When we write to someone, we organize our thoughts, we soften our analysis, we engage in "political correctness" or diplomacy. At best! And at worst, we are hypocrites or liars.
Writing to oneself has something liberating about it in terms of Truth. You can say anything, say it all to YOURSELF, write everything, without filter.
It's a fantastic opportunity to move from thought to writing, and then from writing to awareness.
Writing to yourself is becoming aware
Putting words down is anchoring an idea, a reflection. What is set down takes shape and comes alive. As I write these words you are reading, I am also developing and building. The dialogue with my mind makes my pen move or my fingers dance on a keyboard. I cross things out, I delete certain characters when rereading.
In short, I'm trying to convince you. ```
And this is the moment when the 21st century and its wave of technological advances takes over. You can speak, show, let your body and emotions speak, and capture them in images. You can let your non-verbal language express itself.
The time capsule is not a novelty in itself. What is new is the possibility of being even more direct and sincere than in writing:
- saying without translating
- showing without (self-)hiding
- exposing yourself without showing yourself
- daring the truth without being judged
This is the core of the project: managing to speak to yourself. Letting time pass. Looking at and listening to yourself as you were at a given period or moment of your life.
Anyway, you'll have nothing else to do when you receive your time capsule: you're going to listen to yourself because you won't be able to resist!
The long term, against the tide of the instant
And all of this over a long time. The era of the instant will be turned on its head. You are here on the antithesis of the usual social networks.
Welcome to SlowChat and Longagram, the opposites of Snapchat and Instagram.
You'll naturally tend to want to send yourself a capsule "not too far in the future", because you'll be eager to relive the recorded moment or eager to feel the new emotion generated by watching that younger "You".
You must resist.
Try as much as possible to aim for the long term. The power of the message and the force of the surprise will only be more intense.
What if your image bothers you?
You may be among those who struggle to perceive their own image. In that case, you can always opt for a voice capsule rather than a video one. Intonation, pauses, searches for words, tremolos can say just as much as a facial expression.
Try, be honest and frank. No one but you will ever (re)watch or hear this moment.
If you stay open and free yourself from your cultural or social mask, it is very likely that this capsule will arrive at the very moment when it needs to be heard.