Happy National Handwriting Day!

I have always enjoyed the written word--the process of creating letters, the meditative, tactile, and patient experience, the various writing instruments and materials, and looking at other people's handwriting--each as unique as the individuals themselves.

Besides handwritten letters to loved ones, writing ketubahs for people's weddings and other lifecycle events is one of the most enjoyable and meaningful things for me. I consider it such an honor to hand-letter each couple's vows to one another. While I do so, I am thinking about the people for whom I'm writing--the meaning of the words they're exchanging and the commitment they're making to one another. I am composing shapes and positive and negative spaces that make up each letter of the various different languages in which I write. I am enjoying the way ink sits on paper and the sound of pen to paper, and appreciating the opportunity and necessity to slow down, concentrate, and create, especially in our increasingly fast-paced and digital world.

Write a little something--anything--in honor of this day.