Please Note – Originally, this article was published in the inflight magazine of Spicejet in the month of June 2024. Slow travel is a subset of slow living. Try doing it once and you will not regret it.
“The slow philosophy is not about being lazy or switching on a tortoise mode. It is hardly about the speed but more about investing the right amount of time and attention in the problem, so you solve it.”~ Carl Honoré
What is it about feeling more alive, waking up to the sounds of nature, enjoying the warmth of the sun on the skin, meditating over the daily cuppa of morning drink, indulging in a leisurely breakfast and then, maybe heading out to live your dreams at a pace that allows you to dedicate time for the little joys of life? In the era of instant gratification, you just chose to embrace the life’s unhurried moments and had a feeling close to ‘nirvana’. Did the hustler culture just have heartburn? We have been sucked in this ‘relentless drive to do more’ and be ‘wired all the time’ so deep that we have forgotten to stand and stare. When William Henry Davies penned his most popular poem ‘Leisure’ in early 90s, he did not hesitate even once to take a satire on our worldly pursuits. We became so busy creating an autopilot life that we muffled his voice entirely.
It is high time to let go, revive quest for nature, ditch the erratic schedules, and be more aware of things that give us true happiness. The active decision of taking a slower approach to daily routine, investing in reflective actions and valuing time is just about scratching the surface of the lifestyle called ‘slow living.’ Let us find out what surprises it entails.
What is the core of slow living?
Slow living does not mean losing your trailblazing spirit or not dealing with the challenges of life, but it is about prioritizing things that fetch ultimate joy to you. It is about decluttering the chaos and filling it with subtleties that often go unnoticed. It is about changing the perspective towards life and becoming more mindful of the needs of the body and mind. It is about calming the nerves, taking notice of certain sights, sounds and sensations, making deep personal connections, and, paradoxically, allowing more time for things or people who are close to our heart.
It isn’t a trend which is yearning to get its share of instant fame. Slow living has been relevant for decades. While it is often considered the progeny of the slow movement initiated by Carlo Petrini (journalist) and a group of activists to protest the opening of Mc Donald’s in Rome, the credit also goes to Carl Honore for putting it back in the mainstream with his book “In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed.”
The mindset of slow living is deeply personal
In this exhausting world, most of our actions are driven by need and circumstances. Purpose and goals have taken a back seat. Thus, it is imperative to find the balance between short-lived gratifications and life-long fulfillments. The key takeaway from slow living is finding your pace to achieve the results you want. Slow living is an antithesis to the growing trend that faster is better. On the contrary, it focuses on quality of life and well being. It fuels the desire to be mindful and grateful for the things that we already have around us. Intentionality plays a key role.
The difference in values, unique backgrounds, passions, and our priorities also decide the inclination towards slow life. To make a choice between surplus and sufficiency, and the urgency to seek holistic balance from unrealistic expectations may also differ from person to person. Some may also say that cannot afford to be slow.
Most importantly, slow living often entails the idea of downsizing finances with more regard for rest, self-care and work-life balance. Thus, each one is free to have a personal interpretation of ‘going slow in life’ and the reasons to do so are bound to vary.
There is an earnest desire for ‘slow life’ like never before
The cut throat competition, the heartless rat race and the never ending push for multi-tasking has not only damaged our sensibilities towards environment but also made us slaves of unhealthy patterns of lifestyle, eventually leading to several diseases, scientifically proven by medical sciences too. Slow living is the magical potion that works as a perfect antidote to everything that resonates with hustle. Even celebrities like Hritik Roshan, Deepika Padukone, Dia Mirza, Vidya Balan are being vocal about carving out time for slow hobbies. Activities like gardening, knitting, crocheting, pottery, reading, crafting, etc. have been ruling the charts forever.
There is a need for a deliberate shift towards cherish able activities in this increasingly loud world. In the world that values speed over valuable results, we are all tired already. Let us get quiet instead. A revolution called ‘quiet quitting’ is brewing up.
How to begin?
It always begins with us, in our heart and mind first. The slow living principles are not defined by anyone but oneself. They may seem more accessible to the privileged but they have always been practiced by the people who never wanted more. It is about personal choice.
- Begin the day with a mindful morning routine
- Carve out time for yourself and your hobbies
- Focus on every meal and connect with nature as much as possible
- Restrict multitasking and focus on the most important first
- Take a walk, indulge in a hobby to reset the stressful work cycle
- Sign out from the stress and shut down the mind as the day ends
- Wind down with a restful and meditative sleep cycle
Reclaim your balance. Practice gratitude. Simplify life. And this is just the beginning.
Boxes
- Take inspiration from books like “Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World” by Cal Newport and “The Joy of Missing Out: Finding Balance in a Wired World” by Christina Crook. You could also tune in to the ‘The Slow Home Podcast (Brooke McAlary)’ where there are conversations about what it means to live a slower, more intentional life.
- Author and wellness guru Giselle La Pompe-Moore has also written a book called ‘Take It In”. The tagline says, do your inner work and create your best damn life. And through her books and talks, she emphasizes on the philosophy of doing less, being present and feeling more. She says, that in the sea of fast fashion, fast food, and fast everything, we must shift perspectives into a way of living that isn’t about being the ‘best ever’ but simply allows us to better respond to life’s overwhelming craziness.
- Slow living is permeating in several aspects of our life. Whether it is the slow food movement, which insists on traditional cooking and locally sourced produce, to the slow fashion movement, which calls for ethical consumption and production, or slow travel where one must immerse in local culture and environment, we are embracing slow life.
- The pandemic brought moments of reckoning. The enforced slowdown was beautiful and it gave more power to the ‘slow living movement’. A study by Pew Research Center also found that authenticity returned in our lives and work, material goods and the opinion of others’ became less important.
- Research shows that New Year resolutions often remain unfulfilled because we burden ourselves with too many demands and eventually lose focus. If we do not push for a lot and make gentle changes, we may even complete them. Slow living says ease your pace. Just do what you can and when you can.
