A Word or Two

Who does not love getting a letter in the mail from a friend, a Christmas card during the holidays, or just a little note from a loved one? What makes this little charge of thoughtfulness even more special is when it is written by hand. It tells you something about the person when there was time taken to write even a few words! You never know when a moment and a few sincere words can have an impact on a life.

Writing by electronic use has become more common than handwriting, but pencil, pen and paper will always have its place. Writing by hand is an incredibly important skill, whether it is for taking notes, filling out documents, journaling, or writing a letter to a friend. Good penmanship shows that you care, and it adds a certain charm to your words. I’ve seen it time and again: our cursive is so neat and straight when we have first learned, then it does not take long for our good penmanship to decline as we get familiar with the letters and sacrifice neatness for speed. Writing becomes highly automated using motor programs stored in our memory. The roundness or sharpness of letters, spacing, slope, pressure of pen to paper, average letter size, and thickness of the letters, are all qualities that make each person’s writing style unique.

Everybody’s handwriting is different and unique. Why else do they have you sign your name on every important document? As a matter of fact, when one attempts to forge a signature, the name to be copied is generally held upside down so the forger’s penmanship (due to the familiarity of the letters) does not interfere with the attempt.

Handwriting does take time, but studies show it is good for the brain. Writing develops motor control skills using motor coordination of multiple joints in the hand, wrist, elbow and shoulder to form characters on the page. The forming of letters depends on the sensory information from skin, joints, and muscles of the hand, as it adjusts movement and pressure to changes in the friction between the pen and paper. Writing strengthens our memory because it involves 100% focus and attention. It improves learning because it gives us more time to think thoroughly about the subject being recorded as opposed to fast typing on a keyboard.

It takes so very little effort to write a few words on a pre-made card, but it adds so much more depth to the recipient. The pen and written word have so much power! As Dale Carnegie put it so well, “You have it easily in your power to increase the sum total of this world’s happiness now. How? By giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone who is lonely or discouraged. Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime.” 

Why not pull out a pen and paper today… right now? Someone you know could use a little note of kindness. The bathroom mirror is a nice place to put a note. The lunchbox? The shoe? Slipped under the door? In a mailbox?

~Jayla