In the video below from the TED presentation, Lakshmi Pratury talks about letter-writing, and shares a series of letter her father wrote her before he died. The value of her father's letters to her, in journals and notes, in his own handwriting -- are priceless. They are more personal and valuable than any well-written emails. It makes you want to just pick up a pen right now and write a letter to someone you love.
[I've fixed the embedded code for the video. But in case it still doesn't show up, you can view the video here]
I've watched this video a few times and I still love it. I still chuckle at the same moment in the video, where Lakshmi Pratury tells the audience about how her father wrote about her strengths and weakness -- with "gentle suggestions for improvement."
6 comments:
pssst...there's no video...at least I can't see one.
that is sad... how we don't write letters anymore... :(
i mean, emails are cool, you know, we've gained something great there. but we've also lost something.
Chris EEK! Going to fix it now. Thanks for pointing that out. :)
JP Not sure if emails are that cool. Goodness knows I've engaged in quite a few flame wars myself because of hastily written emails. ;p
But I guess with handwritten letters we take more time? It's the process of making more effort to coommunicate.
What a great video...it made me smile :) And it made me a little sad too, because she's right...we don't write handwritten letters anymore. I have 2 boxes that are full of letters between me and Megan when we used to write each other and another box full of letters from friends, family, penpals from long ago...but email has sort of destroyed that. I can't remember the last time that I received or sent a handwritten letter.
I love the point she makes that when she touches her father's letters, she feels close to him...that's so true...letters are so personal. At least so much more personal than emails...and there's just something special about them.
There's this little shop here dedicated to stationary, pens, wax seals, etc. called Scriptura...their website is spriptura.com...I may go pay them a visit in honor of this video :)
Email is great for its convenience and immediacy, but I wouldn't give up letter writing for anything. I don't write many, just me Grandma and my best friend I've known since I was six, but oh how precious they are.
Chris Oh yeah! Now always the best time to start writing to the people you love.
I remember the last time I wrote letters to someone. The sad part is, that person showed my letters to a lot of other people as a means of ridicule.
Moral of the story: be mindful pf what you put down on paper. It can be used against you.
Stefanie You have a best friend since you were 6? That is so sweet! And you still write to your Grandma? Really? That is so sweet.
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