Guide to the Lost Art of Writing Letters

Today my day started from small philosophic discussion with my soul friend about “emoticons” and their importance in our life. I’m in love with writing letters and sending them. My friends live all over the world so I send letter not only around Europe, but to Africa, America and even to Asia. Some people think it’s old-fashioned, but as for me it very romantic. I love writing even small notes and leave them near the doors of my friends. It can be a simple text like: “Have a great day, dear? You’re so cool!;)”. I consider this small thing shows your tender attitude to another person all the more we live in the “age of emoticons”.

We love emoji, but the expanse of a blank sheet of paper provides endless possibilities to express yourself. I have a small collection of received letters and notes. Sometimes if it's rainy, I read them with a great pleasure. So I decided to set up a small Guide to the Lost Art of Writing Letters. During the creation of this Guide I used the works written in 1876 by  J. Willis Westlake, an English Literature professor at the State Normal School in Millersville, Pennsylvania. Reading his works gave me a piece of good advice in writing, but it very complicated. My Guide will be simple and there will be tips for the beginners in this Lost Art. 

Get over your fear.

You’re in control of what you write or don’t write. You don’t have to follow some love letter template or write poetry or sappy phrases unless you want to. The best thing you can do is be yourself in your letter.  

      Set the mood.

Go somewhere private and shut the door. Try to remove as many distractions as possible. Create an ambiance that inspires you with candlelight or music. Maybe there is a song, that reminds you about the person you write to, look at his/her photo. 

Reflect on your feelings. We all have moments where we feel very deeply about the ones we love.. Experience the physical and emotional feelings of that moment as deeply as you can. 

           Use memories to guide you.

You have probably shared many special moments with the person you write to. You have a history with your significant other that only you two share. Think about the story of when you two first  met each other.

Think and write about the future.

Your relationship has a past but it also has a future that you want to encourage in your letter. If you’re apart, describe all the things you want to do together when you’re reunited. Discuss some goals, dreams and fantasies you have about your future life. Write it all down.

           Consider if it was your last day on earth.

Many love letters have made their rounds from soldiers at the battlefront throughout history. It can give you some perspective to think about what you would say if there might not be at Tomorrow. Make every word count, and don't be shy, no matter if it’s a love letter or not.

Inspiration of the day: letters and cute notes

Advice of the day: write a letter or a simple note.

Be creative, look around and #getinspiredbyantonina

Experience

Experience is a very interesting topic because every person has his/her own vision of it. There are so many definitions of experience and philosophy divides it in some groups: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, vicarious and virtual experience. But I think that there are just 2 types of knowledge of life: “cheap” experience and “expensive” experience.

To be clear, “cheap” experience is knowledge that you’ve got easily or without serious losses in your state of mind. “Expensive” experience is always associated with great losses of time, emotions or even money, which need to be eliminated. My dad always finishes his speeches connected with commenting different situations in my life with the phrase: “This experience was cheap for you.” or ““My dear, this experience you’ve got for a very expensive price.”. 

As for me the best way to get as much life experience as possible is just to be considerate towards your possibilities. We even do not recognize how many important possibilities we reject every day. You never know where hides the possibility, which is ready to change your life once and forever.

My last two days were full of unexpected events, which gave me great practical knowledge. I was invited to take part in debates at XX Edition of European Days in University in Katowice. The topic was close to me - “Is Poland a country for young people?”. It was a great opportunity to try myself in public speaking. I took everything into consideration and concluded that I have no fear of publicity, but still I have to take some courses in speech training. I’m very grateful to my University for such a great opportunity.

A day later I had an chance to visit a conference “Kobieta na Szpilkach”, dedicated to ladies in business. There were lots of excellent workshops about personal brand creation and its presentation in paying business. One of the speakers, Justyna Liber, was very authentic and explained that there is a state of mind called “flow”. Flow is a feeling when you’re absolutely happy with everything you do. Her conclusion was: “Hey, guys, turn your flow into a cash flow!” 

 
The curious thing is that to both of these events I was invited because organizers liked my account on Facebook. So you never know when such a simple thing like your account in social media will help you to get new connections and knowledge. 

Be creative, look around and #getinspiredbyantonina.