Today, I received a letter from my eight-year-old, Caleb.

To Dad. From Caleb.
This is a letter to you because I love you.
8/29/11

On the back, there were drawings of Power Rangers insignia. That was it. No lengthy dissertation, no elaborate declarations. The entire intent of the letter was to let me know he loves me.

As you might imagine, this changed my otherwise less-than-stellar afternoon completely. But it also made me think: how much do we do for friends, for family, simply because we love them? Probably not enough. When was the last time you called someone you love? Wrote them a letter?

I’ll stop right there. Despite my position as founder of an interactive agency and as a champion of electronic communications, I believe there is merit in more personal means of communication. I would rather have received this letter in the mail than 100 emails. At eight, he’s able to type and has sent me a few emails. Those are each precious. But there’s something about seeing handwriting, knowing that someone took the effort to press pen to paper and scribe their thoughts and feelings, that makes the finished product something far greater.

We live in an always on culture where it’s sometimes difficult to find the time for interaction, but if you can take even 15 minutes out of your day, the benefit for the person on the receiving end could be worth so much more. Will you join me in a challenge? This week, write or call someone you love. Not an email, not a text, but a genuine voice conversation or penned letter. (We won’t get into the pros and cons of Skype here.) If you join me, and if you’re so bold, post your thoughts in the comments below.

As always, thanks for reading. Carry on.