Something curious is happening in the world of technology.
Some call it “the revenge of analogue”, while an entire movement – the city dwellers known as “hipsters” – has based an entire lifestyle on a return to a truly simple set of values: quality over expediency.
None can deny the usefulness of music streaming, time-shifted viewing, word processing and spread-sheets or other modern tools. But many have noticed that something has been sacrificed, and that is the personal touch.
Part of the price we have paid for automation, convenience and connectivity is direct, physical contact with other human beings. Artifice has come between us. It is in the spirit of recovering the human element that has revived and stimulated a return to writing.
If the spirit that moves us to appreciate a hand-knitted scarf is the same that encourages us to cherish a hand-written note, then the key to this is an affection or a need for the real, the authentic, the intimate link between people … But it goes further because of one other insatiable drive all humans possess: the need to create. And it is creativity that underscores the love for writing.
A pen in the hand begs to be used, to put thoughts on paper. One considers carefully every word, for its presence is permanent. The flow of the ink, waiting for the paper to absorb it and the air to dry it: these are the cherished moments for the writer.
And every word counts, to be savoured slowly, re-read and possibly kept forever… the personal message will never go near “the cloud” because it has been written by one human being to another, on a material with its origins in the earth.
Take the time to write your next thank-you note on the finest stationery you can afford. And you will understand the meaning of the expression, “Stop and smell the roses”.