Perfect Poise, Perfect Life
Bring your body into balance and revolutionise your life
By Noel Kingsley
Publisher Hodder Mobius
AVAILABLE HERE

« Out of sight, but not out of mind | Main | Dealing with the present »

Giving time to a task

Grindleford, Derbyshire

I catch my breath as the realisation suddenly dawns on me that it's time to write some Christmas and Seasons Greetings cards. Or should I send emails? E cards are becoming so popular now for obvious reasons; they're cheap and quick to send. However, call me old fashioned, but I still like writing to people....with pen and paper. I so love the feel of a good fountain pen in my hand and writing with wet ink that takes time to dry. There is something very therapeutic and meditative about writing by hand, putting it into an envelope, sticking a stamp on it then posting it in the mail box on the street. "There! Done." It's on its way.

Over the years the number of cards that I send has increased; indeed it is well over a hundred and could approach two hundred if I did not edit the list, which is what I've just done. And rather than leaving the whole lot until the last minute, I'm writing a few each day, with meaningful messages to each person. It is only by doing just a few at a time do I have the energy and inclination to write more than a brief greeting. To think takes time. So I give myself time to think, by starting writing well before they need to be sent. The pile of written cards is growing and probably in a week or two's time I'll take them all down to the mail box and fill it up single handed.

A year or two ago I took it to the endth degree and hand wrote all the envelopes, feeling that only then was I connecting properly with my friends. "If it's worth sending, it's worth doing properly." But now I succumb to the ease of computer generated labels from my database. I console myself by thinking it's the message inside that counts, not the envelope. (I'm still not sure about this....)

It's cold today and ice lay on the cars and streets as I left home at 6.00am. There is nothing more confusing and unsettling than writing Seasons Greeting cards when it's warm and mild outside. It's December and the weather is doing what it should do. Anyway, I love a cold snap, and so does the garden. It might also kill off some of the germs and bugs that have been putting people into bed. At least the ink in my pen isn't frozen.

So with not so many minutes before my next client arrives for Alexander Technique lessons, I just have time to write a few cards right now....

Posted by Noël on December 3, 2008 8:52 AM | Permalink