The value of the greeting card.
From time to time it is my undeserved and thrilling privilege to write a greeting card. Having been here 4 and half years I think that we have graduated from a formal email or letterhead, to a more personal approach.
I try to pick the card carefully so that the image on the front fits with the theme inside. But it’s not the jokey birthday cards or cute christmass cards I like best. My favourites are impressionist paintings where we are given just a hint or the ‘flavour’ of the message I want to convey.
Pictures of Mother Nature at her wildest, characters that are distant, almost translucent and a landscape that is both exquisite and compelling. The best cards are blank inside for they give me the flexibility and openness to write whatever I choose without being steered in any particular direction.
And of course it's the words that really matter. The meat in the sandwich if you like. The words I choose are the most important part for they are potent and have the potential to make things solid and tangible for the reader.
Like the card that reminds the recipient of a particular day, a memorable event. Written carefully a very significant person is once again made reachable. Just for a moment, or hopefully longer, the memory is stirred to life. It is almost palpable and exists.
The privilege of writing such a greeting card comes with its special joy and responsibility. Frequently I need several goes to find the right words and bounce them into some sort of coherent order.
The value of a greeting card is not the price you pay at the counter, but the experience or memory which is made present again for the reader.