Yesenia’s handwritten wonderfulness from Puerto Rico came in a fantastic envelope.
It was complete with this lovely quote stamped on the inside.
Yesenia responded to the following Question of the Week: If you could receive a handwritten letter from anyone throughout history, who would it be? Why, and what do you think they would tell you? What would their letter be like?
May 17, 2012I would’ve loved to receive a letter from an unknown ancestor of mine. Someone that did not know of my being, but that thought of me decades before my existence and that decided to leave a letter for me, knowing that someday I would read it. I imagine that it could be from a great grandmother that lived at the beginning of the past century. I think that her letter would include words of love and encouragement to live a life well lived and to enjoy the opportunities that destiny brings to me; to be enthusiastic about life and the future that awaits.
I imagine that her letter would include words of wisdom that tell the tales of the struggles of life, that a girl of her time would encounter and that she supposes, I would go through too. Her letter would store some anecdotes worth saving for over a hundred years in a drawer, where she talks about people I would never meet, customs I would never understand and a time I would never know. Dreams, ideas and secrets would be addressed to me, just for her desire to create a deeper connection with a girl that would “hopefully” understand her and make her live forever through “time-capsuled” handwritten words. Always meant for an unknown yet familiar girl, living in an unrecognizable and uncertain future.
How did I analyze and think about my answer, the truth is that THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO DO for a future, yet unknowingly existent great great granddaughter of mine or a relative that I won’t have the opportunity to meet, but that I know will live someday. I’ve always wanted to do it and I hope I will!!
I guess it sounds weird and maybe a little conceited, but I would just like to let her know that I existed. I would like her to know, that somebody had the hope that she came into this world and that somebody thought of her before anybody else did.
I think it would be great to find words of wisdom left just for you, kept for years hidden or stored God knows where, just waiting for you; no matter how random they might be, in the end they might take a meaning of their own.
The first time I read Yesenia’s response, I just about melted. What a romantically beautiful idea. A handwritten note, all folded up, waiting to touch the heart of a future dreamer. I receive letters from truly sensational minds.
Thank you so, so much, Yesenia, for such a thoughtful response that tickled my own dreaming heart.
I received a lovely message today from a follower of my project, and she brought up a really great point that I’d like to share.
“…it’s so much easier to say what you need to say and share what needs sharing through a letter. I don’t think there’s any feeling better than receiving a letter from the person you long to hear from.”
I couldn’t agree more. As someone who can’t always manage to get the words to eloquently flow from my mouth to convey the point I wish to make, I find writing letters to be both meditative and healing. It’s a way to really sit down and think deeply about your intention. Putting it in a letter feels like saying, “Dear friend, I’d really like to hold your hand while I tell you this because it really means something to me and I’d like you to understand that.”
I’ll be doing a lot of molding of this project in the next few weeks as it slowly begins to find its stride in this world, so stayed tuned — I’ll need your help!
Today’s letter for the April letter writing campaign is on its way to New Mexico.
