Read this when letters

One of the primary reasons for an Open When letter project is that they are a wonderful way to keep the fires burning in long distance relationships, or for when you and a loved one have to be apart for a significant length of time. Whether you’re looking to write cute letters to your boyfriend or girlfriend, here are some ideas!

OPEN WHEN …

• you first unpack
• you miss me
• you need a kiss
• you need a hug
• you miss holding my hand
• you are on your way to visit me
• you want to see my face
• you need a massage
• you need help falling asleep
• you need me to be there for you
• you need my protection
• you need to see a picture of us
• you’re thinking about how much you love me
• we have an argument
• we just got off the phone
• you want to tell me something, but I’m not available
• it’s the anniversary of when we met
• it’s the anniversary of our first date
• it’s the anniversary of our engagement
• it’s the anniversary of our first big trip

• it’s our wedding anniversary
• it’s a week after you’ve been gone
• it’s a month after you’ve been gone
• it’s a month until we see each other again
• it’s a week until we see each other again
• it’s the day before we see each other
• you’re on your way again after we’ve seen each other
• you need to read something romantic
• you think about laying in bed with me
• you need a cuddle
• you’re booking our next visit
• you need to tell me something important
• you’re worried we won’t make it
• you’re somewhere beautiful
• you visit our favorite place
• you don’t know what to write to me
• you feel naughty
• you need to feel loved
• you need to tell me you love me
• you’re afraid we’re drifting apart

Open When Letters for Encouragement

Encouragement letters are simple ways to keep people going in rough times. Give these to a friend, a child or even to your future self!

OPEN WHEN …

• you have a bad day
• your faith starts to waiver
• you feel nervous about a big event
• you’re angry at everything
• you need a laugh
• you need to hear a friendly voice
• you can’t take it anymore
• you’re too tired to get out of bed
• you have a cold
• your allergies are flaring up
• you have a nightmare
• you’re sick to your stomach
• you think the world is against you
• you don’t like what you see in the mirror
• you’re worn out
• you think you didn’t do the right thing
• you need to make a big decision
• you need inspiration
• you need a pep talk
• you lose your job
• you get a promotion
• you get a bad grade/evaluation
• you miss your friends
• you’re scared at night
• you start to question a big decision
• you have a big life question
• you’re in the hospital
• someone you know is in the hospital
• I’m in the hospital or sick
• you’ve had a streak of bad luck
• you are somewhere that seems hard to get away from
• you’re feeling small
• you’re blue
• you’re crying
• someone has let you down
• you missed something important
• something came collapsing down around you
• you’re stressed
• you don’t feel respected by your co-workers

Open When Letters to Commemorate Events

Personal celebrations and holidays are obvious ideas for these Open When cards. Picking obscure dates like “Arbor Day” or “National Talk Like a Pirate Day” can also keep them exciting and fun.

OPEN WHEN …

• it’s your birthday
• it’s my birthday
• it’s your half-birthday
• it’s your first day of work
• you’ve finished a great book
• you get your first paycheck
• you make a friend
• it’s Easter
• it’s Passover
• it’s Arbor Day
• it’s Flag Day
• it’s Canada Day
• it’s baseball opening day for a favorite team
• it’s the All Star Game
• it’s basketball opening day for a favorite team
• it’s football opening day for a favorite team
• it’s hockey opening day for a favorite team
• it’s the first day of the Olympics
• it’s the Super Bowl
• it’s Christmas
• it’s half-way to Christmas (Leon day – June 25)
• it’s Thanksgiving
• it’s Mother’s Day
• it’s Father’s Day
• it’s Grandparents Day
• it’s Valentine’s Day
• it’s St. Patrick’s Day
• it’s Mardi Gras
• it’s Cinco De Mayo
• it’s Pi Day (March 14 – 3.14)
• it’s International Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 17)
• it’s Star Wars Day (May 4th – may the 4th be with you)
• it’s Boxing Day
• it’s National Jelly Bean Day (April 22)
• it’s Festivus (December 23)
• it’s Memorial Day
• it’s Labor Day
• it’s MLK Day
• it’s Independence Day
• it’s Presidents Day
• it’s Halloween
• it’s Earth Day
• it’s Leap Day
• it’s Administrative Professionals Day (last Wednesday of April)
• it’s Groundhog Day
• it’s the first day of Spring (or when it feels like Spring)
• it’s the first day of Summer (or when it feels like Summer)
• it’s the first day of Fall (or when it feels like Fall)
• it’s the first day of Winter (or when it feels like Winter)
• it’s the first snowfall
• you first notice the leaves are changing color
• you feel like building a fire
• you feel like you need to cool off
• it’s really hot out
• it first gets below zero

Open When Letters for Military Families

It’s not always easy to stay in touch with loved ones in the military especially with those deployed overseas. These ideas don’t just apply to military members per se, but are ideas that generally pertain to brave men and women who are risking their lives to defend our country.

OPEN WHEN …

• you’ve just been deployed
• you’ve been deployed a week
• you’ve been deployed a month
• you need strength
• you miss the USA
• you need to remember how proud I am of you
• the food isn’t good
• you’ve hit a wall
• everything seems foreign to you
• you need to feel up to an important task
• you are wondering about something asked of you
• you need to escape
• you need a little something from home
• you feel like hitting someone
• you feel wrung out
• you want to talk to me, but can’t
• it’s Veteran’s Day
• you’re going on your first mission
• you’re going on a dangerous mission
• you get back from doing something risky
• you don’t feel safe
• you’re flooded with relief

Open When Letters to Your Children

Anyone who has kids always says the same thing, “it goes by so fast”. Even though you can’t be with them every single moment, there are always opportunities to reach out and support them. An Open When project can offer advice and encouragement for them when you can’t be there.

OPEN WHEN …

• it’s your graduation
• it’s your first day of college
• you have your first big exam
• before your first big presentation
• you are homesick
• you need a little extra cash
• you’re going to a great party
• you need a little parental advice
• you meet someone you love
• it’s the first day of Freshman Year
• it’s the last day of Senior year
• it’s your first big breakup
• it’s your college graduation
• it’s your first professional job
• you get your first promotion
• you get your first car
• you do something you regret
• you have a headache (hangover?)
• you move for the first time
• you move for the second time
• you move in with someone
• you are thinking about proposing
• you get engaged
• you register for your wedding
• wedding planning is making you crazy
• you get married
• you find out you are going to have a baby
• you have your first child
• your kid is driving you crazy
• you have your second child
• the kid(s) just won’t stop crying
• you get your first pet
• your bankroll is getting tight
• your child goes to kindergarten
• you have your 10-year High School Reunion
• you want to know more about where you came from
• a grandparent passes away
• you’ve reached a crossroads
• you wonder what you are doing with your life
• you need someone to believe in you

Open When Letters for Siblings and Friends

When a good friend or a sibling moves away it can be hard to find the right words in the moment. Packing them some motivational and inspirational letters is a great way to show people that you love them, even when you live far way.

OPEN WHEN …

• you’re mad at me
• you’re mad at Mom or Dad
• you wonder what I’m doing right now
• you forget something important in my life
• I forget something important in your life
• we haven’t talked in long time
• you feel like I’m not helping
• something breaks
• you lose something important
• you splurge on something that’s too expensive
• you get a great deal
• you remember something from our childhood
• you can’t remember something from our childhood
• you go on a vacation (without me!?)
• we make plans to see each other
• something bad happens to Mom or Dad
• a childhood home is sold
• you need something comforting from when you were a kid
• you need a night out with me, but I’m not there
• you feel like coming home
• you feel like NOT coming home
• you need something that reminds you of home
• (girls/guys) are jerks
• you get great news
• you remember our favorite movie
• you remember our favorite song
• you remember our favorite game
• you think of our friend _____
• you think of our enemy _____
• you think of my first love interest
• you think of your first love interest
• you need something from your teenage self
• it’s just Friday
• you thought about calling me, but something distracted you and now it’s too late
• you need a cup of tea
• your power goes out
• you can’t find something
• you want to scream
• you’re trying to diet
• you’ve ignored my advice

Here are some outside-of-the-box, whimsical and weird ideas to riff from that can apply to most of the categories above. They can be for just about any feeling or day and are meant to make someone laugh. Include fun objects to go along with the theme.

OPEN WHEN …

• you’re feeling really hungry
• you want to laugh
• you need something to read in the bathroom
• you need a backup plan for a rainy day
• you’re stuck in traffic (or on the train/bus)
• you need a break from the Internet
• just for the heck of it
• you need a silly postcard
• your refrigerator magnet collection seems sparse
• you need an instant party
• you need something mysterious
• you’re out of underwear
• you need a new motto
• you need a new look

• you need something from the 70s
• you haven’t shaved for a few days
• you need to complain
• you need to rant
• you want to sing
• you want to dance
• you need some sugar
• you feel fancy
• you feel sassy
• you feel gross
• you can’t figure out what to eat for lunch
• you need change for the meter
• clowns are scary
• you feel wicked
• you want to make a wish
• you need a little spice in your life

• you want to have a little fun
• you’ve eaten something disgusting
• you’ve eaten something that’s your new favorite food
• there’s a song stuck in your head
• you need something to write with
• you win a bet
• your feet hurt
• you smell something funny
• you need to pull off a death-defying feat
• you are scared of something ridiculous
• you forgot to plug in your phone
• this is the very last letter
• you’ve finished a terrible movie
• you’ve finished a terrible book

Things to Include in an Open When Letter

Stretching the limits of your creativity is part of the fun in putting this kind of project. Specificity is key, so the best things to include are personal items like inside jokes, pictures of you or mix tapes/CDs! Gift cards for small amounts to their favorite restaurants, coffee shops and online music apps work well.  

Inexpensive crafts are also fun. For example, if the theme is “open when you’re stressed”, you could include a piece of bubble wrap.

It’s also nice to encourage more correspondence. Write something heartfelt that answers a few specific questions about yourself and then include a blank page and an already addressed and stamped envelope. Tiny trinkets, key chains and totems that they can carry with them to remind them of you are also great ideas.
Some other ideas include:

• if they need a countdown: a calendar with stickers to mark the days
• if they need a reminder: something with your perfume or cologne
• if they need a kiss: include something soft with your lip prints on it
• if they need some warmth: send this  easy to make a DIY hand warmer with one of your gloves and a little rice
• if they need to say hooray: include a bag of confetti
• when they want to get funky: include a mix CD with some favorite songs
• when they want to laugh: quotes from your favorite comedian or TV show
• when they’re getting sick: Vitamin C or what you need to make a Hot Toddy along with instructions—honey, whiskey and tea bags.

Handwritten quotes or well-worn advice can be just the right thing for a difficult occasion. Begin with quotes from authors or personalities you both love, or pick a few of your favorites. Here are some ideas:

When you want something romantic
“I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close.” – Pablo Neruda

When it’s your birthday

“Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter” – Satchel Paige

When you need a laugh

“I went to a restaurant that serves ‘breakfast at any time’. So I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance.” – Steven Wright

When they need to feel brave

“Courage is not the absence of fear: it is acting in spite of it. ”  – Mark Twain

When they need encouragement

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” – Maya Angelou

When they need a prayer

“Here are the two best prayers i know: Help me, help me, help me, and thank you, thank you, thank you.” – Ann Lamott

When they need something, but not sure what it is

“What day is it?”

“It’s today,” squeaked Piglet.

“My favorite day,” said Pooh. – A.A. Milne

Letters can also include lovely romantic quotes for your sweetheart or a variety of inspirational quotes.

These are just a few ideas for your Open When letter project. Remember, the more specific these can be to the person you give them to, the more effective they will be. And because the letters are often written all at one time, it’s lovely to be able to think about a good place and special time to write them. Here are a few ideas for when to create your series of letters

• During your honeymoon or the week before your wedding
• The day before a child is born or maybe his/her first day of school
• The week before a big move or deployment

Most importantly, don’t let this giant list intimidate you. You can write a few at a time and send them in a few installments. Or, set a limitation of 10 to 12 letters so you don’t get overwhelmed. The sizes of the letters are also up to you. You could send a book or sweater, or just keep it to small notes. Getting all these ready is supposed to be fun, so only take on as much as you feel you can handle.

If you want to make the letters extra special, send your loved one a surprise treat, like dipped strawberries. It will make the experience of opening a letter that much sweeter.

Letter twenty-second LOVE TO READ!. Letters about the good and beautiful

Letter twenty-second

LOVE TO READ!

Every person is obliged (I emphasize - obliged) to take care of his intellectual development. This is his duty to the society in which he lives and to himself.

The main (but, of course, not the only) way of one's intellectual development is reading.

Reading should not be random. This is a huge waste of time, and time is the greatest value that cannot be wasted on trifles. You should read according to the program, of course, not strictly following it, moving away from it where there are additional interests for the reader. However, with all the deviations from the original program, it is necessary to draw up a new one for yourself, taking into account the new interests that have appeared. nine0003

Reading, to be effective, must interest the reader. Interest in reading in general or in certain branches of culture must be developed in oneself. Interest can be largely the result of self-education.

Compiling reading programs for yourself is not so easy, and this must be done with the advice of knowledgeable people, with the existing reference books of various types.

The danger of reading is the development (conscious or unconscious) in oneself of a tendency to "diagonal" viewing of texts or to various types of speedy reading methods. nine0003

"Speed ​​reading" creates the appearance of knowledge. It can be allowed only in certain types of professions, being careful not to create in oneself the habit of speed reading, it leads to a disease of attention.

Have you noticed what a great impression those works of literature that are read in a calm, unhurried and unhurried atmosphere, for example, on vacation or in case of some not very complicated and not distracting illness, make?

Literature gives us a colossal, vast and profound experience of life. It makes a person intelligent, develops in him not only a sense of beauty, but also understanding - an understanding of life, all its complexities, serves as a guide to other eras and to other peoples, opens people's hearts to you. In a word, makes you wise. But all this is given only when you read, delving into all the little things. Because the most important thing is often in the details. And such reading is possible only when you read with pleasure, not because this or that work needs to be read (whether according to the school curriculum or at the behest of fashion and vanity), but because you like it - you felt that the author has what to say, there is something to share with you and he knows how to do it. If the first time you read the work inattentively, read it again, for the third time. A person should have favorite works that he refers to repeatedly, which he knows in detail, which he can remind others about in a suitable environment and thereby either cheer up, then defuse the situation (when irritation accumulates against each other), then laugh, then simply express your attitude to what happened to you or someone else. "Disinterested" reading was taught to me at school by my literature teacher. I studied during the years when teachers were often forced to be absent from classes - either they dug trenches near Leningrad, or they had to help some factory, or they simply got sick. Leonid Vladimirovich (that was the name of my literature teacher) often came to class when the other teacher was absent, sat down at the teacher's table at ease and, taking books out of his portfolio, offered us something to read. We already knew how he knew how to read, how he knew how to explain what he read, to laugh with us, to admire something, to be surprised at the art of the writer and to rejoice in the future. So we listened to many places from War and Peace, The Captain's Daughter, several stories by Maupassant, an epic about Nightingale Budimirovich, another epic about Dobryn Nikitich, a story about Woe-Misfortune, Krylov's fables, Derzhavin's odes and much, much more. I still love what I listened to when I was a kid. And at home, father and mother loved to read in the evenings. They read for themselves, and read some of their favorite passages for us. They read Leskov, Mamin-Sibiryak, historical novels - everything that they liked and that gradually began to please us. nine0003

"Uninterested" but interesting reading is what makes one love literature and broadens one's horizons.

Know how to read not only for school answers and not only because this or that thing is read by everyone now - it is fashionable. Be able to read with interest and slowly.

Why is TV now partially replacing books? Yes, because the TV makes you slowly watch some kind of program, sit back comfortably so that nothing bothers you, it distracts you from worries, it dictates to you how to watch and what to watch. But try to choose a book to your liking, take a break from everything in the world for a while, sit comfortably with a book, and you will understand that there are many books that you cannot live without, which are more important and interesting than many programs. I'm not saying stop watching TV. But I say: look with a choice. Spend your time on something that is worthy of this waste. Read more and read with the greatest choice. Decide for yourself your choice, in accordance with the role that your chosen book has acquired in the history of human culture in order to become a classic. This means that there is something significant in it. Or maybe this essential for the culture of mankind will be essential for you? nine0003

A classic, one that has stood the test of time. You won't waste your time with it. But the classics cannot answer all the questions of today. Therefore, it is necessary to read modern literature. Don't just jump on every trendy book. Don't be fussy. Worldliness makes a person recklessly spend the largest and most precious capital that he possesses - his time.

This text is an introductory fragment. nine0003

Second letter

Letter two I have already written to you, and I wrote in a tone full of confidence. Five years after our last meeting, I explained to you why we are stronger than you: because of the roundabout way in which we sought confirmation of our principles; due to being late, which was the fault of

LETTER TWO For the first time - OZ, 1868, No. 4, sec. II, pp. 262–272 (issued April 10). Work on the Second Letter was completed in Ryazan by March 4, 1868, when the manuscript was mailed to the editors of the magazine (see Saltykov's letter to Nekrasov dated March 4, 1868). In ed. 1869 "letter" was

Letter twenty-four WE SHALL BE HAPPY (answer to a letter from a schoolboy)

Do you like to read aloud?

Do you like to read aloud? As part of the Days of Slavic Literature and Culture, the Moscow City Library Center will hold an open city competition for reading aloud. Three stages of the competition will be held in one hundred libraries located in ten administrative

Love, love, love me, I'm a liberal (Thanks Phil Oakes, we miss you)

Love, love, love me, I'm a liberal (Thank you Phil Oakes, we miss you) Angela Davis, the star of the 1960s, like most members of the Communist Party, was no more radical than the average American liberal. Here is her appeal to the participants of the Occupy

LETTER TWO Yevgeny Alexandrovich! What are you doing to me? As soon as I tuned in to repentance, I decided to cleanse my soul of sins and transgressions before you, and on January 30, on the eve of Athanasius the Great, this charitable deed was already beginning on the pages of "Soviet Russia", when suddenly

Second letter

Letter two June 19, night. You release my feminine essence in me, my darkest and most inner being. But that doesn't make me any less clairvoyant. All my sight has the reverse side - blindness. My gentle (the one who makes me ...), all my inseparable

The prosecutor instructed the witness to tell the truth. And he said (Session twenty-second)

The prosecutor instructed the witness to tell the truth. And he said (Session twenty-second) Each of us is not immune from communication with the police, which is becoming more and more dangerous for society. So, at the trial in the case of the attempt on Chubais, a terrible picture of methods

(LETTER TWO) I ended my first letter about the life of Russians in Paris with a promise in the next letter or in subsequent letters to deal with the Latins, among whom my Parisian life passed; tell their life, their customs and relationships, walk with the reader through some

Second letter

Letter two Dear N. F.! The answer came earlier than expected. Thank you very much from the farm. But there is concern. In the depths of my soul, I hoped that you would send an application for galoshes and a combined whip-umbrella to the Kremlin. You sent it to the Ministry of Agriculture. Eh, not

Letter twenty-second

letter twenty two So, you are my wife's countryman. She is also from the Don, from the city of Rostov. You ask stunning questions. You ask: am I ashamed that I am a shepherd? Have mercy! I answer the question with a question: “Is a gypsy ashamed that he is a gypsy?” When I served in the army, friends

LETTER TWO

Second letter

Letter two "September 1, 1944 I received your message. Thank you Comrade Lieutenant. I will describe further my service in a new place. After a two-day march, we arrived at our "outpost". I put this word in quotation marks on purpose. In fact, there was no outpost even at

Second letter

Letter two My dear Vanichka! Here you are, brother, what I have! you do not agree with my remarks and do not retreat from your arguments against materialism - this does credit to your steadfastness, but not to your intelligence. You say that I'm too demanding, that it's impossible to come up with

Letters about the good and the beautiful: excerpts from Dmitry Likhachev's book. nine0001

Publications in the Education section

Dmitry Sergeevich Likhachev is an outstanding defender of Russian culture. His moral image and life path is an example of the struggle for high ideals. A scholar-philologist and researcher of ancient Russian literature, Likhachev also addressed a children's audience. Today we are publishing excerpts from Likhachev's "Letters about the Good and the Beautiful" - a wonderful book for all generations and ages.

Letters to young readers

Every conversation between an elderly person and young people turns into a lesson. This has always been the case, and probably always will be. I will try to be brief and say only about the most important thing for myself - as it seems to me, to share the experience of my life. nine0003

For my conversations with the reader, I chose the form of letters. This is, of course, a conditional form. In the readers of my letters, I imagine friends. Letters to friends allow me to write simply.

READ
"Letters about the Good and the Beautiful" PDF (0.65 Mb)

Why did I arrange my letters in this way? First, in my letters I write about the purpose and meaning of life, about the beauty of behavior, and then I turn to the beauty of the world around us, to the beauty that opens up to us in works of art. I do this because in order to perceive the beauty of the environment, a person himself must be spiritually beautiful, deep, stand on the right positions in life. Try to hold the binoculars in trembling hands - you won't see anything. nine0003

First letter. Big in small

In the material world, big can't fit in small. In the sphere of spiritual values, it is not so: much more can fit in the small, and if you try to fit the small in the big, then the big simply ceases to exist.

If a person has a great goal, then it should manifest itself in everything - in the most seemingly insignificant. You must be honest in the imperceptible and accidental: then only will you be honest in the fulfillment of your great duty. A great goal embraces the whole person, is reflected in each of his actions, and one cannot think that a good goal can be achieved by bad means. nine0003

The saying "The end justifies the means" is destructive and immoral. Dostoevsky showed this well in Crime and Punishment. The main character of this work, Rodion Raskolnikov, thought that by killing the disgusting old usurer, he would get money, with which he could then achieve great goals and benefit humanity, but suffers an internal collapse. The goal is distant and unrealizable, but the crime is real; it is terrible and cannot be justified by anything. It is impossible to strive for a high goal with low means. We must be equally honest in both big and small things. nine0003

The general rule - to observe the big in the small - is necessary, in particular, in science. Scientific truth is the most precious thing, and it must be followed in all details of scientific research and in the life of a scientist. If, however, one strives in science for "small" goals - for proof by "strength", contrary to the facts, for the "interestingness" of conclusions, for their effectiveness, or for any form of self-advancement, then the scientist inevitably fails. Maybe not right away, but eventually! When the results of research are exaggerated or even minor juggling of facts and scientific truth is pushed into the background, science ceases to exist, and the scientist himself sooner or later ceases to be a scientist. nine0003

It is necessary to observe the great in everything resolutely. Then everything is easy and simple.

Second letter. Youth is my whole life

When I was at school, and then at the university, it seemed to me that my "adult life" would be in some completely different environment, as if in a different world, and I would be surrounded by completely different people. There will be nothing left of the real... But in reality, everything turned out differently. My peers stayed with me. Not all, of course: many were killed by death. And yet, the friends of youth turned out to be the most faithful, everlasting. The circle of acquaintances has grown unusually, but true friends are old ones. True friends are acquired at a young age. I remember that my mother's real friends were only her friends from the gymnasium. My father's friends were his fellow students at the institute. And no matter how much I have observed, openness to friendship gradually decreases with age. Youth is a time of rapprochement. And you should remember this and take care of your friends, because true friendship helps a lot both in grief and in joy. Joy also needs help: help to feel happiness to the depths of the soul, to feel and share it. Unrequited joy is not joy. Happiness spoils a person if he experiences it alone. When the time of misfortune comes, the time of loss, again, one cannot be alone. Woe to a man if he is alone. nine0003

Therefore, guard your youth until old age. Appreciate all the good things that you acquired in your youth, do not waste the riches of youth. Nothing acquired in youth goes unnoticed. Habits developed in youth last a lifetime. Work skills, too. Get used to work - and work will always bring joy. And how important it is for human happiness! There is no one more unhappy than a lazy person who always avoids labor and effort...

As in youth, so in old age. Good habits of youth will make life easier, bad ones will complicate it and make it more difficult. And further. There is a Russian proverb: "Take care of honor from a young age. " All the deeds committed in youth remain in the memory. The good ones will please, the bad ones will not let you sleep! nine0003

Third letter. The greatest

What is the greatest purpose of life? I think to increase the good in those around us. And good is, first of all, the happiness of all people. It is made up of many things, and every time life sets a task for a person, which is important to be able to solve. You can do good to a person in small things, you can also think about big things, but small things and big things cannot be separated. Much, as I have already said, begins with trifles, is born in childhood and in those close to you.

The child loves his mother and his father, brothers and sisters, his family, his home. Gradually expanding, his affections spread to the school, village, city, all of his country. And this is already a very big and deep feeling, although one cannot stop there and one must love a person in a person. nine0003

One must be a patriot, not a nationalist. You don't have to hate every other family because you love your own. There is no need to hate other nations because you are a patriot. There is a profound difference between patriotism and nationalism. In the first - love for one's country, in the second - hatred for all others.

“The great goal of kindness begins with a small one - with the desire for good for your loved ones, but, expanding, it captures an ever wider range of issues. It's like circles on the water. But the circles on the water, expanding, are becoming weaker. Love and friendship, growing and spreading over many things, gain new strength, become higher and higher, and the person, their center, is wiser. nine0106

Love should not be unaccountable, it should be smart. This means that it must be combined with the ability to notice shortcomings, to deal with shortcomings - both in a loved one and in people around. It must be combined with wisdom, with the ability to separate the necessary from the empty and false. She must not be blind. Blind delight (you can’t even call it love) can lead to terrible consequences. A mother who admires everything and encourages her child in everything can bring up a moral monster. Blind admiration for Germany ("Germany above all" - the words of a chauvinistic German song) led to Nazism, blind admiration for Italy - to fascism. nine0003

Wisdom is mind combined with kindness. Intelligence without kindness is cunning. Cunning, on the other hand, gradually withers away and, sooner or later, inevitably turns against the cunning one himself. Therefore, the trick is forced to hide. Wisdom is open and reliable. She does not deceive others, and above all the wisest person. Wisdom brings a sage a good name and lasting happiness, brings reliable, long-term happiness and that calm conscience, which is most valuable in old age.

How to express what is common between my three propositions: "Big in small", "Youth is always" and "The greatest"? It can be expressed in one word, which can become a motto: "Loyalty". Loyalty to those big principles that a person should be guided by in big and small, loyalty to his impeccable youth, his homeland in the broad and narrow sense of this concept, loyalty to family, friends, city, country, people. Ultimately, fidelity is fidelity to truth—truth-truth and truth-justice. nine0003

Letter five. What is the meaning of life

The obvious is the incredible. Dmitry Likhachev. Secret of personality

Russian culture as a part of world culture

You can define the purpose of your existence in different ways, but there must be a purpose - otherwise it will not be life, but vegetation.

One must also have principles in life. It’s good to even put them in a diary, but in order for the diary to be “real”, you can’t show it to anyone - write only for yourself.

Every person should have one rule in life, in his purpose of life, in his principles of life, in his behavior: one must live life with dignity, so that one would not be ashamed to remember. nine0106 Dignity requires kindness, generosity, the ability not to be a narrow egoist, to be truthful, a good friend, to find joy in helping others.

For the sake of the dignity of life, one must be able to refuse petty pleasures and considerable ones too... To be able to apologize, to admit a mistake to others is better than to play up and lie.
When deceiving, a person first of all deceives himself, because he thinks that he has successfully lied, but people understood and out of delicacy kept silent.

The eighth letter. Be funny, but not be funny

It is said that the content determines the form. This is true, but the opposite is also true, that the content depends on the form. The famous American psychologist of the beginning of this century, D. James, wrote: "We cry because we are sad, but we are also sad because we cry." Therefore, let's talk about the form of our behavior, about what should become our habit and what should also become our inner content.

It was once considered indecent to show with all your appearance that misfortune happened to you, that you were in grief. A person should not have imposed his depressed state on others. It was necessary to maintain dignity even in grief, to be equal with everyone, not to immerse yourself in yourself and remain as friendly and even cheerful as possible. The ability to maintain dignity, not to impose one's grief on others, not to spoil the mood of others, to always be even in dealing with people, to be always friendly and cheerful - this is a great and real art that helps to live in society and society itself. nine0003

But how cheerful do you have to be? Noisy and intrusive fun is tiring for others. The young man who is always “pouring” witticisms ceases to be perceived as worthy of behaving. He becomes a joke. And this is the worst thing that can happen to a person in society, and this means, ultimately, the loss of humor.

Don't be ridiculous.
Not being funny is not only the ability to behave, but also a sign of intelligence.

You can be funny in everything, even in the way you dress. If a man carefully matches a tie to a shirt, a shirt to a suit, he is ridiculous. Excessive concern for one's appearance is immediately visible. We must take care to dress decently, but this concern for men should not cross certain boundaries. A man who cares too much about his appearance is unpleasant. The woman is another matter. Men, on the other hand, should have only a hint of fashion in their clothes. A perfectly clean shirt, clean shoes and a fresh but not very bright tie are enough. The suit may be old, it should not only be unkempt. nine0003

When talking to others, know how to listen, know how to be silent, know how to joke, but rarely and at the right time. Take up as little space as possible. Therefore, at dinner, do not put your elbows on the table, embarrassing your neighbor, but also do not try too hard to be the "soul of society." Observe the measure in everything, do not be intrusive even with your friendly feelings.

Don't suffer from your shortcomings if you have them. If you stutter, don't think it's too bad. Stutterers are excellent speakers, considering every word they say. The best lecturer of Moscow University, famous for its eloquent professors, historian V.O. Klyuchevsky stuttered. A slight strabismus may give significance to the face, lameness to movements. But if you are shy, don't be afraid of it either. Don't be ashamed of your shyness: shyness is very sweet and not at all funny. It becomes funny only if you try too hard to overcome it and feel ashamed of it. Be simple and indulgent to your shortcomings. Don't suffer from them. There is nothing worse when an “inferiority complex” develops in a person, and along with it, anger, hostility towards other people, envy. A person loses what is best in him - kindness. nine0003

There is no better music than silence, silence in the mountains, silence in the forest. There is no better "music in a person" than modesty and the ability to remain silent, not to be put forward in the first place. There is nothing more unpleasant and stupid in the appearance and behavior of a person than solemnity or noisiness; there is nothing more ridiculous in a man than excessive concern for his costume and hairstyle, calculated movements and a "fountain of witticisms" and jokes, especially if they are repeated.

In behavior, be afraid to be ridiculous and try to be modest, quiet. nine0106 Never loosen up, always be equal with people, respect the people who surround you.

Here are a few pieces of advice about what seems to be secondary - about your behavior, about your appearance, but also about your inner world: do not be afraid of your physical shortcomings. Treat them with dignity and you will be elegant.

I have a friend who is a little humpbacked. Honestly, I do not get tired of admiring her grace on those rare occasions when I meet her in museums on opening days (everyone meets there - that's why they are cultural holidays). nine0003

And one more thing, and perhaps the most important one: be truthful. He who seeks to deceive others is first of all deceived himself. He naively thinks that they believed him, and those around him were actually just polite. But a lie always betrays itself, a lie is always "felt", and you not only become disgusting, worse - you are ridiculous.

Don't be ridiculous! Truthfulness is beautiful, even if you admit that you have deceived before on some occasion, and explain why you did it. This will fix the situation. You will be respected and you will show your mind. nine0003

Simplicity and "silence" in a person, truthfulness, lack of pretensions in dress and behavior - this is the most attractive "form" in a person, which also becomes his most elegant "content".

The ninth letter. When should you be offended?

One should be offended only when they want to offend you. If they don’t want to, and the reason for resentment is an accident, then why be offended?
Without getting angry, clarify the misunderstanding - that's all.
Well, what if they want to offend? Before responding to an insult with an insult, it is worth considering: should one stoop to an insult? After all, resentment usually lies somewhere low and you have to bend down to it to pick it up. nine0003

If you still decide to be offended, then first perform some mathematical action - subtraction, division, etc. Let's say you were insulted for something in which you are only partially to blame. Subtract from your feelings of resentment everything that does not apply to you. Suppose that you were offended from noble motives - divide your feelings into noble motives that caused an insulting remark, etc. Having performed some necessary mathematical operation in your mind, you will be able to respond to an insult with greater dignity, which will be the more noble than you attach less importance to resentment. To certain limits, of course. nine0003

In general, excessive touchiness is a sign of a lack of intelligence or some kind of complexes. Be smart.

There is a good English rule: to be offended only when they want to offend you, they intentionally offend you. There is no need to be offended by simple inattention, forgetfulness (sometimes characteristic of a given person due to age, due to any psychological shortcomings). On the contrary, show special attention to such a "forgetful" person - it will be beautiful and noble.

This is if they "offend" you, but what about when you yourself can offend another? In relation to touchy people, one must be especially careful. Resentment is a very painful character trait.

Fifteenth letter. About envy

If a heavyweight sets a new world record in weight lifting, do you envy him? And if a gymnast? And if the record holder in diving from a tower into the water?

Start listing everything that you know and that you can envy: you will notice that the closer you are to your work, specialty, life, the stronger the proximity of envy. It's like in a game - cold, warm, even warmer, hot, burned! nine0003

On the last one, you blindfolded an item hidden by other players. It's the same with envy. The closer the achievement of another is to your specialty, to your interests, the more increases the burning danger of envy.

A terrible feeling from which the one who envies suffers first of all.
Now you will understand how to get rid of the extremely painful feeling of envy: develop your own individual inclinations, your own uniqueness in the world around you, be yourself, and you will never be envious. Envy develops primarily where you are a stranger to yourself. Envy develops primarily where you do not distinguish yourself from others. If you are jealous, then you have not found yourself. nine0003

Letter twenty-second. Love to read!

Every person is obliged (I emphasize - obliged) to take care of his intellectual development. This is his duty to the society in which he lives and to himself.

The main (but, of course, not the only) way of one's intellectual development is reading.

Reading should not be random. This is a huge waste of time, and time is the greatest value that cannot be wasted on trifles. One should read according to the program, of course, not strictly following it, moving away from it where additional interests for the reader appear. However, with all the deviations from the original program, it is necessary to draw up a new one for yourself, taking into account the new interests that have appeared. nine0003

Reading, to be effective, must interest the reader. Interest in reading in general or in certain branches of culture must be developed in oneself. Interest can be largely the result of self-education.

Compiling reading programs for yourself is not so easy, and this must be done with the advice of knowledgeable people, with the existing reference books of various types.
The danger of reading is the development (conscious or unconscious) in oneself of a tendency to "diagonal" viewing of texts or to various types of speedy reading methods. nine0003

"Speed ​​reading" creates the appearance of knowledge. It can be allowed only in certain types of professions, being careful not to create in oneself the habit of speed reading, it leads to a disease of attention.

Have you noticed what a great impression those works of literature are that are read in a calm, unhurried and unhurried atmosphere, for example, on vacation or in case of some not very complicated and not distracting illness?

Literature gives us a colossal, vast and profound experience of life. It makes a person intelligent, develops in him not only a sense of beauty, but also understanding - an understanding of life, all its complexities, serves as a guide to other eras and to other peoples, opens the hearts of people before you. In a word, makes you wise. But all this is given only when you read, delving into all the little things. Because the most important thing is often in the little things. And such reading is possible only when you read with pleasure, not because something or another work needs to be read (whether according to the school curriculum or at the behest of fashion and vanity), but because you like it - you felt that the author there is something to say, something to share with you, and he knows how to do it. If you read the work inattentively for the first time, read it again, for the third time. A person should have favorite works, which he refers to repeatedly, which he knows in detail, which he can remind others about in a suitable environment and this either cheer up, then defuse the situation (when irritation accumulates against each other), then laugh, then simply express your attitude to what happened to you or to someone else. nine0106

“Uninterested” but interesting reading is what makes one love literature and broadens one’s horizons.”

"Disinterested" reading was taught to me at school by my literature teacher. I studied in the years when teachers were often forced to be absent from classes - either they were digging trenches near Leningrad, or they had to help some factory, or they were simply sick. Leonid Vladimirovich (that was the name of my literature teacher) often came to class when the other teacher was absent, sat down at the teacher's table at ease and, taking books out of his portfolio, offered us something to read. We already knew how he knew how to read, how he knew how to explain what he read, to laugh with us, to admire something, to be surprised at the art of the writer and to rejoice in the future. So we listened to many places from "War and Peace", "The Captain's Daughter", several stories by Maupassant, an epic about Nightingale Budimirovich, another epic about Dobryn Nikitich, a story about Woe-Misfortune, Krylov's fables, Derzhavin's odes and much, much more. I still love what I listened to when I was a child. And at home, father and mother loved to read in the evenings. They read for themselves, and read some of the places they liked for us. They read Leskov, Mamin-Sibiryak, historical novels - everything that they liked and that we gradually began to like too. nine0003

Know how to read not only for school answers and not only because this or that thing is read by everyone now - it is fashionable. Know how to read with interest and slowly.

Why is TV now partially replacing books? Yes, because the TV makes you slowly watch some kind of program, sit back comfortably so that nothing bothers you, it distracts you from worries, it dictates to you how to watch and what to watch. But try to choose a book according to your taste, take a break from everything in the world for a while, sit comfortably with a book, and you will understand that there are many books that you cannot live without, which are more important and interesting than many programs. I'm not saying stop watching TV. But I say: look with choice. Spend your time on something that is worthy of this waste. Read more and read with the greatest choice. Decide for yourself your choice, in accordance with the role that the book you have chosen has acquired in the history of human culture in order to become a classic. This means that there is something significant in it. Or maybe this essential for the culture of mankind will be essential for you too? nine0003

A classic is one that has stood the test of time. With him you will not lose your time. But the classics cannot answer all the questions of today. Therefore, it is necessary to read modern literature as well. Don't just jump on every trendy book. Don't be vain. Worldliness makes a person recklessly spend the largest and most precious capital that he possesses - his time.

Letter forty. About memory

Memory is one of the most important properties of being, any being: material, spiritual, human…
Sheet of paper. Squeeze it and straighten it. Wrinkles will remain on it, and if you squeeze it a second time, part of the folds will fall along the previous folds: paper "has memory" ... etc.
The most precise special archaeological discipline is based on the memory of wood, which has recently revolutionized archaeological research - where wood is found - dendrochronology ("dendros" in Greek "tree"; dendrochronology - the science of determining the time of a tree) . nine0003

Birds have the most complex forms of tribal memory, allowing new generations of birds to fly in the right direction to the right place. In explaining these flights, it is not enough to study only the "navigational techniques and methods" used by birds. Most importantly, the memory that makes them look for winter quarters and summer quarters is always the same.

And what can we say about "genetic memory" - a memory laid down in centuries, a memory passing from one generation of living beings to the next. nine0106 At the same time, memory is not at all mechanical. This is the most important creative process: it is the process and the creative process. What is needed is remembered; good experience is accumulated through memory, a tradition is formed, household habits, family habits, work habits, social institutions are created…

“Memory resists the destructive power of time.
This property of memory is extremely important.”

It is customary to primitively divide time into past, present and future. But thanks to memory, the past enters into the present, and the future is, as it were, foreseen by the present united with the past. nine0003

Memory - overcoming time, overcoming death.
This is the greatest moral significance of memory. "Forgetful" is, first of all, an ungrateful, irresponsible person, and, consequently, incapable of good, disinterested deeds.

Irresponsibility is born from the lack of consciousness that nothing passes without a trace. A person who commits an unkind deed thinks that this deed will not be preserved in his personal memory and in the memory of those around him. He himself, obviously, is not used to preserving the memory of the past, feeling gratitude to his ancestors, to their work, their cares, and therefore he thinks that everything will be forgotten about him. nine0003

Conscience is basically memory, to which is attached a moral assessment of what has been done. But if the perfect is not stored in memory, then there can be no evaluation. Without memory there is no conscience.

That is why it is so important to be brought up in a moral climate of memory: family memory, national memory, cultural memory. Family photos are one of the most important "visual aids" for the moral education of children, and adults as well. Respect for the work of our ancestors, for their labor traditions, for their tools, for their customs, for their songs and entertainment. All this is precious to us. Yes, and just respect for the graves of ancestors. Remember Pushkin:

Two feelings are wonderfully close to us -
In them the heart finds food -
Love for the native ashes,
Love for the father's coffins.
Life-giving shrine!
The Earth would be dead without them .

Pushkin's poetry is wise. Every word in his poems requires reflection. Our consciousness cannot immediately get used to the idea that the earth would be dead without love for the coffins of the fathers, without love for the native ashes. Two symbols of death and suddenly - a "life-giving shrine"! Too often we remain indifferent or even almost hostile to the disappearing cemeteries and ashes - the two sources of our not too wise gloomy thoughts and superficially heavy moods. Just as a person’s personal memory is shaped by his conscience, his conscientious attitude towards his personal ancestors and relatives — relatives and friends, old friends, that is, the most faithful, with whom he is connected by common memories — so the historical memory of a people forms a moral climate in which people live. Perhaps one could think about whether to build morality on something else: completely ignore the past with its sometimes mistakes and painful memories and be directed entirely to the future, build this future on "reasonable grounds" in themselves, forget about the past with its dark and light sides. nine0003

This is not only unnecessary, but also impossible. The memory of the past is primarily "bright" (Pushkin's expression), poetic. She educates aesthetically.
Human culture as a whole not only has memory, but it is memory par excellence. The culture of mankind is the active memory of mankind, actively introduced into modernity.

In history, every cultural upsurge has been in one way or another connected with an appeal to the past. How many times has humanity, for example, turned to Antiquity? There were at least four major, epochal conversions: under Charlemagne, under the Palaiologos dynasty in Byzantium, during the Renaissance, and again at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th century. And how many "small" conversions of culture to Antiquity were in the same Middle Ages, which for a long time were considered "dark" (the British still talk about the Middle Ages - dark age). Each appeal to the past was "revolutionary", that is, it enriched the present, and each appeal understood this past in its own way, took from the past what it needed to move forward. I am talking about the appeal to Antiquity, but what gave each people an appeal to their own national past? If it was not dictated by nationalism, a narrow desire to isolate itself from other peoples and their cultural experience, it was fruitful, for it enriched, diversified, expanded the culture of the people, its aesthetic susceptibility. After all, every appeal to the old in the new conditions was always new. nine0003

The Carolingian Renaissance in the 6th-7th centuries was not like the Renaissance of the 15th century, the Italian Renaissance is not like the North European. The appeal of the late 18th - early 19th centuries, which arose under the influence of the discoveries in Pompeii and the works of Winckelmann, differs from our understanding of Antiquity, etc.

Post-Petrine Russia also knew several appeals to Ancient Rus'. There were different sides to this appeal. The discovery of Russian architecture and icons at the beginning of the 20th century was largely devoid of narrow nationalism and very fruitful for the new art. nine0003

I would like to demonstrate the aesthetic and moral role of memory using the example of Pushkin's poetry.

For Pushkin, memory plays a huge role in poetry. The poetic role of memories can be traced from Pushkin's childhood, youthful poems, of which the most important is "Memories in Tsarskoe Selo", but in the future the role of memories is very great not only in Pushkin's lyrics, but even in the poem "Eugene Onegin".

When Pushkin needs to introduce a lyrical element, he often resorts to reminiscences. As you know, Pushkin was not in St. Petersburg during the flood of 1824, but nevertheless, in The Bronze Horseman, the flood is colored by recollection:

“There was a terrible time, the memory of it is fresh…”

Pushkin also colors his historical works with a share of personal, ancestral memory. Remember: in "Boris Godunov" his ancestor Pushkin acts, in "Moor of Peter the Great" - also an ancestor, Hannibal.

Memory is the basis of conscience and morality, memory is the basis of culture, the "accumulations" of culture, memory is one of the foundations of poetry - the aesthetic understanding of cultural values. Preserving memory, preserving memory is our moral duty to ourselves and to our descendants. Memory is our wealth. nine0003

Letter forty-six. By ways of kindness

Here is the last letter. There could have been more letters, but it's time to sum up. I'm sorry to stop writing. The reader noticed how the topics of the letters gradually became more complicated. The reader and I walked up the stairs. It could not be otherwise: why write then, if you remain at the same level, without gradually ascending the steps of experience - moral and aesthetic experience. Life requires complications.

Perhaps the reader has formed an idea of ​​the author of the letters as an arrogant person who tries to teach everyone and everything. This is not entirely true. In letters, I not only "taught", but also studied. I was able to teach precisely because I was learning at the same time: I was learning from my experience, which I was trying to generalize. A lot came to my mind as I wrote. I not only stated my experience - I also comprehended my experience. My letters are instructive, but in instructing, I was instructed myself. The reader and I have climbed the steps of experience together, not just my experience, but the experience of many people. The readers themselves helped me write letters - they talked to me inaudibly. nine0003

“In life you have to have your own service — service to some cause. Let this thing be small, it will become big if you are faithful to it.

What is the most important thing in life? The main thing can be in shades for everyone their own, unique. But still, the main thing should be for every person. Life should not crumble into trifles, dissolve in everyday worries.
And one more thing, the most important thing: the main thing, no matter how individual it may be for each person, should be kind and significant. nine0003

A person should be able not only to rise, but to rise above himself, above his personal daily worries and think about the meaning of his life - look back at the past and look into the future.

If you live only for yourself, with your petty concerns about your own well-being, then there will be no trace of what you have lived. If you live for others, then others will save what they served, what they gave strength to.

Has the reader noticed that everything bad and petty in life is quickly forgotten. People are still vexed with a bad and selfish person, with the bad things he has done, but the person himself is no longer remembered, he has been erased in memory. People who do not care about anyone seem to fall out of memory. nine0003

People who served others, served intelligently, had a good and significant purpose in life, are remembered for a long time. They remember their words, deeds, their appearance, their jokes, and sometimes eccentricities. They are told about them. Much less often and, of course, with an unkind feeling, they talk about evil people.

In life, the most valuable thing is kindness, and at the same time kindness is smart, purposeful. Clever kindness is the most valuable thing in a person, the most conducive to him, and the most ultimately true along the path to personal happiness.

Happiness is achieved by those who strive to make others happy and are able to forget about their interests, about themselves, at least for a while. This is the "unchangeable ruble". nine0106 Knowing this, always remembering this and following the path of kindness is very, very important. Believe me!

Children's literature, Moscow, 1989

Documentary film "Dmitry Likhachev era told by himself"

Russia, 2000
Authors: Bella Kurkova, Viktor Pravdyuk
9000 9000 Documentary One in one in one in one warrior field. Academician Likhachev”