Today I wrote a letter for InCoWriMo. It's day 7 and I'm already a day behind so I thought to write the usual, "just a short note" as I often wind up doing for InCoWriMo. But today I would make it simple, I would not use a flexible nib fountain pen and worry about the lettering and how it will look, but concentrate on what I want to say. Afterall a note saying "Just a short note for InCoWriMo" is just empty words. I chose to use an old Mont Blanc 149 and I wouldn't have to think about ascenders, descenders, weight, etc. Just write.
An it felt refreshing!
I've been struggling with this for years. I feel as though I "owe" it to the recipient to write the letter with nice handwriting or as some call it, calligraphy. That is what I had been recognized for in the past years. However when I focus on the lettering, I lose touch of why I write notes and letters to begin with. That I want to convey a message. As my friend Joan told me, there should be, "less focus on form, more focus on letting words flow."
This focus on form has kept me from a host of creative endeavors including art and music. Recently I posted a picture of an art set on Instagram. We bought it for our son mainly because it was really inexpensive. Someone posted a comment on that post, "Dang that's really cool!" I replied back saying I wasn't sure about the quality of the art supplies because of the price. She replied back with, "Hours of fun if nothing else-and that's what counts."
Boom!
So hopefully from now moving forward, no more "just a short note for InCoWriMo." No more empty words! After all if there's anything I feel has been my calling from God, it's writing letters. And I've been letting Him down.
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