Write with the whole of your hands

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Has the digital age killed the post? Recently the absolutely lovely Rachel Faith Cox sent me (in the mail) Simon Garfield’s latest book, To the Letter, and I have just started reading it. In this book, Garfield likens the post to the paddle steamer.

“The digitisation of communication has effected dramatic changes in our lives, but the impact on letter-writing – so gradual and so fundamental – has slipped by like an English summer. Something that has been crucial to our economic and emotional well-being since ancient Greece has been slowly evaporating for two decades, and in two more the licking of a stamp will seem as antiquated to a future generation as the paddle steamer. You can still travel by paddle steamer, and you can still send a letter, but why would you want to when the alternatives are so much faster and more convenient?”

But To the Letter, he says, is an attempt to provide a positive answer to that question.

“It is a celebration of what has gone before, and the value we place on literacy, good thinking and thinking ahead,” he says. And, in a sentiment I find quite lovely, “I wonder if it is not also a book about kindness.” Garfield wants to celebrate “the post, the envelope, a pen, a slower cerebral whirring, the use of the whole of our hands and not just the tips of our fingers.”

I love that concept, and it rings true for me. Each letter I write to blog readers takes me a lot of time, and I definitely use my whole hand. But I’m not used to writing long-hand any more. My hand cramps up, my cursive is appalling. I am always amazed to learn that people can actually decipher what I’ve written. My hand can’t keep up with my mind, and my thoughts and ideas race ahead of my pen until things become jumbled and lost. Sometimes, this manifests in blotches and crossings-out and other evidences of a little bit of emergency editing. Other times, I catch myself in time. I slow down, breathe, and write more consciously.

And it’s not just the writing of the letter. I use my whole hands to put together the collection of little things I put inside my mail: old stamps, tea leaves, a book, whatever I’m sending at the time. With my whole hands I wrap the parcels in brown paper, draw and paint the address and pictures, wrap the whole thing in string. In one hand I hold a stick of red wax and in the other I hold a lit match, dripping the wax in an ever-growing circle at the point where the string is tied off. As I press the seal with my initial into the hot wax, I press with two whole hands.

Every letter I send is a slow, tactile and personal activity. It takes me a long time, and I find it quite meditative. Therapeutic, even. I love it.

What about you. Do you like to write letters?

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21 comments

  • Rach

    I used to write letters all the time. In my circle I was quite known for them! But that fell by the wayside and it has only been since BWP and seeing your passion for snail mail that I have begun to get myself to the post office again. Thank you so much for the inspiration Naomi! I don’t make artistic creations like yours but I hope that one day I will be able to! I am so glad the book arrived :-) Rach

    • Naomi Bulger

      I’m so happy to have inspired you to start (re)doing something you love Rach. Hooray! And thank you thank you THANK YOU for the book. It was such a wonderful, thoughtful surprise. I hope you saw my “omigosh how amazing is this” thanks that I tagged you in on Instagram. I was just blown away. xx

  • Sarah | Sarah's Heart Writes

    You know it’s funny, Naomi, because I watch a lot of the UK program Antiques Road Show (I love it) and in that program, many a letter is brought in from some famous person that was written to their uncle/aunt/grandmother etc. Another piece of history of that person’s life falls into place. This is something that will never be achieved with emails. They cannot be verified and carry nothing of the personality of a person in the way that handwriting does. I am definitely swinging towards hand writing and, frankly, am yearning for the old ways. Technology has its place, and has made incredible strides but sometimes I do lament the cost to humanity for those strides. Great post, thanks xx

    • Naomi Bulger

      I love Antiques Roadshow! And I know what you mean about the legacy of history. Garfield talks about this quite a lot, too. What we will lose if people stop writing their thoughts down on paper…

  • Annette Gendler

    Naomi, I always love your posts featuring your parcels! They are truly works of art and love! I used to write tons of letters but these days I write a lot of emails, but I miss seeing my correspondents’ handwriting. A lot of personality is lost by typed text. I’ve been doing Morning Pages long hand for more than a year now, so at least with that habit I have settled back into seeing my own handwriting. There is something grounding in that.

    • Naomi Bulger

      You are so good Annette. I always INTEND to do morning pages, but… And you are right. Writing by hand IS grounding. I find it somehow taps a different corner of my brain, if that makes sense?

  • shani nottingham

    WWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! I LOVE THIS!!!! you are so fab…xxxxx

  • shani nottingham

    WAAHHHHHH !!!!! love total and complete!

  • Jane Williamson

    Hey Naomi, I just love our local post office in my little town in northern Thailand. You can see the room full of parcels from the counter and the postal workers are so friendly and helpful. You can buy all kinds of interesting stuff – souvenirs of the royal family and stuff like that. The string, the envelopes, the scales, pens tied to the little chest high writing desks. I love it! Long live snail mail!!

    • Naomi Bulger

      Oh Jane, that sounds like heaven! ps. I will still send a lovely reply to you guys! As you can see it takes me forever to pull together my parcels, and I have loads to send, but I want to make something nice for you. It won’t happen overnight but it will happen!

  • Eva

    These envelopes are wonderful, very inspiring!
    I discovered your blog today, and I love it.

  • Simone

    Hello Naomi, I love all the snail mail drawings you do. It’s a wonderful thing to receive something in the mail, be it a gift or letter. I have received my parcel that you sent me. I love the dog on the front. It looks like my dog Georgia. I haven’t opened it yet but I will soon. I like to know that I have something special sitting there waiting to be read. Thank you for my snail mail xx

    • Naomi Bulger

      Simone that’s so cute that you still haven’t opened it yet. The dog was supposed to be your dog Georgia, I based the drawing on a picture you had on Facebook. I hope you like the mail when you open it! x

  • Jennifer

    I so enjoy your parcels! Thank you for the beautiful inspiration! I love snail mail too, but alas, I am guilty of not sending it as much as I wish. Part of the fun of it for me was/is the give and take, the sharing of the slow process with a friend. Taking the time to write a letter, then having the friend respond with an email or quick phone call just didn’t feel the same. Still, I have to admit, bypassing the instant gratification of technology and quick communication can be so satisfying, even more so when the postman delivers something as gorgeous as you’re creating! Perhaps it’s time I dive back in and maybe even splurge on a wax seal… Simply looking at your parcel pictures makes me happy! Thanks, Naomi!

    • Naomi Bulger

      I agree Jennifer. I’m as seduced as anyone by the lure of instant gratification. But it IS nice when someone else slows down enough to write to you, isn’t it. Which is part of what inspires me to slow down on their behalf in turn! I’m so glad my parcel pictures make you happy. It’s so good of you to say that!

  • Norbert

    This is a wonderful article. Thank you so much.

  • Zoya

    Sometimes I still find it easier to write by hand – my mind slows down and I can keep up. The typing often doesn’t seem to be going at the same pace as my thoughts – they fight and muddle each other up. I procrastinate on letter writing, but enjoy it once I get going. Your beautful packages inspired me to pull out some handmade stamps and decorate the envelopes of the last batch I’ve sent out.

    • Naomi Bulger

      You are so sweet to say so. I’m so glad I’ve inspired you to decorate your mail! I’m the opposite re writing, my mind spins and I’m better at keeping up when typing than writing by hand… which is why I sometimes NEED to slow down and write by hand.

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