Thursday has come and gone and Friday is finally here.
What did the simple life look life yesterday? Well..... not as simple as I had hoped.
I did sit down and write letters. On paper. With an old fashioned quill you dip in ink.
Today I am writing more. It's actually quite lovely to sit and write using penmanship.
Not handwriting. Penmanship.
Letter writing, as well as, penmanship have become lost arts in the 21st century. How long has it been since you sat down and wrote a letter-a real letter? Not a thank you note. Not because it is a holiday. A genuine out of the blue letter to someone.
I am embarrassed to say it has been well over a decade. Maybe the loss of the written word has been one of those "little things" we stopped doing because we felt they did not matter anymore.
I wonder "What if it does matter?" What if by writing to our friends and family we were more connected because it takes more time and more thought to write a letter than a quick Facebook post or Twitter update?
There is thought and time and intention in a letter. It is an intentional act.
I'll let you know how the writing continues. My goal is a few letters a day. Mailed to friends, family and women in my church. Each one a different topic. Each one unique, because the recipient is unique and my relationship with each should be unique too.
Thursday was for mending. After the grand cleaning episodes of this past week, I didn't feel like hammering or sewing. Instead yesterday I began the slow process of mending relationships. Some were old, others new, others still hopeful. The saying "Friendships are like gardens, you have to tend them to help them grow" is as true today as it was then. Do we overlook our tending and mending? I have. I have stopped calling to check in, and merely texted, when a phone call would have been a better choice.
In a sense we have done this to ourselves. We allowed changes in the world to change our hearts. See your heart wants you to hear your friend's voice. Your heart wants to sing as your friend or family gets excited when they see a letter in the mail box- a handwritten letter.
As I was embarking on my journey in this really big world, I received a painting with this quote: "Bloom where you are planted" by Mary Englebreit. It hung on my wall in college, in grad school, and in my first home. It still hangs in my house today. I love this painting and quote, as it reminds me to always bloom where I am. Regardless of where I am. There are so many times I am not brave enough to bloom, but I am working on it. Other times I am blooming and didn't even realize it. Has that happened to you? Making a difference. Living a dream you never knew was yours? Sometimes though, if we are all just going along blooming where we are planted we forget- We were planted there on purpose.
Others were planted around us- on purpose.
We are all part of the same garden. The time we spend together should be toxin free and full of growing and blooming.
I challenge you to write a letter to some in your garden this week. See if your garden becomes a little bloomier.
I hope mine does.
Bloom on!
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