Tuesday, March 26, 2013

I write love letters

Admittedly, I haven't done that many of these. But I'm challenging myself to work on it.

A few months ago, I read a blog by a woman who writes love letters to strangers and leaves them in random places for people to find. I thought that was awesome, so I decided I would start doing it too. I've left letters in coffee shops and grocery stores, on the bus and in clothing stores. Once I left one between two books at a bookstore.

I try to hide them a little bit. Enough that whoever is standing right next to me won't see me leave it there, but not enough that it'll lie there for years without being found. In a grocery store, I put my letter beside a bag of chips, not a jar of pickled anchovies. (I'm not sure those exist, the effect is rather hyperbolic.)

I listen to Stuart McLaen on CBC radio. He said that it has become his personal challenge to write one lette a day. He doesn't write love letters to strangers like I do, but I though the challenge was an awesome one anyway. So I've decided to adopt and adapt it. I'm now personally challenging myself to write one letter a day, and a good portion of them will be love letters to strangers. I'm sure I wont't meet this goal, but by having it I'll do more than I did before.

Anyone want to join me? Writing love letters is fun. You don't have to mail them, just leave them any old place. The key for me is not worrying about perfection. I once wrote a letter and then fidgeted for a week about where to leave it. Just leave it wherever you are. Try to do it every week if every day sounds like too much pressure.

I thought about posting a sample love letter, but then I decided not to. If you want to see one, you'll just have to find one for yourself :) Let's write some love letters, people.