Two Little Words

I recently read a book, the premise of which has stayed with me. I turn to it whenever I am feeling low, disappointed, dispirited or sad. It is about a lawyer who, finding his life to be unsatisfactory on many levels, picked up his pen and began to write thank you notes - to anyone and everyone. In the act of committing to writing a personal thank you note to someone different every day for a year, he came to realize that he did have an awful lot to be thankful for and the life that had seemed so wanting somehow changed to become all that he could have wished it to be.

They say if you can’t change your circumstances, change your attitude. Maybe that’s all it takes. It certainly isn’t a bad resolution to be more thankful for all the wonderful things in life, and even for the very wonder of being alive. The timing seems right too as the national zeitgeist has become fraught with despondency of late. I know how much I love to receive a handwritten note among all the unwanted credit card offers, coupons, flyers, catalogs and bills that crowd my inbox every day. The same goes for a personal email. The ratio of emails generated by computers to those written by real people in my inbox is becoming alarmingly high. And the joy is even greater when the note – however it arrives – is written with the sole purpose of someone saying thank you. Two little words, but how much they can say.

My favorite online sites for electronic communications are Jacqui Lawson where you find magical e-cards that entertain their recipients for hours and Paperless Post for some very classy electronic stationary.  Expressionery and American Stationery provide a wide range of customized stationery and check out Tiny Prints and Shutterfly if you want to make use of your personal photos in your stationery. Or pick up a pen and write it on a post-it. Beautiful stationery is the icing on the cake – but in this endeavor I think it’s very much the thought that counts.