The Well-Appointed Desk

I also believe the quiet, meditative aspects of writing are lost on this generation. At one time the practice of forming letters beautifully was a useful and calming way to spend time and energy. It was the way my mother kept me still and content during long sermons at church.  She would give me a page on which she had written the alphabet and allow me to copy it over and over — nice memory.  In fact, there is a written meditation practice called Japa that is merely the written repetition of a particular word or symbol page after page.

From an article entitled Is The Pen Mightier Than the Keyboard by Ross McClain, Associate Professor of Art at Furman University.