My brother Scriptor Senex posted the following quote from The Letters Page. on Scriptor's Postcards at ‘A letter is not a system of debt.’
And this editor has noticed, in a recent revival of personal correspondence-by-post, how easily people feel the burden of letter writing. ‘I’m sorry I haven’t replied sooner,’ our letters all seem to begin, in the tone of a muttering student handing in a late assignment. Dear readers and fellow letter-writers, don’t be so burdened! Write, or don’t write, but enjoy it when you do. It’s nice to reply to a letter, but there’s no need to turn it into a chore; after all, if there’s a message that can’t wait, you can always send an email. (Remember email?) One of our editorial board members, the poet and publisher Éireann Lorsung, puts it very well: ‘A letter,’ she tweeted recently, ‘is not a system of debt.’
It rang a really pertinent chord with me. I consider myself extremely fortunate in that I have relatively little real stress in my life at the moment but several things do pray on my mind daily and one of those is keeping in touch with people who are important to me. Often a day passes with so many things happening but letters and emails unanswered and unwritten. So often I put my head on the pillow with the resolve that that letter will be written before I do anything else tomorrow and so often I make the same promise to myself the following night.
Am I alone?
No, you are not alone. I write lots in my head that never reaches neither paper nor computer keyboard/screen. Sometimes I hope for magic thought transference even if I know the chance of that is very small ;)
ReplyDeleteLike you, Monica, I write whilst I am gardening and doing many other tasks but trying to recall all my thoughts later usually defeats me.
DeleteI like to receive letters and have figured out that the only way to receive them is to write them. Kind of a nice system.
ReplyDeleteThat's so true and logical Terra.
DeleteI know where you are. You am he who you are. I am she who I am. And, thank you for the lovely card :-)
ReplyDeleteSo true Kate. We are who we are. C'est vrai.
DeleteI'd make a comment but I need to go and write a letter....
ReplyDeleteMoi aussi Bruv.
DeleteIs it all right if I comment next week?
ReplyDeleteI'm still procrastinating but it isn't next week yet.
Delete26½ hours to go Adrian.
DeleteI find the only way to make me get things done is to make a short, manageable list of Things To Do Today. My list days are by far my most efficient days. Do I always make lists? Of course not, because I'm disorganised. But ticking things off a list is sooooo satisfying.
ReplyDeleteIt is, isn't it!
DeleteI make lists constantly Frances. My table is littered with them. I sometimes think that writing something on a list is almost the kiss of death to it getting done.
DeleteSome of my friends and acquaintances are like that; each email begins with an apology. Time and time again I tell them there is absolutely no need for that; everyone is busy (most of them much more so than I), and I am happy to receive their emails or letters whenever they arrive. To be honest, sometimes I find those endless apologies rather annoying.
ReplyDeleteI don't always reply instantly, either; I have a feeling that a very quick reply only adds to the imagined pressure some feel, believing they are expected to reply equally quick. So, every now and then, I deliberately wait with sending a reply, because I want to avoid them feeling obliged to write back immediately. Also, I know very well that not everybody is at their computers as much as I am, and not everybody has such a good, nearly stress-free life as I, or is as healthy, etc.
Meike I never cease to admire your straightforward and logical approach.
DeleteYou're not alone on this issue. My excuse is forgetfulness. I've started writing down blog topics that pop into my head. i will have to do the same when it comes to emails. I'll have to make a list and cross them off when they're done.
ReplyDeleteRed I, too, have lists. In fact I have lists of my lists. The last two days I have spent flat out in the garden. I didn't do anything that was on the garden lists though. Sometimes I despair.
DeleteMeta-lists! Now that is something I've not done (yet), and wonder whether it works for you. Judging from your last three words, I think not.
DeleteI think you are right Meike. I shall put it on my list of things to stop doing.
DeleteA very wise woman, a Sister of St. Joseph of Peace, always used to tell me, "No guilt. Just do the best you can at the time. And remember - NO GUILT!" Is it any wonder I loved her? :)
ReplyDeleteDeeDee I try my best but I still feel the guilt. I never seem to keep to the priorities that I set myself.
DeleteYou are certainly not alone! I am sitting here at quarter to one AM realising I need to get to bed still with letters unwritten and a busy 4 days ahead when I won't get any time to write to anyone. Or, indeed, respond to blog posts or catch up with blogs. But I do feel I should take the chance to socialise with people and do stuff in real life rather than gluing myself to the computer and desperately trying to keep up. There again, I do enjoy reading what everyone is up to, that's the trouble! :).
ReplyDeleteI don't know what the answer is. Anyway, I'm going to get some kip now - and at least I've commented on your blog, Graham, and read about what is on your mind. It's good to know you are not feeling stressed at present.
Jenny I am honoured. I've just spent two days in the garden because the weather has been perfect. That's two days not doing things on my other lists though.
DeleteAm I alone? There is a sense in which we come into this life alone and leave it the same way. Some past connections belong in history and do not require nourishment.
ReplyDeleteVery deep YP. You lost me for a second or two.
DeleteNo, you are not alone...take for instance how long it took me to comment on this post even though I read it a while ago.
ReplyDeleteI'm the same Virginia in that I often get sidetracked by something in a post and then forget to come back to it.
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