The Power of Letters

Stephanie and I have talked a lot about the way letters can improve communication with your friends, but I want to talk a little bit about how letters are very powerful for getting the things we want. I feel like people completely forget letters when it comes to enacting change within a community, and yet they still remain today as one of the most powerful tools for getting what you want.

I was reading an article about how Michelle Obama is trying to combat child obesity through a new program specially designed to provide children with nutritious lunches, show ways to get outside and get active, and encourage parents and children both to take an active role in nutrition. It was a pretty good article, and I think Mrs. Obama’s heart is in the right place. However, one of the comments was a little sad for me. It went something like this:

Thank goodness the government is finally doing something! Last week I couldn’t find a particular healthy food item in my grocery store, and I was told to look in the nutrition section, but they didn’t have it there, either. Can you believe it? I hope things start to change now.

Really? You couldn’t find an item in your grocery store, so you’re going to sit back and wait for the government to do something? When did we as a nation begin to have this mentality, instead of taking matters into our own hands and writing a letter (or emailing, or calling)? I don’t like how many laws there are in this country, and maybe you don’t either, or maybe you do, but the fact is, it’s much more efficient to actually tell someone, “This is what I want” instead of waiting for Washington (which is notoriously slow and ineffective) to do something about it.

Letters are very powerful, and most people don’t even consider them to be an option much of the time. Dissatisfied with service? You could grumble about it, or you could wait for the government to step in and realize that this particular company has bad business practices (which will take FOREVER), or you could write a letter, an email, or make a phone call and TELL them. Want an item in your local grocery? Write them a letter and tell them. Want your community to put in a red light somewhere? Go to a board meeting, or write your mayor a letter.

It’s effective, and it often WORKS. It’s amazing because we tend to think of letters as being slow, but people do read them, and people will take into account what you have to say. Letters are effective simply because they take an effort to send – they often come across as more sincere than an email, and they’re more tangible than a phone call. Your letter can make a difference. It’s actually really cool.

Here are some links so that you can utilize the power of your pen (warning, most of these are US-oriented simply because that’s where I live):

• Urgent Action Network – Write letters to world leaders to help achieve peace in all countries.
• Any Soldier and Soldiers’ Angels’ Letter Writing Team – Write letters and send care packages to soldiers overseas
• Write Your Representative – Write a letter to your Representative to let him/her know what you want
• Write to your Senator – Write a letter to your Senators to let them know what you want

Also I encourage you to write to businesses and your local government near you. Nobody will ever know what your ideas are unless you tell them.

The Art of the Thank You

Hello all! Have you missed me? I have to admit, the more and more I reacquaint myself with the Internet world, the more and more I realize how much I’ve missed all of YOU. I’ve always said that the reason blogging is such a great outlet is because of the connections you make with other people. So, here I am, once again trying hard to establish a habit of writing.

Speaking of writing, when was the last time you thought about writing thank-you cards? Was it that time, just after Christmas, where you threw a fit when your mother reminded you for the umpteenth time that you have to write thank-you cards for all the presents you got, but you didn’t like the presents you got so you didn’t want to thank whoever gave you them? Or was it when you last applied for a job, and sent along a note thanking the interviewer for giving you a chance, as many people recommend you do? Neither? Both?

To be sure, writing thank-you cards has possibly become more of a lost art than letter-writing, as I have yet to come across a “thank-you cards” blog, but I have come across multitudes of letter-writing ones. Letter-writing is re-surging in the public interest, but thank-you cards remain something only talked about when Emily Post is brought up.

To which I say: No more! Let’s talk about writing thank-you letters. Hey, let’s talk about telling people thank-you, from your heart! What I find wanting in the age of mass communication is not a lack of communication, but a lack of honest communication. It seems to me that I only talk about important things in my classes, and then I talk about them intellectually rather than passionately. I want to talk passionately more often, with more people. I want to have a Meeting of the Minds about how I feel about stewarding the Earth over a cup of hot chocolate at a local café. I want to talk about art and creativity, and how they make you feel more alive. I want to talk about what’s in your heart.

And I want to make absolutely sure those people that do kind things for me know how much I appreciate it.

Which is why I keep a variety of blank note-cards on hand: whenever I receive a gift, or experience someone’s kindness, I like to make sure I have my cards on-hand so that I can write while I’m still feeling the initial awe and gratitude. I find that I don’t want to write a thank-you note if I have to lay out money for a new card each time, and if I have cards already I’m still so excited about the receipt of a gift that I really, really want to just write it out. Then it’s done already, without fuss and with real excitement.

Part of me wonders if my partiality to thank-you cards comes from my time spent in Vienna, a city where the people are readily characterized as “very well-mannered”. While my professors certainly acted with a degree of manners to which I am not at all used to (as a rude American), there was one event in which a couple of strangers did the kindest things for me, simply because they were asked to. I couldn’t fathom their generosity. I wanted so badly to make sure they knew how much I appreciated it, and I bought a thank-you card right away and sent it off. I’m still not sure if it was received, but I hope they know that they contributed greatly to my good impression of a certain landmark and architect in Vienna.

Because of the Viennese rubbing off on me, and my own desire to make people feel appreciated, blank cards for thank-you notes are an important tool in my arsenal of stationery. They may not be used extremely often, but they are there for the times when I realize I need them, and I hope I have convinced you as well of their utility.

Remember to enter Becky’s giveaway! Enough entries and I might host one of my own.

Dear Lunsh.net readers,

Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t want a postcard.

I made a few postcards last week for the people who requested them, but there’s still time to request (see this post). I mean, I just bought bunches of new postcards, too. The Postcard Collection Continues!

So you might not even get views of places I’ve been: you might get cats or drawings inspired by life in Japan. Doesn’t that sound like fun? I order you to request a postcard from me!

I might even decorate the front.

I’m sure you could use some fun in your mailbox, and I have a postcard collection to get rid of. So what do you think? Want a postcard now?

News! News! Lots of little things

Oops, sorry I disappeared for a week. The week before last was hectic, then my family went on ‘vacation’ and I got very sick. But! I just found a treasure trove of beautiful, inspiring links to share. I think I’m going to need a new bookmarks folder: “Share on Lunsh.” Because I’m definitely not going to get around to all of them this time.

• First of all, For Family’s Today, Technology is the Morning’s First Priority from NYTimes.com. This is really relevant to me: the Internet has dominated my life for many years and in the last few months I’ve begun trying very hard to take back control. Today I didn’t turn on the computer until two and a half hours after I woke up! I got a lot of things done before then, and when I did turn on the computer I had a plan of things I needed to do online. I’m tired of technology and communication controlling my life. I want to control my life.
• Secondly, a project I dearly support: The Postcard Project: “It is the only mail I get besides bills”: get a postcard! Elizabeth F. McClung is one of my inspirations, almost as high as a role model. Her blog, Screw Bronze!, chronicles her daily struggle to survive and to live, and yet even in all this she makes sure to care about others and lets no one feel alone. The Postcard Project, of which I’m a proud recipient, is her way of making sure other people don’t feel scared and alone. Instead they get awesome works of art, specifically tailored to them.

  My point of all this is that Elizabeth McClung wants to send a postcard to YOU if you want one.

  Do you want one? I’ll vouch for the fact that Elizabeth’s not a creepy stalker just collecting addresses. But here’s a catch: for a limited time offer, instead of overwhelming Elizabeth with many, many more requests, I want to send you a postcard. Yes, you read correctly. I’ve been collecting postcards from Europe, Oregon, and San Francisco, and I want to send YOU one. It doesn’t matter where you live in the world—I’m off to the post office sometime this week to get 98¢ stamps. If no one outside of the U.S. requests a postcard, they’ll just go to waste! So, specify in the comments if you want a postcard from the United States or from Europe and I’ll send you an e-mail asking for your address.

  Please request! Elizabeth and I want to send YOU, that’s right, YOU postcards.

  (And Becky here can vouch for the fact that I’m not a creepy stalker.)

• Now how am I supposed to top that link? All right, here’s one of my favorite letter-writing site: Letter Writers Alliance. I’m a member, Becky’s a member, we both get cool stuff and new pen pals. If you follow my Twitter account you’ll notice that I spend a lot of time waxing poetic when I get letters. It’s mail art and new people to get to know, all in one! Check out the Letter Writers Alliance for lots of cool mail-related stuff.

Wow, I hardly scratched the surface of the brave new and inspiring world I found the other day to share. I guess I’ll just have to write another link post soon!

Rules to Live By, #1

It looks like I’m holding up things on this end while Becky works on figuring out Life After Graduation. Don’t worry, I have a few things on my mind to write about here, but first is something I just thought of right this second:

A quick series of rules to live by, which I’m collecting from experience and song lyrics. (Are song lyrics the modern answer to poetry? Poetry’s descendant? I wonder.)

My first rule is this:

1. Always keep blank note cards for emergencies.

Emergencies include thank-you notes for unexpected gifts (as most are), letters of condolence, and other times when you realize someone you know would appreciate a note. Why run to the store to grab a Hallmark card when you have something right at home?

Birthday and holiday cards do NOT constitute emergencies, and I personally enjoy making those myself. But you can definitely plan ahead in advance for those and don’t need to keep them on hand. When you realize someone you know could use cheering up, though, it’s best to have all the materials already at hand so you don’t procrastinate. Also the best way to write thank-you notes.

“But Stephanie,” you exclaim, “you expect us to actually send people real MAIL? You know it’s easier to just get online and send an e-card!”

Is it really? But think of it this way: How do you feel to get unexpected mail from a friend? Elated, right? It totally makes your day better. And you can keep that letter or card out and smile briefly whenever you pass by it for as long as you need to. It’s there, in the background, not something you have to think about, giving you the kind of comfort an e-card can’t.

So go ahead. Buy a pack of blank note cards, just in case.

(Sadly, it is the recent death of a penpal’s grandfather that prompted this post—I was trying to figure out what I could do for her, when I realized I have blank note cards left over from an impulse purchase years ago on which I could write a condolence note, something she could touch that might help comfort her. Now I’ll be stepping off Emily Post’s soapbox and read a bit of For the Love of Letters.)

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