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How to Stop Time

  1. Tell people you’re really busy, then close the door and putter contentedly.
  2. Play with a dog.
  3. Don’t look at clocks.
  4. Lean back on pillows in a boat on a calm lake.
  5. Turn off all buzzing, beeping, ringing things.
  6. Float down a slow river in an inner tube with pals, passing the snacks back and forth.
  7. Read a completely engrossing book.
  8. Watch a summer parade in a small town.
  9. Ask a family elder to tell you about their earliest memories.
  10. Use a hand-cranked ice cream-maker. Take turns turning.
  11. Stare into a campfire.
  12. Rake leaves the old-fashioned way, letting the sound lull you.
  13. Memorize your favourite poem.
  14. Sit in a rocking chair while holding a sleeping baby.
  15. Re-read that bundle of treasured old letters.
  16. Don’t set the alarm.
  17. Watch your favourite movie from childhood.
  18. Meditate.
  19. Have an outdoor dinner with lanterns in the trees and candles on the table.
  20. Don’t wear a watch.
  21. Sort rocks at the edge of the sea.
  22. Give yourself a private concert of your favourite music and don’t do anything but listen.
  23. Lean back into a sun-warmed stone wall and close your eyes.
  24. Turn the calendars toward the wall.
  25. Daydream while lying in a field of fresh flowers.
  26. Drum with friends outside on the night of the full moon.
  27. Drool through a relaxing massage.
  28. Aim to accomplish only one thing per day.
  29. Create a tiny village with a child, at the edge of a forest or stream, using found objects
  30. Loll in a hot bath with the light out.
  31. Take a road trip across the prairie.
  32. Just play.
  33. Lie in a hammock and watch the stars move on a clear night.
  34. Use sundials to tell time, but only live where it’s always cloudy.
  35. Dance.

7 Comments

  1. Hilma wrote:

    I absolutely love the list. I will look forward to reading more of your blog….after I do a few more things on it:)

    Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at 4:28 pm | Permalink
  2. Great, Hilma. Thanks for letting me know. And in the vein of stopping time, there’s also “Time Managment for Highly Sensitive People,” at https://www.highlysensitivepower.com/2008/08/time-management-for-highly-sensitive-people/

    Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 1:36 pm | Permalink
  3. candy wrote:

    I love this one: Ask a family elder to tell you about their earliest memories.

    Sometimes we forget how rich our elders’ memories are, and how fascinating those stories can be!

    Thursday, November 20, 2008 at 12:04 pm | Permalink
  4. It’s great for anyone to be considered valuable, but I think we often let our elders fade away without giving them the benefit of our reverent attention. Even if all they’ve done is make it through eight decades of life, they’re full of wisdom, even if their wisdom is about what they wish they’d done differently.

    Thursday, November 20, 2008 at 3:13 pm | Permalink
  5. I’d add…have a conversation with a kid. Ya know…it would be lovely to get a tip-a-day like these…

    Wednesday, November 26, 2008 at 11:28 pm | Permalink
  6. hmmm…interesting….

    Friday, November 28, 2008 at 3:03 pm | Permalink
  7. Aggie wrote:

    I can say I’m quite ‘good’ at some of the tips you’re offering here : not looking at clocks and being engrossed in what I do is quite usual to me. You may see that on the 5th comic strip (link above)either drawing or reading and loosing track of time : that’s me (too) all right!

    Thursday, July 9, 2009 at 10:25 am | Permalink

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