One year has passed.

Simple realisation, but a truly meaningful one. The simple fact that I acknowledge it, means, first and foremost, that I am still breathing. Not that I ever felt or am at risk of anything, but the future is a closed box for everyone and so one never knows what is coming round the bend… thus anniversaries are for me always an occasion for introspection and for admitting the fleeting nature of all we  appreciate, study, write, read, see, love, because we ourselves are but shooting stars that shine bright for a while and then are gone.

I started this blog with an interest in stamps rekindled by surfing on the internet and discovering that in spite of email, there are still those that like to inspect their letterboxes daily in the hope that someone, somewhere might have sent him or her  an envelope graced with what is now an obscure object of desire: a stamp.

And I think I can say I was well succeeded. Making good use of the opportunities that technology provides us with, I came to the right places, met the right people and have now gathered  a very interesting collection of postal items that over the year have given me countless moments of happiness and what’s more, have decidedly contributed to enrich my general knowledge about the world we live in.

An this, for me, is the greatest benefit I can take from this rather pleasurable activity. Each and every cover or postcard I received in the past year has made me search for information on the whos, hows and whys of each stamp used to mail them to me. 

And I’ve learned a lot.

Some of a more pragmatical bend would say, “well, what good is that for? Who cares about a special purpose excavator in the alps, a Russian second world war pilot, an endangered coleopter, or an underground station?

Well, knowledge fosters understanding. Every bit of it, I solemnly believe. And stamps are knowledge spreaders, so they must also be vectors of understanding. 

Understanding is a competence that is inherent to our species. The problem is that we are able to rationally cancel it, leaving it in a dormant state while we actively promote other not so positively oriented competences of our amazing catalogue of competences and skills…

Knowledge helps counteract this. Knowledge fosters empathy. Learning about the other is fundamental to understand  our differences, the more so since they are all of cultural nature, given that we are all one single race, the single species of a genus.

One year past the starting day and I have received mail from almost 50 different countries, so I’ve investigated topics that are relevant to at least 50 different nationalities. How could I not be richer for this? How could this not be a relevant contribution to my everyday praxis as a human being? 

Now that a year has gone past, I can only say that I'm looking forward to the next year of covers and postcards in my mailbox, and I take this opportunity to again thank all of you who have sent me the lovely items  this blog is built upon. Without you, it woud all be empty pages...

Ah, and last but not least….

Thank you Mr. Postman!