Love & Forgive tips
We encourage you to take a pause from e-mails, voice mails and phone calls to write a note to someone you care about. Express your thanks for a kindness, share how you miss them, or recall a memory or story. A handwritten note, no matter the length, may deepen, renew or mend relationships…and maybe even make someone’s day!
A letter written from the heart can be a thoughtful practice capable of making a difference to friends, family, even your community.
When writing your letter, consider these tips from Lilia Fallgatter, author of The Most Important Letter You Will Ever Write, and the people at Paper Source:
• Before you even pick up a pen, create surroundings that will evoke the inspiration to write.
• Make a deliberate effort to clear and quiet your mind, and focus on the person to whom you are writing.
• Create a list of words or phrases that describe the person to whom you are writing.
• Create a list of memories or significant occasions and events you have shared with this person.
• Using the lists you’ve created, write the first draft of the letter. Review and edit the first draft, then re-write the letter with the changes you made.
• Write from the heart, tell a story, remind them of your history together, a favorite time. Share one thing about that person that you admire—everyone loves a compliment.
• Handwrite your letters. Your penmanship, no matter how eccentric, is a piece of you. Handwriting your letters and notes gives the recipient something special.
• E-mail has made it easy to jot down a few words, spell check and hit send. But when handwriting a special note, use a scratch pad and draft your letter first. Check spelling and grammar. Save your good stationery or handmade card until you have a clean draft to copy.
• Choose beautiful paper to write on and a pen you enjoy writing with. Embellish with ribbons, snaps, brads, glitter or hole punches—the possibilities are endless. Coordinate your postage stamp with your envelope color or the theme of your letter. If you can draw, sketch or doodle, add something from yourself.
• Enhance your letters and notes by including a favorite poem, a beautiful prayer, song lyrics, personal mementos or keepsakes. Consider sharing a photo your recipient might have forgotten about or never seen, a ticket stub from the play you saw together (special original material can be photocopied, rather than sending the original) or a leaf you picked up while walking together. Line your envelope with giftwrap from the present you are
thanking them for.
• Encourage a response by sending a pre-stamped card.
• Don’t let any of the above frighten you—the most important thing of all is to just do it.
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