“Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It’s splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.”
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
Social interactions are indispensable in real life, be it a forced smile or a free-flowing conversation for hours at a stretch. Sometimes, I have to talk more than I would like. Sometimes, the conversations feel so superficial or awkward that I feel like running away.
As an introvert, finding a balance has not been easy at all over the years. I would feel drained out after investing every iota of my social battery into verbal conversations with people. Instant messaging has also been a struggle as I do not enjoy replying promptly to texts. I felt the need to find a better alternative to connect with people without feeling overwhelmed! While reading Anne of Windy Poplars, I was inspired to write letters and embark on a journey to find kindred spirits in this world. I happened to stumble upon Slowly by a stroke of serendipity in November. I was not only intrigued by the name but also by the concept of exchanging delayed virtual letters. I decided to give it a go!
After a month of being on Slowly, I had some amazing conversations with various people at different stages of their lives! I found pen pals from the US, Ukraine, the UK, and India. Honestly, I did not expect responses from fifteen people in a month! I write to five of them quite regularly. The topics we talked about so far range from vicissitudes that fundamentally changed us as people to the artistic and literary escapades that bring us joy in our daily lives. I did not have to think about my social battery or feel guilty about pouring my heart out to my pen pals about a variety of topics. Writing long and meaningful letters to my pen pals continues to fill my heart with inexplicable joy. I can describe it as a meditative experience: I feel fully present in the moment and I forget about the world as I keep typing. It is as though I am presenting to them a fragment of my soul and a figment of my imagination using the wonders of the written word. Plus, I feel I have all the time in the world to tailor well-crafted letters to the kindred spirits in my life, as slowly as I would like.
P.S. I was so impressed by the concept behind Slowly that I was able to get my real-life friends to use this application for exchanging letters.
(The author was in India visiting family at the time of writing this story. She currently resides in the United States.)
