life in motion

How often do you think about slowing time? I think about it a lot. Probably three to four times a year I actually google, ways to slow time, looking for tricks I can use to make time appear to slow down or stand still. Do you ever wonder if it is something we can control? 

One of my favorite books is Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman. It is a beautifully written book on the meditations of time through fictional tales of what Einstein may have been dreaming as he developed his Theory of Relativity. The pages are filled with poetic passages which make you question the very essence of time and our relationship to it. Each chapter takes a different look at time's possibility. Listen to a few. 

If time stood still.
If time were a visible dimension.
If time were not a quantity but a quality.
If time passed fitfully.
If time were a sense.
If events are triggered by other events, not by time.
If one memory becomes your life. 

What I am seeking in my relationship to time is to find a way to stop the feeling that life is just rushing by in a blur. I want to find a way to make moments really sink in and stand out. Make memories deep and ingrain them in me. That way, when I look back on the week, I don't think another week just went by. I will be able to recall and mark time passing by individual moments. The warm sun fading at the beach as all four girls made capes from their towels and ran into the wind. The squeak of her sippy cup as she slipped into cuddle and drink her milk in the still dark morning. The feeling when the final stroke completed the painting. 

Recently I offered a prescription to see. I've got another one.


Tips for Slowing Time. 

• stare at the horizon, a moving bank of clouds, or the wind.

• observe the angle of the sun on your rug or wood floor. stay long enough to watch it move.

• anticipate.

• sit down to enjoy a conversation with someone. ask questions, then really listen. 

• stand at the edge of the sea.

• find a cozy spot in your home to lounge. look around at things from a new angle, find ease.

• walk out into the night, notice the luminescence. 

• travel.

• inhale deeply, while you kiss your child. my dad did this with us until the day he passed away. he was literally taking us in. 

• watch children play.

• scour music and find your song of the season. put it on repeat until it becomes that time period. return to it when needed.

• arrive early, then just sit and observe things around you.

• take a walk somewhere you have never been.

• have an impromptu dance party.

• make a bonfire. 

• take dinner outside. set a beautiful table and watch the evening fade into night.


Do you do this, try and slow time? What seems to slow it for you? I'd love to know!