Tag: the sound of paper

Worth the Risk

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Walking to the mailbox, notecards in hand, I slid them into the box. My hand reached over to the side, and pulled the red flag up so it’s standing straight up in the air. The mail lady will lower it when she replaces my mail with hers and I’ll know the mail has run for another day.

I sat at the kitchen table watching through the window as it rains, trying to focus on work but am soothed by the sound. When it was time for a break I snapped a photo of additional items used in letter writing. I’m mildly obsessed with this black tray with gold handles, so it worked well for photo purposes under cloudy skies and low light. Writing a letter goes back to what Dawn so eloquently stated in the first post.

We learn much about another person through a written letter. The penmanship, the color of the ink, type of writing instrument, stationary and even the stamp all are clues to the individuality of the writer.

Dawn from Aging With Grace

Find a piece of paper that feels good to write on, or make your own. One of my letters received was written on a piece of paper my friend turned into stationary using her artistic flair. Whatever type paper that feels good to you, choose it for your letter. Sometimes Dawn uses a fountain pen, but we’ve come to the conclusion I need more control than that offers. She uses a rubber stamp that imprints her address on the front of the envelope in a circle formation. We both write in cursive, but my choice of ink is purple, or teal. The majority of my writing papers, notecards and supplies come from a small, family owned company called Letter Seals.

Stamps for wax seals by Letter Seals.

We each have our own style and the fun part is finding it. Writing a letter is like having a one-sided conversation, but it feeds the heart like no other writing. For this writer it will always be worth the risk.

Previous posts in this little series:

  1. Write a Letter
  2. The Letter Opener
  3. Send Some Love

Write a Letter

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There’s a sign hanging in my home that reveals my perspective has changed. It reads, “I am fairly certain given a cape and a nice tiara, I could save the world.” I no longer wish to save the world, but I do want to touch people’s lives and I’m perfectly content with one person at a time.

The day my daughter was loading up her Jeep with some of her belongings, she told me, “I want you to make this house look like your own.” Mostly, it already did, but I took her words to heart. Over the weekend, the coffee bar turned into a letter writing station because a couple of years ago, I published this blogpost and began writing letters. It’s simple, yet nothing compares to the joy it brings. This venture began with one letter to a fellow blogger and has expanded to touching hearts all over the world.

It reminds me of the pen pal relationships of the past. Strangers whose connection is based on their exchange of letters. In this case, we began to know each other through our blogs and now we do exchange letters. I am enjoying what I suppose, is a non-traditional friendship, in today’s world. We learn much about another person through a written letter. The penmanship, the color of the ink, type of writing instrument, stationary and even the stamp all are clues to the individuality of the writer.

Dawn of Aging With Grace

I’d never imagined by writing a letter to Dawn we’d be corresponding through snail mail for almost a year now and I’m grateful. My supplies outgrew their basket, hence the letter writing station. With everything out in view, I’m more apt to pause and ponder who needs some love. Then lean in to write a letter.

Here’s more on letter writing:

2. The Letter Opener

3. Send Some Love

4. Worth the Risk

5. Hope For It

Acknowledge the Good

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A couple of years ago I posted about a gratitude jar. The jar I’d begun using became needed elsewhere, so I took all those little slips of paper, and placed them in an empty Voluspa jar. Last December, I sat down in the middle of my bed with the jar, and read each one.

I remembered cutting paper into strips, writing something I was grateful for, and placing it in the jar. The jar wasn’t very full, because walking by it isn’t enough. I have to pause long enough to write something down. It’s funny, but I was the most grateful for sunlight. The unfolding of each piece of paper and reading what it said, felt like a ritual. I refolded each one and placed them in a baggie for the jar to be used as a vase.

One of my most loved books by Julia Cameron is The Sound of Paper. I don’t know which I love more, the book itself, or it’s title, because I’m enamored by the sound and feel of paper. I want to experience that year-end ritual again, so I started a new jar, in hopes that by this December it will be packed full. The key is to sit it where it doesn’t fall into the background of the everyday, so it’s by my bedroom window waiting, every time I enter.

Empty Voluspa jar.

Here’s some examples of how often I see this jar.

  • First thing in the morning, while opening the drapes.
  • When I walk back in to make my bed.
  • Sitting on the floor, during meditation.
  • When I pet the cat who’s lounging in the morning sun.
  • To plug in my phone for charging.
  • While getting dressed, or anytime I retrieve something from the closet.
  • Anytime I’m in my room gazing out the window, the jar is there.
  • Running the vacuum through the room.
  • Closing the drapes at nightfall.

Some days I’m overwhelmed by goodness, while other days, I need a magnifying glass to see it. No matter if it’s a lot, or just one thing, there’s always something to write on a sliver of paper and place it in the jar.

Pause… breathe… and acknowledge the good.

The Blank Page

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It was 2019 when I first tried implementing the Morning Pages into my life, and it was a struggle. I tried and failed many times, but never stopped completely. In 2021 it finally clicked, and today, the page feels like mine.

Looking back I see it as playing with pages. You have to find the page that’s right for you. I kept bending the rules, but in reality there’s not many rules with the Morning Pages. It’s pen to paper, first thing in the morning, therein lies the name. One thing I always came back to was a standard size piece of paper, but today the page looks totally different than where I began.

It’s blank with no lines and it’s not in a notebook.

The blank page

I’d continually try different forms of paper and encourage you to as well. I’ve used journals and spiralbound notebooks. Notebook paper worked for months, but then I purchased some paper for a project at work. I only needed 25 pieces of paper to print out some letters, but the smallest sized box held 100 pieces. This paper is pale gold parchment, and if you’ve never held a piece of parchment paper in your hands, you need to.

Each morning I sit down at my desk, pick up a pen and let it glide across the blank page.