[4-minute read]
I am drafting this post by hand, using a favorite fountain pen, in a leather-bound journal that I cherish. Consequently, this article may be more intimate than others.
Different Writing for Different Times
Writing on a computer is great for business correspondence, but right now, business may be far from our minds. We are focused on survival. Rather than praying that the next big deal will go through, we are praying that we make it through – the next week, the next month, the next year.
The world is beginning to open up, yet the future remains unclear. Will we enjoy a few weeks of freedom only to be thrust back into confinement? What will our jobs look like when we return to work?
Right now, life is not business as usual. And because life is different, our writing may be different too. Now is time to write from the heart. Whether we write to a distant friend, a loved one, or ourselves, now is a time to transcend social distancing by using the gift of language to supersede the gift of touch.
Connect with Someone Distant
Is there someone you haven’t heard from in a while? Someone you don’t usually think of – perhaps someone living alone? Perhaps you could take out a pen and paper and jot them a note to say that you are thinking of them and wishing them well. Recall a happy moment you shared and remind them of better times. It will only take a few minutes, and your friend will savor the pleasure of opening a hand-written envelope, knowing that someone took the time – and invested in a stamp – because they mattered. If writing by hand doesn’t work for you, then send an email. Just reach out.
Write a Love Letter
What about the people who are close to you? Ironically, being cooped up at home together may lengthen our periods of silence as people bury themselves in books, streaming video, or work. If this is true for you, take a break from your preoccupations. Write a love letter to your spouse, your children, or your parents. Write to a dear and supportive friend. Tell them why you care. Don’t assume that they already know.
We are all aware that life doesn’t last forever; COVID-19 is reminding us that sometimes the end comes sooner than we expected. So take the time now. Don’t be maudlin or morbid, but if you love a person, tell them. Don’t look back and wish you’d done it while you could.
Write to Your Own Heart
When we are worried, our fears ping-pong back and forth between our ears, gathering momentum and generating more and more noise until we feel our heads will explode. We won’t explode, but that out-of-control anxiety floods our body with stress hormones, pumping up our heart rate and blood pressure and jeopardizing our immunity. Maybe we don’t want to annoy or worry the people around us by venting out loud, or perhaps we don’t have anyone to vent to. Regardless, in these moments, we all benefit from pouring our pain onto paper. Get those thoughts out of your head and onto the page. Look at them objectively and assess whether the sky is actually falling.
Writing releases pain and heartache and enables us to source wisdom that might otherwise have lain buried. So if you’re fretful, take a few minutes to speak onto the paper. Keep going until you are done. Perhaps you think you could fill volumes with your vexation. You’ll be amazed at how quickly your cup of worry will empty itself onto the calm surface of the page.
The Medium Matters
Using a computer is quick and convenient, yet writing by hand has a special power to connect us to our deeper selves. I encourage you to write by hand. You can indulge in a new pen or journal, or just grab that pen you picked up off the nightstand at a hotel and pull a sheaf of paper out of the printer tray. Set to it.
Writing by hand connects your body and mind in ways that typing on a keyboard does not. It may have been a long time since you wrote by hand. You might enjoy rediscovering the experience.
Seize the Day
We are living through a historic time, one of isolation but also one of intimacy, when the world is united against a common enemy and we spend more time within our families and ourselves.
Building our bonds with others while deepening our link with our souls, our hands and our hearts will support us as we navigate this momentous period.
©2020 Elizabeth Danziger All rights reserved