Dear reader,
People do still write letters.
People do still write letters, by hand, & they fold them up & seal them in envelopes, sending them out into the world with a stamp in the upper righthand corner.
There are those who say that no one writes letters anymore.
But how could that be?
I am surrounded by letters, have boxes & drawers full of them, signed with beautiful names like Suzanne, Anne Marie, Zsuzsa, Gregory, Jessika, Minori.
π
All manner of letters have been sent to me. Some are postcards, others long pages; some written in walnut ink, some in pen.
I am written to, & I write back. It is a long conversation over time. Letters are like distillations: potent, refreshing, fragrant with life. These living distillations are informative, intimate, inviting.
Letters always seem to arrive right on time, & yet simultaneously they feel like an immense surprise. Such perfect tensionβ¦
Sometimes I wonβt open a letter right away. It may take me a day or three or more before I have a moment to sit with it. Other times, I tear it open as I stand beside the mailbox outside, the gibbering of one tufted titmouse to another on the electrical lines behind me.
Lois Wyse says,
A letter is never ill-timed; it never interrupts. Instead it waits for us to find the opportune minute, the quiet moment to savor the message. There is an element of timelessness about letter writing.
I find this to be true. I have never met a letter from a friend or acquaintance that pressured me to open it.
But there have been letters I have never opened, & then there are the letters I have opened over & over & over again. Letters I may open indefinitely. Letters I may bury in the garden, or toss into a fire one fine night letting the sky read its curls of smoke.
π
Not writing a letter is a choice as much as anything else is.
And so, I have this prompt for you: write a letter & send it.
Your letter could be short, it could be long. It could be on a postcard or on fine stationary or the back of a receipt.
It could be anything.
Know who you will send it to: which friend do you need to share something with? Is there someone you miss? Your letter is to them, & you can say what you feel moved to say on a blank page. The blank page is like any empty vessel that is ready to receive.
This is a prompt, but it is also an opportunity to be in presence with yourself, with a moment, with another. A time of contemplation. An invitation into intimacy.
π
Here is the thing with this prompt, though: you must send it. The letter.
And to take it an inch further: include a post-script that invites your receiver to reply with a letter of their own.
π
It helps to clear some space & make time quiet in order to write a letter. Although, I will say, I have written some of my favorite letters while time rushed upon me like a giant wave.
All you really need is something to write upon (paper, a surface) & something to write with (a pen, a pencil, a quill dipped in ink).
A cup of tea is always nice, too & so, if there was a third thing I recommend in order to write a letter, it would be that. A cup of something warm, to sip on, as you go.
There are many herbs I find to be lovely companions to writing, such as :
Lemon Verbena aromatic, bright, & calming it invites a sense of comfort in the body which helps us to settle down yet also inspires a curiosity, clarity, & forward momentum. The very aroma of Lemon Verbena is said to have acted as a muse poets who sought to describe its elusive & gorgeous scent.
Tarragon fragrant & enchanting, in Tarragon resides that magic of the dragon those primordial ribbons of wise counsel & sure tongue & deep fire: transformative, pattern-breaking, & a true friend to the poet, linguist, artist, & creative soul.
Yarrow another aromatic & invigorating yet grounding herb. Associated with the airy qualities of Venus & deeply intertwined with the poetic, divinatory practice of I Ching, Yarrow is a friend to those peering through the veils & those putting their pens to the page.
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Alone or all together in a blend. See what happens if you were to steep some & then sit to write a little while.
π
Speaking of writing, back in December, one of my (very) short stories was published in Smith Collegeβs online literary journal Voices & Visions. They did some funny formatting to the piece, but all the same, I am honored to be featured in their issue about Reflections.
The story is called βAanti of the Puddle,β & it is about water (of course) & being orphaned, & then reunited or found or not quite, but something along those lines.
Being orphaned is part of my familial lineage on both sides (my fatherβs father, my motherβs mother) & who knows how many more instances of this separation go back beyond those tides.
It is something I am deeply drawn to understand in my own root system & one of the most profound ways I have discovered to explore & heal this for myself is through writing.
π
For those of you who have taken a round of Poaceae with me, you know I like to dedicate one of our sessions to βconstellating.β This is a practice my friend Yanara Friedland introduced me to a little over ten years ago now.
Essentially, this is a practice in automatic writing or channeling that helps us to connect the unspoken threads between oneβs own self to those we have been separated from in some way.
These separations could span generations, or maybe only a few years, months, days. This practice is a divinatory correspondence that is deeply moving & satiating. It is always full of synchronicity & inexplicable resonance.
I am opening up a few dates to explore this writing practice within an online forum. As of right now, I have two dates chosen for February & March in the evening. If there is a great interest, then there may be more nights for this, or like this ~
If youβd like to join, just send me a reply to this note & I will gladly share all the necessary info with you.
π
Okay, the sun has almost entirely set & is making the cloud rumpled sky look like the inside of a mussel shell & the room I am sitting in, dim.
Before I leave off, here is:
β a song Iβve been liking this week
β Bidens: a flower essence recommendation for the rest of the month
β & the link to read βAanti of the Puddleβ
Until next time, I am sending you warmth & well wishes. I hope you sit down to your letter & send it, too. May you continue to move at your own pace into the new year & take the time to listen closely to your heart.
With love,
Chanelle
π
PS: Would you like to listen to me read my story to you out loud? Iβve been told I have a nice reading voice, so, perhaps this is a little bedtime story for some watery dreamsβ¦
Find a recording of me reading below:
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