My spouse said yes before hearing all the details.
My spouse works for a large organization, and a colleague there volunteers with CASA of the Fox Cities, a nonprofit in Appleton, Wisconsin. CASA volunteers speak up for kids in the foster care system, and this colleague had organized something simple and generous: coworkers would each write six encouragement cards for foster children in Wisconsin.
My spouse loves exactly this kind of project — small enough to finish in an evening, meaningful enough to matter for years. It also gave them a reason to open ZendLove, the greeting card app I built: every design handmade by an artist somewhere around the world, ready to personalize with your own message and send by text in seconds. This time, they used it in a way I never designed for.
The only information CASA shared was an age range: 12 to 16. Everything else — names, genders, circumstances — stayed private, as it should. So my spouse sat down with their iPhone and started scrolling through ZendLove card designs, looking for ones that might make sense for six kids they'd never meet.
I watched the whole project take shape over the next few evenings, and what struck me most was watching ZendLove get used for something I'd never planned for: printing cards for foster kids.
ZendLove brings the art. You bring the words.
For each of the six cards, my spouse paired a message — the research, the thinkers, the exact phrasing, revised until each line held for a 12-year-old and a 16-year-old at once — with a design from ZendLove's collections that carried the same feeling. An astronaut drifting among planets for the card about belonging in the universe. Someone dancing with a tambourine for the one about being wonderful as you are.
That's the whole idea behind ZendLove. Every card design is handmade by a working artist somewhere in the world, and you personalize it with your own words. The artist does the part most of us can't: create beautiful art. You do the part only you can: write the message.
What do you write to someone you know nothing about?
You write something true for anyone.
Three things mattered more than anything: it had to be true, it couldn't talk down to the kids reading it, and it had to be universal enough to spark curiosity rather than just offer comfort.
That narrow lane is what led my spouse to philosophers and scientists whose ideas have outlasted them by centuries — Lao Tzu and Socrates alongside Carl Sagan and Spinoza. Those ideas hold up precisely because they were never written for one specific person; they work for anyone, anywhere, at any age. A physicist tracing every atom in us back to exploding stars, a philosopher arguing that softness can outlast force — none of them ever met these six kids in Wisconsin, and that's exactly the point.
Six foster kids in Wisconsin got beautiful, handmade cards from artists around the world, carrying a message meant to inspire curiosity.
The six cards
My spouse wrote these messages, and each philosopher's own words are worth sitting with a while longer.
1. You're wonderful as you are
You don't have to do anything special to be special.
Just being you is already amazing.
You matter. You belong.
Inspired by: Alan Watts. "The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance." Watts believed life isn't a race to win — it's more like a dance you're already part of.
2. Every Day Is a New Chance
You get to decide who you want to be.
Each day is a fresh page in your story.
You are the author.
Inspired by: Jean-Paul Sartre. "Freedom is what we do with what is done to us." Sartre believed that no matter what life hands you, you always keep the power to choose who you become.
3. Big Feelings Are OK
It's okay to feel sad, angry, or scared.
All your feelings are part of being human.
They're not bad, they're real. And you're not alone.
Inspired by: Buddhist wisdom. "Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor." — Thich Nhat Hanh. Noticing a feeling without judging it is, in itself, a kind of peace.
4. Strength Can Be Quiet
You don't have to be loud to be strong.
Being kind is brave. Being gentle is powerful.
You're stronger than you know.
Inspired by: Lao Tzu. "Nothing in the world is as soft and yielding as water. Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, nothing can surpass it." — Tao Te Ching. Softness, Lao Tzu taught, can outlast force.
5. You Belong in This Universe
There's only one you in all of space and time.
Out of everything in the universe, you are here right now.
That's kind of awesome.
Inspired by: Carl Sagan and Spinoza. "We are made of star stuff." — Carl Sagan. Sagan traced every atom in us back to the stars; Spinoza saw that same universe as something we belong to completely.
6. You Are a One-of-a-Kind Thinker
No one else sees the world quite like you.
Your questions, dreams, and ideas matter.
Keep wondering. Keep imagining.
Inspired by: Socrates. "Wisdom begins in wonder." Socrates believed that asking questions — even simple ones — is where every great discovery starts.
Send it in a second, or hold it in your hand
Most ZendLove cards leave right from the app on an iPhone — pick a card, add your personal message, tap Share, and it's gone, arriving from you rather than from an app. It's also good for the environment: a digital card leaves a fraction of the carbon footprint of a mailed paper one.
These six kids in Wisconsin couldn't be reached that way. So my spouse used the other half of the app: you can save any ZendLove card to Apple Photos at full resolution, then print it on cardstock and fold it into an envelope. Artist's illustration on the front. Message waiting inside.
Six envelopes went back to the colleague, who carried them to CASA, who got them to the kids. Send it in a second, or hold it in your hand — the artwork and the words work either way.
What happened after
The colleague who organized the project happens to be a foster parent to two kids. My spouse's colleague saw the six cards and said they were perfect, so my spouse printed two more, one for each of them.
They printed one for me, too. "Big Feelings Are OK" sits on my desk. Sometimes I need to be reminded, even a grown-up like me. I look at it more often than I expected to.
And there's a hope behind all of it that never made it onto any card: that somewhere in Wisconsin, a 14-year-old reads Inspired by: Socrates, gets curious, and starts asking questions on purpose.
Make your own
This format travels well to any of the hundreds of CASA chapters across the country:
- Three or four lines. Short enough to read in one breath, and memorable enough to inspire a feeling.
- Find the design in ZendLove and personalize it. Match the artwork to the feeling of your words.
- Send it digitally if you can. Instant, and it arrives from you, not an app. The recipient's contact info stays private — never shared with anyone.
- Print it if you want. Save to Photos, print on cardstock, fold, and mail it.
Questions you might have
What do you write in a card for a foster child?
Something true for anyone. Skip the child's situation, history, or feelings — you almost never know them, and guessing wrong is worse than staying general. Short, direct messages about belonging, choice, and curiosity work across the whole 12-to-16 range. The six above are free to copy.
Does ZendLove write the message for you?
No. ZendLove supplies the card — handmade artwork from artists around the world — and you write and personalize the message yourself. The six philosophy-inspired messages here were written by my spouse, then added to ZendLove designs chosen to match them.
Can you print a ZendLove card instead of sending it?
Yes. You can save any card to your Apple Photos at full resolution, then print it, fold it, and mail it. Sending digitally is faster, but saving and printing is there when the person you're writing to can't be reached any other way.
Can I reuse these messages for my own project?
Yes. They were written to be shared with other CASA chapters and volunteer groups. Use them as written, or adapt them.
Is ZendLove free?
You can send three cards a month free. A premium subscription unlocks unlimited sending, and that revenue goes to the artists who make the artwork. That story is here.
If you've been meaning to send someone something, ZendLove is free on the App Store. Pick an artist's card. Write the part only you can write.
Aldo
