I wanted to share this story, not to highlight myself, but to share the power of a simple gesture. I grew up with a father born in the 1940’s. He was kind but stoic. You never knew what he really felt or thought. Everything was a stiff upper lip, and my brothers would often get the ‘back hand’ for being weak or naughty. When I was in my 20’s I was a bit of a hippie and on a whim, I sent my dad a letter in the post telling him all the things I loved about him.

I loved the way he never judged a book by it’s cover, and to him all people were equal. The list went on.

He never mentioned if he received the letter and I never asked. When he passed away in 2012 I was cleaning out his things and I found my letter framed, and hanging on his bathroom wall. It just made me think, imagine if I sent a letter to everyone I love telling them all the wonderful things about them.

Imagine if you received a letter in the post telling you about all of your lovable qualities. We should do this more. Tell people not just that we love them, but WHY we love them. It is so powerful.