Posts filed under ‘Letter Writing’
Letter Three: November Gratitude Project
Grief (someone going through). Why in the world would I write a gratitude letter to someone experiencing grief?
Many grief-stricken people (myself included) have times of feeling badly for not doing more for the person/animal that died. We have bouts of the “if onlys.” During a time of “if only I had done more” depression, a friend’s words helped me see the situation more clearly.
She thanked me for the good I had done in the relationship with the deceased person. My actions and words made a difference to the deceased. They made a difference to my friend as well because it was a good role model and it pleased her to see the love I gave to our mutual friend.
These words reminded me that I was a good friend (although not perfect). She further added that the deceased knew of my affections. These words helped me heal from the guilt that tinged my grief.
So today I wrote a gratitude letter to a friend who is experiencing grief. I told her the truth about her relationship with her decreased friend. I expressed my gratitude that she showed love by her words and actions. I also wrote that her example motivates me to do the same in my relationships.
Your Turn . . . Is there someone to whom you can write such a letter?
Related Posts . . .
Letter Two: November Gratitude Project
Birthday recipient. Birthdays are yearly events. This is the time kiddos have parties and receive gifts, cards, and lots of well-wishes. But as we age the festivities tend to die down. We often take the birthday person for granted.
Birthdays are a great time to share why you appreciate the birthday honoree. Yes we ought to give our thanks many times a year. We shouldn’t need a “holiday” to remind us of doing this. But truthfully I am not always good at remembering this activity.
How good are you at this?
So I always welcome the opportunity to buy a birthday card with a gushy sentiment endorsed with more gushy sentiments.
I rarely buy a funny card. My reasoning is strange. “What if this is the last card they ever get from me? I want to make sure they know how much I care and how highly I think of them.”
So today I wrote a thank you birthday note to my brother-in-law. I won’t tell you what I wrote until he gets the card.
Writing a Letter to Each Person in my Address Book
My daughter decorated this address book with puffy paint (my favourite paint medium).
This is 3rd Sunday which means it is letter writing day.
What kind of address book do you use?
- Hardbound
- Electronic (like in an IPhone or gmail contact list)
- File on your computer
- Don’t have one
I have a personal hardbound address book that is 17 years old. I also have addresses in my gmail contact list and I have an excel file with addresses. However, not one of these places has all the addresses. I look up addresses in order to send cards as a way to express my thanks, my concern for their well-being (get well cards and sympathy cards) and holiday wishes. I LOVE sending Christmas cards. However, I am not so good about sending birthday cards in a timely fashion.
Several years ago my daughter bought me a new address book. She even copied over the addresses in pencil (from the 17-year-old book) to the new book. Today I came across it and noticed that some of the people are ones I no longer keep in touch with because they have moved on figuratively or literally.
All these people are in my book because they were important. These folks meant enough that I took the time to write their address vitals in my book.They made a difference to me. Today I decided that I would go through the book and write a letter to each person and express gratitude for their presence in my life.
Below are the parameters of my address letter writing campaign.
- I will write the letter even if I know they’ve moved. Maybe it will be forwarded.
- If I have a personal memory of us together, I will share that.
- If not, I will thank them for their presence in my past life and wish them well.
- I will pray a blessing on each person or their family if the person is deceased.
- If they are still in my life, I will add their name/address to the excel list in my computer. That way when it comes time to send out holiday cards I already have an updated list.
- Do you keep an updated address book? If yes, what is your system?
- Do you send very many cards, notes, letters? Why or why not?
- When was the last time you hand wrote a letter/note?
- When was the last time you sent a thank you card? Yo whom and why?
Why Writing a List is Good for You
Sometimes I don’t know what to write, whether it’s for a post, school paper, or letter. There are all kinds of ideas swirling in the thought soup called my brain. Or there are no thoughts. Writing a list of ideas on one topic helps me corral similar thoughts or kick start the thought process.
Below are five more reasons writng a list is good for you.
- It is fast to write – so it gets the brain thinking.
- It forces you to summarize each point in a sentence or phrase.
- It helps you to see all the points at one time.
- It helps you stop, sit down, and start writing.
- You could win a prize!
Network Blogging Tips is sponsoring a List Blogging Challenge. The deadline is April 20th. The prize is a“One Touch 4 Mini 250 GB external hard drive, worth $129.00.” Go here for all the details.
Continue reading for more information on list posts.
- 5 more reasons you should write a list post – Click here to read these. Written by Deb Ng from Network Blogging Tips
- 8 reasons why a list post will help you get back your blogging groove – Click here to read. Darren Rowse from Problogger also explains Simple Lists, Longer List Posts, and Lists as Parts Of Posts.
- Need help coming up with a topic? ChrisBrogan.com has a 100 Blog Topics he Hopes You Write On. Click here for that list.
- Writing a 100 points helps you tackle any issue - Click here to read this post from Luciano Passuello from LiteMind.
- Write a list, change your life. This is the promise of an article in the Scotsman.com. Click here for the full article.
- Even 7 year-olds can write a list. Click here to read about a life list created by a 2nd grader. Leon Ho shared this on his site LifeHack.org.
I’ll be writing list posts all week and then submit the best one Sunday, the 20th.
Get busy writing your list post. Be sure to let me know when you’ve written and submitted your post. It will be fun to have some competition amongst friends.
10 “A” Type Letters – I’m Choosing Appreciation
Did you even know there are 10 types of “A” letters?
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Acknowledgement letters
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Advice letters (either giving or requesting)
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Announcement letters
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Apology letters
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Application letters
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Appointment letters
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Appreciation letters
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Approval letters
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Authorization letters
For more information about these click here. This info is from the Write Express website.
Yesterday, I published a Letter Writing Meme. One of the to-do’s was to write a letter to someone I tagged. So today I choose to write # 7, an appreciation letter.
Click here, here, and here for sites that offer tips. besides the tips from Write Express.
If you didn’t do the meme and want to write an appreciation letter, how about writing one to . . .
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Clerk/Saleperson/Adminsitrative Help, also click here for info
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Other?
So who did you write your appreciation letter to? Be sure to leave a commnet here when you do wrote one.
Next month (April 2008) around 3rd Sunday, I’ll post more about letter writing.
Letter Writing Meme for 3rd Sunday
Here’s a letter writing meme to get me started for my 3rd Sunday letter writing habit. Maybe you’d like to join me?
Answer in the comment section, please, or take these questions and answer them on your blog. Be sure to link back here so I can read your answers.
Tag 4 people and then write one of them a real letter! Let’s inundate the postal service with some “love” mail. Be sure to tell who you sent your letter to and why.
- What was the last letter you wrote? To whom? The occasion? Was it a letter or more of a note?
- Do you prefer writing with a pen/pencil or with a mechanical device like a Blackberry or computer?
- Do you prefer receiving handwritten letters/notes over email? Or makes no difference, it’s all communication.
- Do you save your hand-written letters? Why or why not? Describe a special letter that you’ll never toss.
- What kind of paper do you typically use? Envelope? Stamp? Embellishments?
- What is the most unusual letter you’ve ever sent? Received?
- What was the last handwritten letter you received? From whom? The occasion? How did it make you feel?
- Tag 4 people and then write one of them a real letter! Let’s inundate the postal service with some “love”mail. Be sure to tell who you sent your letter to and why.
See my answers by clicking on “more.” (more…)
Letter Writing Thoughts
“Letter writing is a lost art.”
I don’t know if my ancestors actually wrote more letters than their progeny (like me). But I do know that I want to write more honest to goodness gel-pen to paper letters. So I’ve set myself a goal for these next months (until my 51st birthday).
I want to write 8 letters. I wrote this goal on my Others list.
I hope to get into the habit of writing a letter on the 3rd Sunday of every month. But writing 8 letters is a good goal for just-in-case life gets in the way. Or I get lazy. There is no particular reason for picking the 3rd Sunday except that I hope the 3rd Sunday will always be a Sabbath Sunday for me. And letter writing seems like an agreeable item to add to my ideal Sabbath Sundays.
Sabbath Sundays are Sundays that are relaxing, devoid of “work” as I normally define it. Full of things I like to do like letter writing . . . fun reading out under a tree in a hammock . . . listening to music (mostly Christian and some jazz) while washing my car . . . maybe a hand craft or two. . . A simple afternoon with a friend or two . . . An in-depth theological discussion with a like-minded deep thinker . . . A tea-party with mini sandwiches, fruit-filled tarts and some quality chocolate and some tea too . . .
This is a new concept so I’m sure this will evolve. What would your perfect Sabbath Sunday look like?
And back to the topic at hand, what are some of your thoughts on letter writing?
