What Makes the Hours Pass like Minutes?

Returning to your sense of wonder, magic & flow

Dear Friend,

I toss off my sandals and start to run… “Slow down,” calls my mother. But it’s hard to wait. I want the ocean water to splash over my toes, to watch it rush back into its depths as my feet sink into the sand. I want to search for sparkling mussels and clam shells, to breathe in the salty air all around me. Soon my father is beside me, and hand in hand we walk toward the waves.

Every time I return to the ocean, I feel that same anticipation I knew as a child—the pull to run to her, to splash in the waves, to breathe in the familiar salt air. When I was growing up, my grandparents lived in a beach town six hours away from my small, landlocked hometown. Our summer pilgrimages to see them are forever tied to the feeling of arriving home.

My ocean time took me to Asbury Park, NJ, where local artists are supported and celebrated–so much inspiring sea art!

Carl Jung once asked, “What did you do as a child that made the hours pass like minutes? Herein lies the key to your earthly pursuits.” His words feel so alive for me. Though I only make it to the ocean once or twice a year now, what I can do every day is return to the kind of imaginative play I loved as a child.

Back then, the ocean was the home of mermaids in the stories I created—but so was the swimming pool, the bathtub, or the endless seas of my imagination.

Expressive writing can help us reconnect with that childhood passion—those sensory experiences and moments of curiosity that lit us up. Whether or not you loved storytelling as a child doesn’t matter. Through today’s prompt, you can return to your own ocean, your own magical places and activities.

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If you have a friend who might appreciate creative prompts & spiritual practices, invite them to join us! Everyone welcome.

Writing Practice: Set aside 5-7 minutes for this practice. Write in a journal or open a ‘Journey with The Season’ document where you can return each Sunday.

Prompt: What did you do as a child that made the hours pass like minutes?
Sit with this question and list whatever bubbles up—from early childhood through adolescence. What made you lose track of time?

Choose one of those activities and write about how it felt in your body. Try writing in first person, present tense. What memories come back? Where were you? Were you alone or with others? How often did you do this special thing?

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Spiritual Practice for the week ahead: Make space to return to your passion, whether through writing about it more or inviting it into your life now. It doesn’t have to be formal—if you loved dancing as a child, take dance breaks during the week and notice how your energy shifts, or go out dancing. There are so many ways to fill our days with the activities we once loved but felt we had to leave behind as we grew older.

Nurturing your creative life not only brings joy to you—it transforms the energy of everyone you meet. And during the challenging times we’re living in, when it’s easy to succumb to despair, claiming joy and imagination is a vital act of resistance.

Wishing you a week full of imagination and magic! Love, Gabrielle Ariella

Sunrise and the hour after is my favorite time to be with the ocean

PS: If you’re an ocean-lover, too, check out 11 Ridiculously Beautiful Ocean Poems. I found some really good new ones!