We can all relate to the impersonality and sometimes stressful exchange of emails or text messages but rarely are we overcome with the same sentiments attached to receiving a physical letter or card. What’s missing between the antiquated exchange of handwritten letters and the modern rapid-firing of text?
“The message itself changes when it's written by hand. I feel some sort of change in intention when I'm writing on paper - a physical slowing down to consider my thoughts, something close to mindfulness. There's been research to back this up as well - the neural pathways that light up are more similar to drawing than to typing, even when the message is the same. It brings to mind that for as long as humans have been around, there has been an urge to communicate through mark-making, and the lines between hand-writing, calligraphy, and artistic lettering have always been blurred.” says The Wild Wander Founder, Clara
According to the American Psychological Association, “writing for as little as two minutes a day about a positive experience has been shown to reduce the number of health complaints that people report.”
Even great writers and historical figures can be best portrayed in publications of letter exchanges. Take for instance Pulitzer prize winning author Saul Bellow’s book “Letters” - a collection of 700 letter exchanges which capture the author outside of the literary constraints of formal writing.