A Plethora of P’s / #56: Postcards

proactively punctuating life with the plausible, powerful possibilities of positive thought presented through a plethora of “P’s”.

– ♥ –

Postcards! Snippets of our lives captured with a picture and a few friendly words that tell someone we’re thinking of them. Except now… with instant email access from almost anywhere in the world, pictures arriving within seconds on our cell phones and exotic places available daily on tv, handwritten postcards are near extinction, relegated to “nostalgia”.

There was a time when it was a treat to send something in the mail from faraway places ~ maybe India or Paris or Jamaica, or from a child at summer camp “a million miles from home” ~ and just as much a treasure to receive.

Now, we’re home before the card. Or we’ve skyped from Finland. Or we’ve shared our stories on Facebook. The postcard is old news.

But this is also true: there isn’t one of us who doesn’t harbor a secret wish for a real letter in the mail. A real birthday card, a real thank you card, a real postcard. With real words written with a real pen by a real live bona fide human being who took the time to write … to you! There’s nothing that says “I’m thinking of you” more than a hand-written or hand-typed note. If you aren’t convinced, watch the sparkle in the eyes of a kid growing up on electronic communication when they see a real envelope in the real mailbox addressed to their very own name.

So maybe, just maybe, the new beauty of sending a card is actually its “novelty” all over again. And maybe, just maybe, the thoughtful, simple act of writing a note won’t go the way of the dinosaurs, not yet, not 100% completely.

By the way, if you didn’t know, it’s National Postcard Week this week. Every day, all week. So send some love out there!

(Of course, I happen to know about an awesome postcard book…!  [forgive the brazen self-promotion] If you haven’t gotten one yet, my publisher has created an e-card set-up this week in honor of National Postcard Week, so you can send a smile to a friend for free. Nice!)