Daily writing prompt

If you could un-invent something, what would it be?

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It would be the speed.

The way everything learned how to rush
before we did.

I don’t wish away phones, or the internet, or the ability to connect.
I just wish we hadn’t trained ourselves
to respond before we reflect,
to react before we understand,
to speak before we listen.

Somewhere along the way,
instant became the standard.

Instant opinions.
Instant outrage.
Instant access to everyone’s thoughts,
whether they were ready to share them or not.

We used to sit with things longer.
Letters took time.
News arrived once a day.

Now everything knocks at once.
And we answer everything
like it’s urgent,
even when it’s not.

If I could un-invent anything,
I’d un-invent the pressure to be immediate.

I’d bring back pauses.
Delays.

Because some thoughts need marinating.
Some truths need quiet.
And some words are better kept
until wisdom catches up.

And maybe—just maybe—
the most radical thing we can do now
is slow down
in a world that forgot how.