rediscovering the joy in deliberate communication
it's been more than a week since i made the attempt of screaming to the void about the fact that i miss the old times. i wasn't expecting more than a dozen of readers, but i did put my email there, so maybe three or four people would reach out to me? if that.
little did i know that over fifteen people would actually take the time to write to me! and for that i'm thoroughly overjoyed and grateful. (if you're one of them and i haven't gotten back to you, i will, i promise! i keep thinking to myself that i should write a reply as soon as i receive a message, but that's literally the opposite of what i was looking for in pen pals: slow, deliberate communication—and so i'm trying to take my time.)
it's been such a joy to rediscover slow and deliberate communication, but more importantly, i've forgotten the feeling of getting to know people for what they are. there's really no need to write to impress, because each of us has our own thing that makes us unique, that makes us interesting. what seems to be mundane to you may be compelling to others. sharing what you did yesterday could inspire someone else to start a new hobby, or to do the thing they've been putting off. what you consider an everyday occurrence could open up a whole new world for someone else, because they've never considered or even heard about it. and what's more fun than discovering new things and realizing that there's always so much more to life?
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there's a word in korean, 소확행, which is an abbreviation for 소소하지만 확실한 행복. small, but definite, happiness. happiness that you find in the small things—things that might not matter much to others but bring you certain joy. this of course can look different for everyone, but it can be something as simple as drinking a cup of good coffee in the morning, listening to the sound raindrops when it pours, rediscovering a playlist that brings back good memories — whatever it is that makes you smile and allows you to say to yourself at the end of the day: it was a good day after all.
lately, i've been somewhat struggling with finding joy in the small things. i haven't accomplished anything that (i think) is worth being proud of in the past few months, and it makes me hesitate whenever i want to feel happy about something.
but right now, being able to write emails to my pen pals and rediscovering slow and deliberate communication has slowly becoming a new 소확행 of mine. and i have all of you to thank for it. i never expected the post to be in the trending section of bear's discovery feed, yet it stayed there for more than a few days and it allowed me to meet and chat with a bunch of new people!
not going to lie, i feel a bit of pressure whenever i see that i have some emails i have to respond, because i've come to associate unread emails with work to do, and work always comes with certain pressure and expectations. but i'm here to remind myself too that this is not work—it's just an outlet for me to get to know people better and in a more personal way, something i've been wanting to do because i'm tired of seeing curated social media posts.
okay, i think it's time for me to get back to replying some emails. i hope january has been nothing but kind to you <3