What Slow Living Means To Me

It might not be what you think...

Slow living is…

…Noticing the frost on the window in the morning and choosing to sit with it for a few moments.

…Taking an extra slow sip of tea to truly enjoy all the flavors.

…Moving your body as a celebration of your health rather than a punishment.

…Savoring every morsel of food for all its glory.

…Letting go of who you think you should be to embrace who you are.

…Finding spontaneity and adventure in the walk to work by taking a different route, or by going to a new café, or by learning something new.

…Relishing in nature and all the magic it shares with us mere humans.

…Honoring the Earth in everything we do and honoring ourselves along the way.

…Making eye contact and having a conversation face-to-face.

…Aligning your life to your values.

…Taking a bath just because or a nap when you really need it.

…Fulfilling your responsibilities and making space for what you hold most dear while letting go of all the rest of the clutter.

Slow living isn’t about actually living slowly, but to live intentionally. To do a deep dive into yourself and return with what works for you. If you love to be busy, then great, but do it with the right intention. If you love to move slowly, then do it because it feels right deep in your bones.

With today’s hectic world and the belief that to be successful is to be busy, it’s more important than ever to reconnect with the present. We are so disconnected from nature, from the environment, from the world that’s right in front of us staring us in the face. I don’t believe that slow living has to be this impossible lifestyle to reach only for the wealthy, or for someone who has a stay-at-home job, but rather creating space for more ease in your life where you are at this moment.

Let’s say you work in a corporate office and head up a team. You always stay late and don’t know how to ever disconnect from it all. By applying the idea of slow living to your life, maybe you get home 30 minutes earlier one night a week, pour a glass of your favorite wine, set your phone in the living room, and go take a bath. I promise it will all still be there when you return. The company will not burn to the ground while you take a half-hour break. In fact, when you wake up refreshed and ready for work the next morning, you’re actually doing everyone else a favor by bringing your best self to the table. In turn, it inspires them to do the same.

Or, maybe you’re a mom of three kids under the age of five. You feel like you give everything to everyone else and you don’t have any time for yourself. Consider saving up for a babysitter one night a week to have a date night with your partner or friends. Go out and enjoy being around other adults for a little while. Feel like yourself, not just a mom, so that when you return to that duty of being a mom your own emotional tank can be full. And, if that feels like too much, try just waking up a little earlier than the kids to enjoy a cup of coffee on the porch before the chaos begins.

There are all kinds of things, big and small, that can introduce you to a slower, more sustainable life. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. You don’t have to move to a farm in Vermont and live off the land to grasp the art of slow living. To me, true slow living is giving yourself space in whatever life you lead now to embrace a bit more joy, a bit more contentedness, and a bit more happiness in exactly as things are.

Slow living for me has changed drastically since having a baby 16 months ago. In some ways, I’ve leaned much more into the concept and in others, I’ve left it entirely. For example, right now I’m writing this while my daughter takes her only nap of the day. It’s the two hours that are sacred to me. I no longer create on the whim of my inspiration but rather work with whatever I have at the moment I have the opportunity to use it. I’ll write these words and hope that she’ll maybe take a longer nap today just so I can read through what I’ve written. Then, once she wakes, it’s lunchtime while I prep dinner and then out into the stroller for an afternoon outside.

To me, slow living now is being with nature as much as possible and living in tune with my child. It allows for a much more present experience even though I’m moving and doing much more than I would before having a kid.

This is what slow living is for me today.

It’s not what it used to look like to me, but it’s exactly what I need during this hectic, though temporary, phase of life. 

See, here’s the funny thing when you begin to live a life more in tune with who you are. You find that you’re actually busier than ever before, but in a way that feels as if you’re more relaxed and aware than you could have ever imagined. I wake up each morning with a spark of inspiration in my eyes and a dream that something beautiful will happen each day. Because something beautiful does happen each day. We just have to be present enough to see it. 

If you’re looking for some inspiration, check out my blog posts on books for slow living, my morning journaling ritual, slow living activities, and many more. Just head to the main blog page and click on the “slow living” category.

With all that being said, what does slow living look like to you? My goal for this is that you can see how simple it is to apply a few techniques right now (even reading this post is a part of slow living!) and it can inspire you to find what aligns with you most.

I hope the art of slow living could be the piece to the puzzle that’s calling you home.