Dear
Reader,
You
might remember that a few months ago I was so enthusiastic while writing about
a young man from South Africa sending letters with poems all over the world. I then took my pen and scribbled a few words, but, not
receiving an answer, I simply supposed that my envelope got lost (as it
sometimes happens for no particular reason). Still, one of the most important
lessons I have learned these past years is that of waiting. Letters are about
waiting. They reward you with incredible stories, on condition that you are
prepared to wait. And that you persist, of course, when they suddenly fall in
love on the road…
It
was on Monday that I got Ryan’s letter and, indeed, it put a biiiiig smile on
my face. He is a Medical Physicist living in Pretoria and, apparently, also
enjoys the little things that make every day special. ”I agree with you, it’s amazing how people react to receiving a genuine
handwritten letter. It’s something beautiful.”
Now,
you might be wondering, as many of my friends do, how come that I write even to people I don’t know. Well,
it all started as a challenge and turned into a therapy. A handwritten-lifestyle,
which has somehow become my drawing of a Boa constrictor eating an elephant (if you
are familiar with Saint Exupéry's Little
Prince, you know what I mean), simply filtering the people who are still
living as a child from the ”adults” who are not. To give you another example?
Andrzej from Poland, whom I met accidentally three years ago while riding my
bicycle. He is still writing time and again, and sending postcards and
chocolate for Christmas and Easter (not to mention the huge amount I got two
summers ago, when he came back to climb the Romanian Carpathians)…And there are
dozens of similar stories, all packed in the envelopes I've gathered. The truth
is I love people. This is why I take the risk of opening my heart. Whenever there's a smile, a
letter-story begins. Although it might
not always turn into a long-lasting friendship, I never stop seeking and
telling people how much letters can change one's life…
Letters
are about waiting. Letters are about hearts. Letters are stories about people
enjoying the beauty of life. Since when haven't you written a letter?
