Postcards from the heart

by Hannah Bashir, internal medicine trainee doctor

Inspired by my Grandma who is my top postcard correspondent.

I’ll start by saying that I’m a postcard hoarder.

Any trip I go on, I’ll buy at least five – even if it’s to an art gallery I visit all the time or my local city. Five postcards. Every time. I have a box full of them in my living room.

I learned about the power of writing through therapy and I’ve recently realised just how therapeutic it is to write postcards specifically.

They don’t have the space for a big update but they summarise the stories of loved ones’ recent adventures – whether it’s a weekend in the Highlands or they’ve been halfway across the world – with beautiful images of scenes I may never get to see or experience for myself.

Am I the only one who breaks into a smile when I find one on my doormat after I return home from a shift? (Usually stressed – as I’m sure anyone who works with me can attest to!)

When I think of the joy receiving postcards gives me, it inspires me to write them to others – remembering the place friends and family hold in my life when I’m feeling alone and wanting them to know that I’m thinking of them and recalling a special moment in our relationship.

And even though it’s more effort and more expense than a quick WhatsApp message or an email to say ‘Hey, how are you?’, it’s far more personal when you’ve picked out a specific postcard for someone based on a unique shared memory.

So next time you’re feeling burnout at the end of the day, I encourage you to pick up a pen and write to someone you care about.

We all crave human connection. And who knows – maybe they’ll send you one back?