How lovely, Tara. I think we can make these choices! I’m considering how to be even more mindful of this in 2024. Digital and paper coexist in this dialogue - as do digital and “real world” friends. 🩵
I'd trade a few virtual letters for an in-person catch-up one of these days, but I wholeheartedly agree that the old paper-based methods were not necessarily better, and that the warmth that comes from the digital gathering place is real.
Yay, books ... but, yay, Kindle also with it's memory-shaping notes and Readwise (from Kindle notes) that remind me of book wisdom that got tangled in the synapses of oblivion. Write on!
So rich Tara, you've captured so well this place of reflection, solace and community. Be it via paper, phone or airwaves it's all good and certainly something to be grateful for. Happy New Year to all!
Do also moonlight as an actor? If not I think you could! I loved your reading Tara, thank you. There is nothing more delicious than curling up to read as long as you want, except perhaps a mid-afternoon nap! The ultimate in decadence.
Haha! Thank you! Complete agreement here about the decadent curl-up. 🥰 I've been working on making my voiceovers more engaging from the first line. I noticed my earlier ones have needed a minute or so of warm-up before I get rolling, but I have a Dullness Reduction Plan in effect. ;-)
I take what I can get, this brave new technological world, constructed upon the alters of efficiency and convenience and market share, has left me no choice. But there will always be something special about a loved one making the time and effort to hand-write a note or letter. There will always be something special about knowing those pen strokes are the direct and distinctive work of a living hand I once shook, or held, or longed for.
I know that time is money. I know that it is so precious we dare not waste it on hand-writing, or on the laborious inefficiencies of having to read another's facial expressions and intonations as we both speak in unscripted analog. What could be more inefficient? What could be more un-technological? What more interesting or profitable things might we be missing?
I know that pen and paper are not convenient, and that face-to-face is even less so. But maybe that's the point.
Yes! I am glad you are weighing in here on behalf of paper and ink. Someone needs to tip the scale on my far-too-balanced post and give tactile technologies and in-person encounters a little love. You know I agree with you on every point. 🎯 :-)
I love this so much, Tara! I can just see you curled up, reading letter after letter, the tug of discovery pulling you onward. I also love your metaphor of the well. Every newsletter, every post, really is a portal into someone's heartspace, their own inner well. So beautifully put! Thank you for sharing this goodness with us! ❤️🤗
Happy New Year, Tara (a day or two "late"). I've believed in the unlikely reality of digital intimacies since 2008 when a group of around 20 women, all of us homeschooling our children, formed a bond via social media. I'm still in touch with about half of them and have had the privilege of meeting a number in person. I imagine the same happening here, over time. But...AND! -- long live words that show up on paper. Making space for what we need, for what brings joy, for us. Yes!
Happy New Year to you, too, Elizabeth! Ah, those COVID groups were so important any way would could get them. "But...AND!" deserves to be added to the grammar book. There are times when neither one nor the other alone will do. I understand perfectly: what looks like opposition isn't really. I want that double-conjunction often. Yes and yes. :-)
How lovely, Tara. I think we can make these choices! I’m considering how to be even more mindful of this in 2024. Digital and paper coexist in this dialogue - as do digital and “real world” friends. 🩵
Thank you, Kate. Coexistence does seem like the way to enjoy the most from both.
I'd trade a few virtual letters for an in-person catch-up one of these days, but I wholeheartedly agree that the old paper-based methods were not necessarily better, and that the warmth that comes from the digital gathering place is real.
True, true about actual folk in a room. That's precious, too!
Yay, books ... but, yay, Kindle also with it's memory-shaping notes and Readwise (from Kindle notes) that remind me of book wisdom that got tangled in the synapses of oblivion. Write on!
Oh, I love technologies that shed light on oblivion! Yes! :-)
So rich Tara, you've captured so well this place of reflection, solace and community. Be it via paper, phone or airwaves it's all good and certainly something to be grateful for. Happy New Year to all!
Thank you, Mark. It's a bit like something pulled out of a hat. :-) Happy New Year to you, too!
Hey, it's a great hat and it fits you well.
😂 😂
Do also moonlight as an actor? If not I think you could! I loved your reading Tara, thank you. There is nothing more delicious than curling up to read as long as you want, except perhaps a mid-afternoon nap! The ultimate in decadence.
Haha! Thank you! Complete agreement here about the decadent curl-up. 🥰 I've been working on making my voiceovers more engaging from the first line. I noticed my earlier ones have needed a minute or so of warm-up before I get rolling, but I have a Dullness Reduction Plan in effect. ;-)
A Dullness Reduction Plan is brilliant! I'm certain other Substackians will want in on this🙂
🤓😂
I take what I can get, this brave new technological world, constructed upon the alters of efficiency and convenience and market share, has left me no choice. But there will always be something special about a loved one making the time and effort to hand-write a note or letter. There will always be something special about knowing those pen strokes are the direct and distinctive work of a living hand I once shook, or held, or longed for.
I know that time is money. I know that it is so precious we dare not waste it on hand-writing, or on the laborious inefficiencies of having to read another's facial expressions and intonations as we both speak in unscripted analog. What could be more inefficient? What could be more un-technological? What more interesting or profitable things might we be missing?
I know that pen and paper are not convenient, and that face-to-face is even less so. But maybe that's the point.
Yes! I am glad you are weighing in here on behalf of paper and ink. Someone needs to tip the scale on my far-too-balanced post and give tactile technologies and in-person encounters a little love. You know I agree with you on every point. 🎯 :-)
I love this so much, Tara! I can just see you curled up, reading letter after letter, the tug of discovery pulling you onward. I also love your metaphor of the well. Every newsletter, every post, really is a portal into someone's heartspace, their own inner well. So beautifully put! Thank you for sharing this goodness with us! ❤️🤗
Thank you, Jenna! Glad you enjoyed it, as I did. :-)
Happy New Year, Tara (a day or two "late"). I've believed in the unlikely reality of digital intimacies since 2008 when a group of around 20 women, all of us homeschooling our children, formed a bond via social media. I'm still in touch with about half of them and have had the privilege of meeting a number in person. I imagine the same happening here, over time. But...AND! -- long live words that show up on paper. Making space for what we need, for what brings joy, for us. Yes!
Happy New Year to you, too, Elizabeth! Ah, those COVID groups were so important any way would could get them. "But...AND!" deserves to be added to the grammar book. There are times when neither one nor the other alone will do. I understand perfectly: what looks like opposition isn't really. I want that double-conjunction often. Yes and yes. :-)
I’m a new reader. Love this!
Thank you for stopping by! Glad you enjoyed it. :-)