The World Needs More Love Letters

There’s something about getting real mail, letters in particular, that can’t be replaced with emails, tweets, WhatsApp messages, SMS, etc.

When my friend Joya asked me last summer if I wanted to participate in ‘The World Needs More Love Letters‘, I thought sure why not. I wasn’t in the right state of mind to be thinking too deeply or analyzing what for – instead I just thought whatever could be done to ease my pain and loss would be ok. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about getting letters from total strangers, but if it could somehow fill a little bit of the hole that I felt I had or just to brighten my day, I was all for it.

Not only did the editors accept my story for letter writing, but they also featured it on Day One of their ’12 days of lover letter writing’ campaign over the Christmas holidays.

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I wasn’t expecting such a response. I received over 450 letters from 11 countries including the USA, Canada, France, Netherlands, UK, Switzerland, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, Italy and Mexico. Letters came from 49 out of the 50 States in the USA (no letters from Wynoming). Every letter was read before it reached me because we weren’t sure what to expect. What Joya found was that not only were the letters overwhelmingly positive, they also contained love from afar, encouragements, prayers, thoughts and motivation for me to succeed.

People are wonderful. I was blown over by the responses and the inherent goodness in people, young and old.

Children, teenagers to adults from around the world sent letters that were poignant, sweet, raw, and insightful. I couldn’t stop reading them. People shared similar tragedies in their life, others wanted to reach out with words wrapped in a hug, and others just wanted to show that they care for another fellow human being. The letters are full of words of wisdom, philosophy, heartbreak, art and poems.

It’s nice to know that people are inherently good and everyone shares a life of struggles, love, joy and humour. These real emotions somehow get lost in translation with all the digital ways we can communicate so it’s nice to know that ‘The World Needs More Lover Letters‘ exist.

Getting a letter (i.e. words on paper, drawings, photos, postcards, etc.) in the mail is real, tangible, and more supportive and comforting than you know.

The box of letters of 450+ letters I received.
The box of letters of 450+ letters I received.

2 thoughts on “The World Needs More Love Letters”

  1. Love handwritten letters. I’ve never heard of that organization. How wonderful to feel so connected and receive all of those! There is so much goodness in the world still…

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