As technology began taking over the human civilization at light speed, more and more people turned their attention to the swifter forms of communication. Emails, text messages, and instant messaging replaced the so-called old-fashioned postcards, letters, and invitation cards. Up in dusty attics and down in musty basements, abandoned letter paper turned yellow after months of neglect, as calligraphy pens began to dry up from lack of use. Occasionally, a few artsy individuals decorated and mailed fancy cards to friends and family, only to experience disappointment as a short text message came back with simple words of thanks. Gradually, people gave up writing letters, deeming it as an obsolete activity that wasted time. However, I believe…show more content… S. Lewis pointed out in The Weight of Glory. Firstly, writing letters demonstrates sincerity to the receiver of it. Designing and decorating an attractive card takes time, which shows the person reading it how much he or she means to the sender. In contrast, an email or text message only takes a couple minutes to type and hit ‘send’. Sending off a letter requires a postage stamp, which costs money, also showing that the reader holds a special place in the writer’s heart for him or her to make such a special effort at a cost to write something. Letters take effort to write, especially compared to a text or instant message, and they show a personal side, whether one counts the handwriting within or the card design itself…show more content… I do because it’s such a swell way to keep from working and yet feel like you’ve done something,” author Ernest Hemingway once quipped. In this age of technology, emails and text messages are sent off the spur of the impulse, only for the senders to regret an angry or unkind word later on. Nowadays, people tend to speak their mind when emotions run high, often offending the other person by accident. For letters, a person has to actually sit down and think it over before putting pen to paper. This successfully eliminates impulsive and hurtful words that might cause friendships or relationships to disintegrate, and it also makes the words written down more thoughtful and maybe even prayerful. Such correspondence also gives the recipient the gift of time to read through and process the content, as he or she does not feel pressured to respond to the letter immediately. Even writing letters to oneself also helps to put thoughts down on paper, thus helping to analyse a problem, or to keep a beautiful memory alive and vivid forever. Therefore, writing letters can not only help keep friendships close, but they also help to pass lonely hours of the
