A philosophical question often asked goes something like this, "If a tree falls in the forest but nobody is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" Another twist on this question goes like this, "If color is something perceived only when light enters the eye and is processed by the brain, do the clothes in our closet actually have a color in the absence of light?"This is all just a prelude to a question that I have been pondering over the past few years. I guess it too, like those above, is some metaphysical machination. If a letter is written but never is read by its intended, what happens to the emotions recorded by that pen's ink?
I have written several letters where I poured my heart and feelings out on the page, that were never read by anyone but me. A piece of my soul is sent out looking for connection, only to be missed or ignored. Return to sender. I have also been told that sometimes when feelings or expressions of regret become bottled up inside us, a good way to set ourselves free from their incessant pressure and presence in our mind is to write a letter and then burn that letter. I guess this is a symbolic gesture of burial or release. It seems like writing a letter to a memory.