The first time you read a letter, you read it like news. Quickly, standing up, often in the hallway with your coat still on, eyes racing to find out what it says.
But a letter isn't only news. Someone sat down, chose their words, and wrote them for you alone. That deserves a second reading, a slow one. And that second reading can become one of the most tender meditations there is.
Prepare the moment
Choose a quiet time, later that day or that week. Make a cup of tea. Sit somewhere comfortable with good light. Hold the letter in your hands for a moment before you unfold it again. Notice its weight, the paper, the handwriting on the envelope.
Three movements of a letter meditation
1. Stay with the words
Read the letter slowly, at half your usual speed. Notice the words they chose, the ones they crossed out, the place where the handwriting changes. Stop on any sentence that touches you and read it again. When you reach the end, close your eyes and let one phrase stay with you, as if you could still see it on the page.
2. Feel what it brings up
Ask yourself gently: how did this letter make me feel? Joy, tenderness, longing, perhaps a little sadness. Let the feeling be there without judging it or explaining it away. A letter often brings up more than its words: memories, the sound of a voice, a place you shared.
3. Think of the writer
Now turn your attention to the person who wrote it. Picture them sitting down to write. Where were they? What time of day was it? What were they feeling as they wrote that line? Try to see the world for a moment from their side of the page. This is where a letter becomes a bridge.
Close with a breath
Take three slow breaths. Fold the letter carefully and put it somewhere you'll find it again. Many people keep a box or a drawer for the letters they love. Over the years, it becomes a treasure, and rereading becomes a ritual of its own.
More letters to reread
If you'd love more letters to read slowly, the Letter & Magazine subscription sends a letter and a postcard every month, with a meditation and a story about art inside, plus a seasonal issue of "(meditating) On Art". Letters written to be read twice, and kept.
Remember to take as much time as you need, and meet me at the next one.
Love, Evi