Some Things Are Worth Waiting For

Today, many people expect instantaneous results in everything they do. When they say “OK Google” to their phones, they want the Google voice to immediately answer their questions. When they send a text message to a friend, they sit, staring at the phone, waiting impatiently for a response. If they have to use the incredibly slow method of communication called email, they constantly hit the “check email” button, looking for a reply.

Letter writing does away with all of those expectations. Letter writing is, in and of itself, a lesson in patience. When you write a letter and place it in a mailbox, you first must wait on the postal employee to pick it up. Then, you must wait while the letter navigates the system and travels from your location to your recipient. Then, you must wait for that person to find the letter, open it, read it and respond. If they choose to reply via the mail, then the waiting process starts all over.

And, if you know a letter is coming, that eager waiting you do is called “anticipation.” Carly Simon sang about anticipation back in the 1970s.



Andy Warhol is quoted as commenting on the concept: 

“The idea of waiting for something makes it more exciting”  

So, with that line of thinking, we can theorize that letter writing makes your communications (or at least some of them) more exciting. And who wouldn’t want that?

If you want to make sure your letter’s recipient gets to experience the joy of anticipation, mail your letter and then send the recipient a text message or email, letting them know it’s on the way. Just don’t tell them what you’ve written, except to assure them that it’s not bad news, if they’re worrying.

Anticipation...yet another reason to write a letter!

Mail Art Adds Another Dimension to Letter Writing

Back when I was in high school, quite a few years ago, I had many penpals from all over the world. In an effort to save on postage, many of us wrote our letters on super-thin and light-wright airmail paper, aka onion skin paper. We also often used traditional airmail envelopes.

But, I noticed that some of my penpals from Europe would make their own envelopes from magazine pages. They made the pile of mail quite interesting.

That was my first taste of "mail art," as simple as it was. Later in life, a co-worker who moved away mailed me letters in elaborate envelopes she decorated with rubber stamp images and colored pens and pencils.

Once I started this blog, I discovered the entire world of mail art. There's a great book about mail art, Good Mail Day. And several blogs on the topic (see the list I've made over in the column on the right side of this blog.

And, sometimes, bloggers who typically blog about other topics will champion mail art. For example, PostMuse often writes about the Orphaned Postcard project, but yesterday the focus was on mail art.

If you're not familiar with the concept of mail art, read up on and then try your hand at it. It's fun, and it makes the mail just a little more exciting.

So, there's another good reason to write letters...mail art!