Random Acts of Love Letters

I haven’t written a letter, beyond a thank you note for a gift, in more than a decade. I even have friends who have never written a letter in their lives (ack!). In this modern era of texting, tweeting, and Facebooking, even email can seem slow and outdated. But I miss letter writing, which I did from childhood up until a few years after college when email’s siren songs of speed and convenience lured me away from the slower, more gratifying art.

A friend I met through my best friend sometimes sends me inspirational notes in the mail. What a wonderful gift. When I was struggling to finish grad school and my creative writing thesis, the colorful quotes she’d written on little cards were pinned to my bulletin board and motivated me each time I sat down to work. Annie, you are awesome.

Annie happens to have a blog about writing letters. And via Annie’s Twitter feed, I discovered this amazing website, The World Needs More Love Letters. People can nominate their friends and family members to receive love letters when they are having a difficult time, and soon enough the recipient will receive a fat package of cards, notes, and letters with outpourings of love and support from the site’s readers.

In addition, followers of the site and movement leave little random acts of love letters around town for others to discover. It reminds me of the way people leave secrets in Postsecret books, but this is all about brightening someone’s day.

What an inspirational site. I love how it uses the power of the Internet for good, to do something tangible to make the world a little happier. Whether you love words or not, if you’d just like to bring a big smile to someone’s face, consider participating.

Image by Jason Dean and licensed through Creative Commons