Above is the card I choose for myself. It is from a series of cards Marcia Lippmann made from photographs she took of Buddha statues around the world. She also does a series of photographs of angel statues that are stunning. I choose this because despite how little and inconsequential I feel sometimes, like the flowers in this picture, I am a gift to someone, or some being...(I hope).
In my last post I wrote how, on the advice of Dr. X., in order to help myself when depressed, I wrote a letter to my sad self on a day where I was feeling really well. I have perused it so many times when I am unwell and it is definately a worthwhile exercise.
Inside the card and envelope I placed photos of my nieces, a ticket stub from when I went to hear the Dalai Lama speak, $60.00 (I said $50 before, but guess inflation hit me last time I dipped into it) so I could get out of the house and buy something I wanted, or pay for a massage or buy a book, or anything that helped me feel good. When I looked at it just now I realized I also placed a book of stamps in there...to mail a card to someone else. I always love handwriting and mailing cards the old fashioned way...it makes me feel good. I also folded up a whole newspaper page full of cryptic puzzles I like to do, and finally, included stickers my nieces gave me with their names and pictures on them.
If you want to write your own letter and tuck things into it the ideas are endless. Basically, place anything in with the letter that will make you smile, feel love, help you become distracted when you most need to be. What those things are is up to you...good luck.
Below is my letter to myself. If you click on the image of the letter below it will become bigger:
