Writing Prompts To Help Slow Time Down
(Or At Least To Help Mine More Riches From Each Passing Moment)
August is quickly rolling by. Summer is rapidly jettisoning into Autumn. The year 2024, with both its propitious and bleaker aspects, is almost 3/4 complete. Where has time gone? And how ought we to make the most of each passing day?
The sky is certainly the limit for ways to make each day more exciting and meaningful. Spiritual traditions offer countless insights on how to connect to what is sacred and numinous at the heart of things, quickly breaking through the flux of things to the timeless. How great that we also have writing to help us slow down and sharpen the saw. What are some possible writing prompts to help us slow down time?
Considering the Value of a Second
I’ve always been so awed by the simple fact that one second contains one billion nanoseconds. Again, try to comprehend that one billion nanoseconds are in one second. Light can travel one meter in approximately 3.35 nanoseconds, so clearly much happens in the universe at these near-infinitesimal time scales.
One writing exercise is to ponder the unlimited value of a second. If a billion nanoseconds are passing within each passing second, what does this say about the nature of time? How little of the Cosmos do humans actually glimpse? In this exercise, try to imagine things from this ultra-small unit of time(to the extent this is possible). Surely, if you can capture at least just a few nanoseconds in one second then time may start to slow down.
Some possible starting points include the following questions:
Might any creatures perceive nanoseconds more acutely than humans? What might their experience be like?
Do any events in history reveal the value of a few nanoseconds?
Finding the Constants Amidst Time’s Flux
“The more things change, the more they stay the same” the classic adage goes. Why not a writing exercise to consider what things remain constant among the universe’s continuous flux? Try to ponder underlying patterns or laws that flourish amid time’s progression. Are there such patterns that keep emerging in human affairs past and present? What about lessons that can be gleaned from today’s events and how they relate to yesteryear?
When we reach deeper insights about these constants, we might discover how we are not too far from those times that have gone before. Additionally, we are much closer to those who have gone before than we realize. Our journeys are so much in sync with the paths previous persons have trod.
Some possible points for further pondering:
How do today’s global political and social events mirror what happened fifty years ago or a century ago? How about even further back?
What are some constants that dance in he background of life’s passing by in each human life? How have you experienced these?
Goals For Working to Slow Down Time(To the Point Possible)
While we are taking the time to smell the roses and commit to writing exercises working to savor the unlimited riches in each passing minute, why not use this time to write down some “time-savoring” goals? What small yet significant goals might you set to help you get more out of each moment and “slow down time?” Maybe you want to take time away from your super-speed smart devices regularly. Perhaps you can take up a new hobby that requires extensive time, awareness, and slowness such as cooking meals from scratch or hiking. Making your list is itself a great exercise in making greater use of each moment.
Some additional starting points:
What hobbies might help you better embrace slowness and savor the present?
Should you limit some activities that keep you from “slowing down” time? How ought you go about this?
What benefits do you see from building these habits in the short-term? Long-term?
A Final Exercise — Beginning Habits
So, we have explored a few writing exercises that will help you to “slow down time.” We could continue with many more, the sky is the limit. But perhaps a final exercise is simply pushing yourself to make it a regular habit to write about “slowing down time.” Writing is an amazing medium to help you be more fully present in the now while weaving together past experiences. How ought you make these habits part of your writing life? What riches might you mine if you are able to become a “minute whisperer” who can literally slow the flow of time?
