In defence of letters

I really like a letter. Apart from all the things it says, I find the assumptions in  the mere act of sitting down to write a letter to someone, very heartwarming, almost a corner stone to civilisations.let me list them:
- I can think of at least one specific person who has time and intent to hear me speak;
- I can collect my thoughts and put them in words;
- I will find time to write to you;
- I believe they are worthy to be shared and will remain so at least for as long it takes for a letter to reach you;
- Our language has evolved to have the kind of accuracy that you will know exactly what I am trying to tell you (in spite of the fact that the written word has no tone :)

The fact that a letter is not a thought bubble, to be limited to a certain length, a scream out to the universe, jostling for it's moment in vague consciousness shows that it is not replaced by social media. The fact that it is longer than a single line, and cannot be clarified at the same pace as the recipient can think shows that  needs more thought than an email and is certainly not one.

if anything, i believe, a letter is best replaced by blogs; but not exactly - at least there is a hope that a post will stand the test of time, there is an effort to collect thoughts and put them in words that precisely mean what they are intended to.

If letters interest you, the Internet is currently home to a wonderful website called 'Letters of Note' that has a curated list of letters picked by __. There is also a website called 'Dear Future Me' that allows people to send delayed letters to themselves. One of my friends wrote a letter to himself and on receiving it remarked it felt like something from the doctor (WHO) - kind and wise. He writes good letters but, in spirit of full disclosure, there are also a lot public letters on that website that sound like alcohol or fatigue riddled ramblings of a neurotic*. However, there is always that last, unfathomable option too of pinning thoughts down into words and sentences and sending them off to someone too!

*Wikipedia explains that, "In essence, neurosis is a distorted way of looking at the world and at oneself, determined by compulsive needs rather than by a genuine interest in the world as it is."