The idea for hippie letter writing came from my therapist but in a slightly different way. Let me explain how the idea started and evolved to fit my new hippie lifestyle.
Origin of Hippie Letter Writing
My therapist and I were talking about how I felt my medical team had failed me. I was angry and frustrated that it took over two years to straighten out every issue. To process my anger, she suggested I write two letters to each doctor. The first letter would express all of my emotions in full detail. Then the second letter (the one I would send) would detail my plight in a more constructive and composed manner.
I understood what my therapist was trying to accomplish with this, but I had some doubts over whether this was the way I wanted to proceed. What’s done is done, right? And these letters didn’t fit into my new hippie mindset. I had made a conscious decision that I wanted to bring joy into the world–not negativity.
So I twisted the therapist’s idea into one I felt better suited me at this moment: write a letter to someone who had a positive impact on my life and thank them. I would love to receive a letter like that. Wouldn’t you? We are experiencing so much negativity in the world right now. So if I can brighten someone’s day with a sincere token of appreciation, I am taking that approach.
I want to make this a fairly regular routine. Weekly maybe? Monthly? Whenever I feel inspired? I don’t know quite yet. What I do know is that after all I have been through, the dark times to the brightest, I can always think of someone who was influential in my life in those moments. But at this moment, choosing my recipient for the inaugural letter is a no-brainer.
Choosing First Recipient
My first letter will be to an English teacher I had in high school. I graduated 26 years ago, and during high school, English was by far not my strongest subject. I honestly had an easier time learning German than I did in my native-language English classes. Yet, 29 years after having this teacher for 10th grade English, his class is the one I remember the most.
My overabundance of memories, different lessons, finals, and conversations, are so clear and vivid, more than anything else from high school. And during the last few months, situations have come up–too many to count–that can all be traced back to this teacher. I am already a believer in forces of natures, signs, and so on; the universe couldn’t get any clearer now: I am on the right path!
Reflecting on Hippie Letter Writing
Who would you write a letter to? A teacher, mentor, friend or family member perhaps? What would you say? My letter this time ended up on the longer side, but I don’t think that’s always necessary. Next time you want to send a short and sweet text to someone, write it down and mail it instead. For me, that letter would mean so much more than a text.
Have you lived a life where you might receive one of these letters someday? I thought so when I was younger, but now I don’t think I would. Dealing with my own problems over the last decade prevented me from truly being there for others. I’m trying to change that, not because I want to receive a hippie letter in the future, but because I wouldn’t be here without those people. This is my time to pay it forward.
I originally planned to share the letter I wrote, but now it feels too personal to put out to the world. So that letter will remain between him and me. But I did write something else to include with the letter, and I’m willing to put that out there. I’ll share what I included in his letter in my next blog post on Monday. Check back then!