge factor in maintaining good health!

A thank you I received!


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