Comments on: Letters Not Sent

By: Kevin Marshall

Kevin Marshall — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 06:07:09 +0000

Frank, you just blew my mind.

By: Frank Davis

Frank Davis — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 06:05:50 +0000

I’ve been encouraged, Kevin, not to write a letter and send it. This, I’m told, will teach me to be more spontaneous–and more imaginative. (An added bonus is: I wouldn’t have to struggle with that handwriting versus typewriting thing.)

By: Roger Green

Roger Green — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 15:23:55 +0000

whereas I’ve SENT at least one of mine: http://www.rogerogreen.com/2010/08/01/two-letters/

By: A.

A. — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 02:41:53 +0000

This does really work. Except, I would never start doing this just because someone told me to do it for therapeutic purposes. To that, I would go, “pppbbbbttt”.

I stumbled upon this idea by writing angry letters that I fully intended to distribute, only to find that after I was done, it wasn’t worth it to me. Actually, every time I write a letter, I write it thinking that I will send it. Luckily, 99% of them don’t get out. Writing them ALWAYS makes me feel better, though.

By: Annie

Annie — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 02:18:32 +0000

Learned this habit from a dear friend who does this often.. it is sooo theraputic!
Tho I went back and read something I had written from earlier this year, and I could feel my blood pressure rising… I guess best to write those letters.. and burn them?

By: Teri Conroy

Teri Conroy — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 01:41:28 +0000

Writing letters, shoveling-you-know what, or walking a llama…all good to help let go of things. I tend to be a people pleaser, and fortunately have grown in my life to exclude those who give me headaches. Now and then someone pushes a button, but it’s very rare. (Does that come with age?) Just send me the letters, Kevin!

By: Tim O'Leary

Tim O'Leary — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 00:59:15 +0000

Dear Kevin,

I think you’re an absolute tool, and this is the only good idea you have ever had. Unfortunately, you’ll never know I feel this way because I won’t hit “send.”

Oh.

Crap.

By: J. Eric Smith

J. Eric Smith — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 00:30:52 +0000

Good plan, dooder. I’m real big on the karmic value of spending a lot of time creating something, and then destroying it. Sand mandalas, model rockets, bile-filled letters . . . the LETTING GO of the product of a lot of work is amazingly satisfying, in a masochistic sort of way . . .

By: Hopeful

Hopeful — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 19:51:28 +0000

I’ve heard of this and it’s been suggested to me. I don’t think it would work. Is there really satisfaction? Somebody does me wrong….they’re going to hear about it.

By: Chuck Miller

Chuck Miller — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 18:42:00 +0000

I’ve got a few of those “letters not sent.” I usually write them in Notepad, and leave them on my computer screen – so that the next day, after my blood pressure drops below TILT, I can rethink what I wrote, edit same – and nine times out of ten, delete them completely from the computer. It’s easy to do that in Notepad; Notepad doesn’t back anything up and if your computer crashes and you haven’t saved the file, it disappears as if it was never written.