I send shine cards. Shine on! is my typical sign off.
Why?
Last week I received a card from a dear friend. She wrote to me after receiving a shine card. My eyes teared as I read her words and experienced the remembering and the reknitting of our connection.
I thanked her. She responded: “Thanks for prompting me. I have sent about a dozen letters since yours. Yours was the first. You inspired me.”
That’s why.
My partner sometimes asks “Why do you send those? They probably won’t write you back.” Or tells me “Those cards are not an efficient way to recruit subscribers.”
That’s not why I send shine cards.
My cards are invitations, not transactions.
The card might get tucked into a drawer. It might get recycled. Or maybe it becomes: “I have sent about a dozen letters…. You inspired me.”
The cards are a tiny breeze across embers, inspiring flames: one note becomes another, one remembrance becomes another. One person feels seen and shines their light on someone else: “I see you.”
The light spreads through postcards, greeting cards, letters, and simple “this is what you mean to me” reminders.
Quiet. Small. This handwritten act won’t solve the world’s problems, but it might brighten one afternoon. It might reconnect one friendship. It might remind one person that they are remembered.
And perhaps that’s how revolutions begin—not all at once, but one small light inspiring another.
Wherever you are in the world, send me your mailing address. I’ll send you some light.
Shine on!
©Pennie Nichols. All Rights Reserved. 2026
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