--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Time, designing slowly, swiftly; Time…" description: "\"Time, designing slowly, swiftly; Time, destroying slowly, swiftly; Time holding, possessing the earth in its tender indifference.\" — Martha Ostenso" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18a/martha-ostenso-23577_clock_time-designing-slowly-swiftly-time-destr_2810708.jpg" --- # Time, designing slowly, swiftly; Time, destroying slowly… ![“Time, designing slowly, swiftly; Time, destroying slowly, swiftly; Time holding, possessing the earth in its tender indifference.” quote by Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18a/martha-ostenso-23577_clock_time-designing-slowly-swiftly-time-destr_2810708.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18a/martha-ostenso-23577_clock_time-designing-slowly-swiftly-time-destr_2810708.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18a/martha-ostenso-23577_clock_time-designing-slowly-swiftly-time-destr_2810708.jpg) > “Time, designing slowly, swiftly; Time, destroying slowly, swiftly; Time holding, possessing the earth in its tender indifference.” [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Time can be both gentle and relentless, shaping and eroding everything with indifferent force. **In simple terms:** Time is powerful and indifferent. Key Takeaway Respect time’s influence. Themes philosophy time impermanence Mood contemplative melancholic Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - philosophical essay Key Concepts existentialism entropy human condition Questions to Reflect On - How do you experience time’s gentle vs. destructive aspects? - Can we influence time’s impact? A Different Perspective Time’s dual nature may oversimplify complex processes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Designing Slowly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/designing-slowly-3517293/) [Destroying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying/) [Destroying Slowly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying-slowly-3517291/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Possessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possessing/) [Tender Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tender-indifference-3517292/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Holding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-holding-1659561/) ## Related quotes > [“He left me millions of time, but I am holding him with every breath with same madness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seema-gupta/he-left-me-millions-of-time-but-i-am-holding-him-with-every-breath/) [Seema Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seema-gupta/) > [“Because this time he's holding my hand and not letting go. And I'm not letting go either.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-greenwald/because-this-time-he-s-holding-my-hand-and-not-letting-go-and-i-m-not/) [Lisa Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-greenwald/) > [...the incontestable truth is that America has been built up by optimists, not by pessimists, but by men possessing courage, confidence in the nation's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/the-incontestable-truth-is-that-america-has-been-built-up-by/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [The Present, the Present is all thou hast For thy sure possessing; Like the patriarch's angel hold it fast Till it gives its blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/the-present-the-present-is-all-thou-hast-for-thy-sure-possessing-like/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [Surrounded by all the members of my dear family, enjoying the affection of numerous friends, who have never abandoned me, and possessing a sufficient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-james-audubon/surrounded-by-all-the-members-of-my-dear-family-enjoying-the/) [John James Audubon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-james-audubon/) > [The main consideration with those who, possessing some capital, propose to emigrate as the means of improving their condition, is, the society likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sturt/the-main-consideration-with-those-who-possessing-some-capital-propose/) [Charles Sturt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sturt/) > [The central problem of management is how spontaneous interaction of people within a firm, each possessing only bits of knowledge, can bring about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/the-central-problem-of-management-is-how-spontaneous-interaction-of/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [Loud speech, profusion of words, and possessing skillfulness in expounding scriptures are merely for the enjoyment of the learned. They do not lead to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adi-shankara/loud-speech-profusion-of-words-and-possessing-skillfulness-in/) [Adi Shankara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adi-shankara/) > [Everybody is different and I think that we live in a material world. But for me, possessing things is not that interesting. Living in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-berggruen/everybody-is-different-and-i-think-that-we-live-in-a-material-world/) [Nicolas Berggruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-berggruen/) > [Thirty or forty proprietors, with incomes answering to between one thousand and five thousand a year, would create a much more effectual demand for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/thirty-or-forty-proprietors-with-incomes-answering-to-between-one/) [Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/) > [“no one worth knowing can be quite known, no one worth possessing can be quite possessed—but”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-landay/no-one-worth-knowing-can-be-quite-known-no-one-worth-possessing-can/) [William Landay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-landay/) > [Perhaps we will one day be able at least to admit of a God possessing sufficient majesty and expansiveness to transcend the limits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-tattersall/perhaps-we-will-one-day-be-able-at-least-to-admit-of-a-god-possessing/) [Ian Tattersall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-tattersall/) > [It is evident that the right of acquiring and possessing property, and having it protected, is one of the natural, inherent, and unalienable rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-paterson/it-is-evident-that-the-right-of-acquiring-and-possessing-property-and/) [William Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-paterson/) > [Destitute of the fire of God, nothing else counts; possessing fire, nothing else matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-chadwick/destitute-of-the-fire-of-god-nothing-else-counts-possessing-fire/) [Samuel Chadwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-chadwick/) > [Those who know New York City primarily through tourism or mass culture may think of us natives as possessing certain shared characteristics, not all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dee/those-who-know-new-york-city-primarily-through-tourism-or-mass/) [Jonathan Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dee/) ## More by Martha Ostenso > [The lush green of the fields became a rich gold that swayed sturdily under the wind and fell at last before the hands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/the-lush-green-of-the-fields-became-a-rich-gold-that-swayed-sturdily/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [Time passed so much more slowly than space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/time-passed-so-much-more-slowly-than-space/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [Listen - man is a child of Nature. When he turns against his mother - he's done! He may not find out about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/listen-man-is-a-child-of-nature-when-he-turns-against-his-mother-he-s/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [There is too much doing - too little being! When we begin to get strenuous, life begins to grow intolerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/there-is-too-much-doing-too-little-being-when-we-begin-to-get/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [There was nothing so real on the prairie as winter, nothing so memorable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/there-was-nothing-so-real-on-the-prairie-as-winter-nothing-so/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [“Work did not destroy the loneliness; work was only a fog in which they moved so that they might not see the loneliness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/work-did-not-destroy-the-loneliness-work-was-only-a-fog-in-which-they/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [It's remarkable - most remarkable, the way these people manage, from time to time, a tragedy or a near-tragedy to break the even tenor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/it-s-remarkable-most-remarkable-the-way-these-people-manage-from-time/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [once a man had thrust his hands into the soil and knew the grit of it between his teeth, he felt something rise within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/once-a-man-had-thrust-his-hands-into-the-soil-and-knew-the-grit-of-it/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [Religion is passionate, reckless, destructive, idol-smashing. It's a martyr burning at the stake. It's a crown of thorns and a cross.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/religion-is-passionate-reckless-destructive-idol-smashing-it-s-a/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [a man can break God's laws and be forgiven. That's what they teach us. But when he breaks Nature's laws, there's no forgiveness -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/a-man-can-break-god-s-laws-and-be-forgiven-that-s-what-they-teach-us/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [Here and there on the branch of an oak a congress of leaves still clung, rigid as flakes of bronze.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/here-and-there-on-the-branch-of-an-oak-a-congress-of-leaves-still/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [You have stirred the soil with your plow, my friend. It will never be the same again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/you-have-stirred-the-soil-with-your-plow-my-friend-it-will-never-be/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [Growing old was simply a process of drawing closer to that ultimate independence called death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/growing-old-was-simply-a-process-of-drawing-closer-to-that-ultimate/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [God, what pathetic creatures had inherited the earth, to walk a little while with their eyes upon the stars and turn their gaze too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/god-what-pathetic-creatures-had-inherited-the-earth-to-walk-a-little/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [Ah, life, life, how madly, how cruelly it raced along your pulses!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/ah-life-life-how-madly-how-cruelly-it-raced-along-your-pulses/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) [Explore all 25 Martha Ostenso quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) ## More Clock quotes > [Even Einstein had to rely for his time on his clock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/even-einstein-had-to-rely-for-his-time-on-his-clock/) [Stanislaw Jerzy Lec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/) > [“Time was never neutral and often felt dangerous. We either think we have all the time in the world or time moves too fast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-reay/time-was-never-neutral-and-often-felt-dangerous-we-either-think-we/) [Katherine Reay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-reay/) > [Before a clock was in the tower, Or e'er a watch was worn; I knew of night the passing hour, And prophesied the morn;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/before-a-clock-was-in-the-tower-or-e-er-a-watch-was-worn-i-knew-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A clock struck out the hour of twelve, and the bird in the hedgerow was still singing as we marched out to the roadway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macgill/a-clock-struck-out-the-hour-of-twelve-and-the-bird-in-the-hedgerow/) [Patrick MacGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macgill/) > [“Time is, to put it in its most impressive and some might say poncy-sounding form, my domain. I can see things that once happened,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-rayner/time-is-to-put-it-in-its-most-impressive-and-some-might-say-poncy/) [Jacqueline Rayner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-rayner/) > [Time travel offends our sense of cause and effect - but maybe the universe doesn't insist on cause and effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-m-lerner/time-travel-offends-our-sense-of-cause-and-effect-but-maybe-the/) [Edward M. Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-m-lerner/) > [My only aim is to clock a time that everyone remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hima-das/my-only-aim-is-to-clock-a-time-that-everyone-remembers/) [Hima Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hima-das/) > [Time.The greatest creator, and the worst destroyer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/levi-keely/time-the-greatest-creator-and-the-worst-destroyer/) [Levi Keely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/levi-keely/) > [Steven Spielberg seems to have wanted to be a director from 13. He put his dog in a certain position and made him eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-brooks/steven-spielberg-seems-to-have-wanted-to-be-a-director-from-13-he-put/) [Albert Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-brooks/) > [No life goes past so swiftly as an eventless one, no clock spins like a clock whose days are all alike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/no-life-goes-past-so-swiftly-as-an-eventless-one-no-clock-spins-like/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Those who stop marketing to save money are like those who stop a clock to save time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/those-who-stop-marketing-to-save-money-are-like-those-who-stop-a/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [Time is the nervous system of narration, whether factual or fictive. If it gets confused some of the minutiae of human nature are certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenway-wescott/time-is-the-nervous-system-of-narration-whether-factual-or-fictive-if/) [Glenway Wescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenway-wescott/) > [I don't know if it's just me or everyone, but the whole vibe with skiing is not so much thriving on competition against others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/picabo-street/i-don-t-know-if-it-s-just-me-or-everyone-but-the-whole-vibe-with/) [Picabo Street](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/picabo-street/) > [Time goes on, even when yer not looking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/time-goes-on-even-when-yer-not-looking/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [CLOCK, n. A machine of great moral value to man, allaying his concern for the future by reminding him what a lot of time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/clock-n-a-machine-of-great-moral-value-to-man-allaying-his-concern/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) [Browse all 2,738 Clock quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Time, designing slowly, swiftly; Time, destroying slowly, swiftly; Time holding, possessing the earth in its tender indifference.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martha Ostenso" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/time-designing-slowly-swiftly-time-destroying-slowly-swiftly-time/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Clock" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/time-designing-slowly-swiftly-time-destroying-slowly-swiftly-time/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18a/martha-ostenso-23577_clock_time-designing-slowly-swiftly-time-destr_2810708.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18a/martha-ostenso-23577_clock_time-designing-slowly-swiftly-time-destr_2810708.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18a/martha-ostenso-23577_clock_time-designing-slowly-swiftly-time-destr_2810708.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Time, designing slowly, swiftly; Time, destroying slowly, swiftly; Time holding, possessing the earth in its…” — Martha Ostenso", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Martha Ostenso", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Time, designing slowly, swiftly; Time, destroying...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/time-designing-slowly-swiftly-time-destroying-slowly-swiftly-time/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/time-designing-slowly-swiftly-time-destroying-slowly-swiftly-time/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```