In the beginning...
In a world where technology is quickly taking over everything we do, the art of old fashion connection is starting to become a thing of the past. Instead of picking up the phone, we text or facebook; instead of writing a letter and leaving it in the letterbox, we email or instant message; instead of talking to someone face-to-face, we type words through a screen. And instead of saying something kind to the person sitting next to us, we ignore them and play on our phones. Don’t get me wrong, I am 110% guilty of all of the above (although if your sitting next to me in an amazing pair of shoes…i’m going to tell you, and demand to know where you got them from).
But as someone who is a hopeless romantic who loves a face-to-face chinwag, gets a little too excited about an envelope in the letterbox that has a handwritten address on it and goes a slight shade of red when someone pays me a compliment, it makes me sad to see these old favourites of connecting dwindling away.
Enter ‘Love from J’… an idea that came to me one night when I was catching up with family. My cousins four-year-old son told me he wanted to draw me a picture, but instead I asked him if he could write me a love letter…because who doesn’t love receiving love letters, right? As four years old do, they ask questions and I was sure his first would be “what’s a love letter?’, but instead he casually asked ‘how many hearts do you want?’. He even went so far as to draw me a rose cupcake and flowers (he’d been to see Beauty and the Beast the weekend before – the concept of love certainly is not lost on this little guy).
At this stage in my life, I was going through an enormous amount of change, and to say I was feeling overwhelmed was an understatement. So when Gus proudly presented me with his gorgeous little love letter that he’d spend 20 minutes creating (which when you are four, is a really long time), it made my week – this is the first time in my 33 years I had ever received a handwritten love letter; and yes the thought that it was from a four year old is not lost on me. But, it made me smile and warmed my heart, and made me realise how much a simple act of kindness can make you instantly feel different.
So I thought, imagine if I could pass on what this little four-year-old has passed on to me at a time when I needed it…and from that ‘Love from J’ was born. ‘Love from J’ is about spreading the love and expressing kindness to everyone and anyone through the simple act of a handwritten love note (not a text and certainly not an email) left randomly around the city for a stranger to find; because you never know when someone might need a little pick me up.
Gus proudly showing off his ‘love letter’ drawing.
So, instead of writing off that piece of paper that someone left on your windshield, or that has been left behind on the coffee shop counter, pay closer attention because it may just be a love note from a complete stranger reaching out and connecting with you on old fashioned terms, with a few words of kindness. I’m very excited to drop the first set of love notes over the next couple of days, so stay tuned.
Wishing you all a fun filled Easter!
Love from J x