On the Writing of Letters

If I had any readers before, I've probably lost them by not posting for a week and a half.

To start off, I would like to go back to my last post and explain what the Novena was for (something I should have done, oh, a week and a half ago). There were two ends for the Novena, both of which currently look more positive but neither is certain, so feel free to make your thoughts known, if you have any.

I am now considering pursuing a degree in architecture (the secondary intent of the Novena) and putting my energy toward, at some point, the building of a large and beautiful church (the primary intent). I will explain more about the latter later, but I just wanted to put those out.


The world we live in is one which has come to an abhorence of slowness. Everything needs to be fast, from fast food to quick check out lines to ATMs to e-mail. There is very little in the way of silence or the desire to take things slow.

In a personal attempt to reverse that within me, I have taken up the hobby (or rather, art) of letter writing. I don't mean e-mail, but hand written, snail-mail letters. I am writing them to anyone who would receive them, from friends living, literally, just down the street, to relatives who live on the far end of the country.

The beauty of the letter is multi-faceted. First, it forces me to take the time to write. Where I can type somewhere in the range of seventy words a minute, I can only write about twenty. Editing is also more difficult, forcing me to think ahead more.

Secondly, the communication is not instantaneous. We are so used to in this day of cell-phones and instant messaging to, well, instant messages. Sending a letter takes a couple of days, meaning the information is not hot-button. The written word has a naturally more relaxed feel.

Furthermore, letters take time to read. When you receive a letter you must ingest the words and make your way through the author's handwriting. In addition, you can return to what you have read, something largely impossible with phone conversation and mostly pointless with the way we write e-mails these days.

In addition, letters allow for a unique form of dialogue. Where conversational dialogue is quick give and take, letters demand the writer to take his time in responding, forcing thought to proceed action which will, in many cases, keep people from saying stupid things we don't really want to say (the ones we do want to say, well . . . ).

Finally, letters are doccuments and thus endure. They can be saved for future generations, for a smart point they make, or just a comment that makes the receiver laugh. Their tactile nature also makes for a unique reading experience because they can be carried, folded, crinkled, pocketed, re-read, tossed about, and otherwise enjoyed.


Tune into the next post for a discussion of the Lord's Prayer (well, part of the Lord's Prayer, a couple of words, anyway . . . it has to do with the Our Father. Trust me). This one will hopefully be sooner than a week and a half.