A slow and simple life, or the good life as people used to call it. It is a lifestyle that has become quite popular in the last few years. But might we be doing it wrong? Are we missing something about living fulfilling and simple lives?
What is slow living & what are the potential benefits?
Slow living is largely about putting a stop to the constant rush of life. Always going on to the next activity without ever being truly in the moment. A life lived slower, gives you the gift of living more deeply and more mindfully. It gives us permission of a sort to be idle and just enjoy the moment.
By slowing down, we can also prevent any overwhelm or burnout that we might be vulnerable to when we have overly full calendars. Since we can be aware of any issues that might arise before they become too problematic.
What is a common pitfall when we think about slow living?
Often when people talk about slow living, they talk about doing less. And how this lack of activity allows them to do all these new things they never had time for. Which leads to them listing a long list of activities they now can do. Things like nature hikes, drawing, painting, reading good books, nature journaling, sitting on the porch with a cup of tea, cooking from scratch or baking elaborate nature-inspired baked goods. All of these are wonderful things to do of course, but it is not quite what slow living is about.
Because surely we should hike weekly, bake daily, read during each cup of organic tea that we consume & work diligently on our nature journal.
But in our efforts to lead simpler & slower lives, do we inadvertently cause our lives to be busier & more chaotic. Are we unconsciously trading our mainstream rat race for an almost equally chaotic ‘Instagram or Pinterest worthy’ slow and simple life? But are we trying too hard to live more slowly and simply? As a result, that some of us are victims of our own subconscious mind’s ability to do more and more. Are we through social media platforms falling into the trap of comparison? Comparing the slow and simple lives of dozens of people. And all that they do with their lives, and are we inadvertently comparing our own single life to the dozens we see through our feeds. Causing ourselves to feel like we are falling short of what a slow & simple life “should be”. Which in turn, leads us to cram more into a life that should be as simple and sweet, as it is slow.
How to live more slowly and effectively.
The truth is that there is no right way to live a slower or more simple life. There is no magic rhythm or set of daily activities that will give you a simpler life that helps you to slow down and live more mindfully.
If you want to live a slower and simpler life, what is needed, is to look at your life. Which activities are not bringing enjoyment to your life, and which activities are draining you of your happiness. Perhaps, you’ve built your life in such a way. That you have an activity of some sort almost every evening. Maybe these activities even give you some joy but is the sheer volume of activities the factor that creates a feeling of rush and overwhelm.
To live a simpler and slower life it is vital to simplify. Cut away as many unwanted aspects of your life as you can. And if you cannot cut them out completely because life can be complicated, then try and adjust certain aspects so that they might become more pleasant.
Don’t look at what you feel you should be doing. Look at what you can & feel comfortable doing during this season of your life. Because there is so much to gain from doing less and the rest will follow.
Will you share with us down in the comments how you created a slower life?
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