A Note on Writing notes

People, for the most part, don't write notes any more. We have Facebook, instant messaging, texts, and less and less - email. (Remember snail-mail? It was my main way of communication for 3 years when I was mostly out at sea.) We have become dependent on technology to convey our thoughts and ideas, even a lot of our communication is no longer verbal, but digital. It seems like sometimes don't even want to commit to a phone call conversation, but rather send a text. Even in my work environment, where a few steps away from the desk would be sufficient to communicate a thought, some would rather send a quick email or even a text.Usually it takes longer to communicate by text than it would to actually make the call and talk. Tone is lost; inflection,  exclamation, and feeling is lost in a text. LOL does not really mean the same as actually hearing someone laugh out loud.

I guess it comes down to the fact that relationships take time and energy. There is always more to talk about, and when we engage one-on-one, there is always the danger that we might bite off more than we were ready for. Conversations are nice - moreso than the back and forth trading of information that text messages and instant messaging provide. Conversations take time, but they are not lasting. A note, however, is a permanent record of a thought, an emotion, feeling, or instruction.

A note of encouragement to a friend might be the lift they needed. Even so, it can be reread as a reminder of the fact that they are valued or cherished. It takes time to compose a thought and convey it to a piece of paper. It says, "I thought enough of you to take some time and express those thoughts here." It adds value and can strengthen a relationship.

I wrote my friend, Aaron, a note today - just to let him know what our friendship means. I have a lot more notes in me, and intend to write a few more in the weeks to come.

I guess there's another time to talk about communication in general, but I'll just stop here with my note on notes. LOL, and TTYL. I <3 U.