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Slow living is a restorative practice that originated in Italy around the 80’s, firstly for slow eating. Something about hearing the story of where it originates reminds me of the film Eat, Pray Love. Where Julia Roberts is sitting with a bowl of pasta outside a restaurant in Rome. Sitting and eating and nothing else. The pleasure of just eating and savouring every bite is the essence of slow living.
It is a lifestyle, a practice that more and more people are working towards in this fast paced urban day and age. I grew up in the countryside and although I am living in a city just now for uni, one day I will go back to the country where it is tranquil, fresh and I can live at any pace I like. It is good for our physical and mental health to take our time and enjoy the journey of life like this article says. Practicing meditation and soaking in the bath listening to our own thoughts is good for us. (Here is that preachy guru coming through again). Creating daily rituals such as journaling, to cook and listen to the sound of the food frying the smells being released, the colour changing. To savour these moments. To spend time with friends and lose track of time chatting and laughing and enjoying their company. To do one thing at a time and put all your effort into it. Even listening to music, sparks creativity, works 9 parts of the brain and helps you become calm.
We must find a balance between achieving our goals and being ambitious, wile still taking time for self care, to spend time with our family and ourselves. To not feel guilty about reading a book when there might be other things to do. I've said before, the world isn't going to end, an example here of a quote that puts life into perspective: The cradle rocks above an abyss and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of life between 2 eternities of darkness. It shows how short and precious a time we have on this earth before we become star dust again.
I think taking a digital detox is so great for us. It helps to get back to living in the present moment and more alive. Being immersed in nature is another way to clear your mind and going for a walk releases endorphins and lifts your mood. To be mindful in yourself and your actions makes you more aware, trying to live in the moment and appreciate every minute of life, we shouldn’t be in any rush to run through life it is meant to be lived and enjoyed. Carrie Rad has a great series on YouTube all about self care which has helped me with understanding more about it. Yoga with Adriene is another woman that has helped me feel so alert but so relaxed at the same time.
We should be using all of our senses and work on being better listeners, taking time to do nothing and not feeling guilty. It enables us to have a better quality life. To not sit behind your phone screen half the film and actually give your full attention to something makes you more aware.
I think another element of slow living is obviously appreciating what you do have and to not get down about what you don't. To not be materialistic is important, I always think about small things that make me happy, a cup of tea in the morning, the sound of other people laughing. I would say myself that I am not interested in objects because these do not define my happiness.
Here are 16 tips for self care from a page I found when I was 17. These really help me feel productive;
1. push yourself to get up before the rest of the world - start with 7am, then 6am, then 5:30am. go to the nearest hill with a big coat and a scarf and watch the sun rise. 2. push yourself to fall asleep earlier - start with 11pm, then 10pm, then 9pm. wake up in the morning feeling re-energized and comfortable. 3. erase processed food from your diet. start with no lollies, chips, biscuits, then erase pasta, rice, cereal, then bread. use the rule that if a child couldn’t identify what was in it, you don’t eat it. 4. get into the habit of cooking yourself a beautiful breakfast. fry tomatoes and mushrooms in real butter and garlic, fry an egg, slice up a fresh avocado and squirt way too much lemon on it. sit and eat it and do nothing else. 5. stretch. start by reaching for the sky as hard as you can, then trying to touch your toes. roll your head. stretch your fingers. stretch everything. 6. buy a 1L water bottle. start with pushing yourself to drink the whole thing in a day, then try drinking it twice. 7. buy a beautiful diary and a beautiful black pen. write down everything you do, including dinner dates, appointments, assignments, coffees, what you need to do that day. no detail is too small. 8. strip your bed of your sheets and empty your underwear draw into the washing machine. put a massive scoop of scented fabric softener in there and wash. make your bed in full. 9. organise your room. fold all your clothes (and bag what you don’t want), clean your mirror, your laptop, vacuum the floor. light a beautiful candle. 10. have a luxurious shower with your favourite music playing. wash your hair, scrub your body, brush your teeth. lather your whole body in moisturiser, get familiar with the part between your toes, your inner thighs, the back of your neck. 11. push yourself to go for a walk. take your headphones, go to the beach and walk. smile at strangers walking the other way and be surprised how many smile back. bring your dog and observe the dog’s behaviour. realise you can learn from your dog.
12. message old friends with personal jokes. reminisce. suggest a catch up soon, even if you don’t follow through. push yourself to follow through. 14. think long and hard about what interests you. crime? sex? boarding school? long-forgotten romance etiquette? find a book about it and read it. there is a book about literally everything. 15. become the person you would ideally fall in love with. let cars merge into your lane when driving. pay double for parking tickets and leave a second one in the machine. stick your tongue out at babies. compliment people on their cute clothes. challenge yourself to not ridicule anyone for a whole day. then two. then a week. walk with a straight posture. look people in the eye. ask people about their story. talk to acquaintances so they become friends. 16. lie in the sunshine. daydream about the life you would lead if failure wasn’t a thing. open your eyes. take small steps to make it happen for you.
