Slow Living Update
When you’re intentionally living slowly you don’t expect time to creep up on you. I’m living with more intent now and taking my time - surely the months should feel more drawn out. But they don’t. You can’t trick time. Days, weeks, months and years will still pass all the same. It’s just how I spend that time that has changed.
I’m not chasing that “girl boss” lifestyle, I’m not trying to be “that girl” and I’m defintely not buying into that hussle culture bullshit. I’m sick of the work hard toxicity my generation seems to push so I’m doing what I want with my spare time. I’m living slowly and I’m not chasing any dream that’s going to lead to burnout. It’s simply not worth it.
A common misconception about slow paced living is that you have to be some kind of soft or gentle hippy type to enjoy it. Actually, the misconception is more like you can’t be a bold, strong or assertive person. But that’s wrong. I think despite the misconceptions, anyone can adopt slower living and find pleasure in it. After all, who wouldn’t enjoy a practice where enjoyment is the number one priority. At least, that’s how I’ve been practicing it.
That’s why I’ve been away from this blog again - I’ve just been doing what I want with my time. I haven’t been adhering to strict rules or schedules when it comes to my free time. If I don’t want to write. I simply don’t.
Alot of people would call this lazy. But as a creative person (and someone who has too many hobbies), it’s important to step away sometimes. Spend your time nuturing something else before you force yourself into doing something you sometimes enjoy but don’t right now. You’ll be suprised how you can find inspiration and motivation this way.
Unfortunatly doing what I want, when I want still doesn’t apply to absolutly everything in my life. I am still working full time and I still have to do things to maintain my home in order to live comfortably. However, in my eyes this is a small price to pay for spending my free time how I want. I also think having some sort of routine be it around work or chores, really helps when it comes to keeping my mental health in check.
Some people would say that I can’t be living a slow paced lifestyle because I still work full-time or I have a home to look after and other responsibilities. In my opinion, freedom to live slowly and intentionally is accessibly for everyone. You just have to choose it.
Don’t let people tell you that slow living is exclusively for people who live off grid, who don’t work a 9 - 5, who don’t have a family to look after or who live in a certain part of the world. Slow living can help unlock freedoms for every kind of person. You can still have responsibilities and choose to live slowly and intentionally. It just takes a little bit of practice.
A few mantras that have helped me when I find myself getting caught up in something stressful or overwhelming that can stop me from living slowly are:
If there is physically nothing more I can do about a situation - stop worrying about it!
Now obviously this doesn’t apply to everything. But it really helps when you have thoughts like “what if I had done this instead…” or you’re stressing out about a situation that you cannot control. Worrying about things only makes us more worried. So stop worrying for the past or the future and start living intentionally for the now.
Just carve out as much happiness in life that you can.
I am a firm believer that happiness is a choice. Of course, people can have a harder life than others. But you can still choose to find happiness in what you do have right now. Are you exactly where you want to be in life right now? Probably not. But what would your younger self have said if they could see your life right now? I think they’d be pretty impressed with how far you’ve come physically, mentally and spiritually. I’d bet they’d be pretty happy about it too. Allowing yourself to be happy and opening yourself up to happiness, helps with living more intentionally which makes slower-paced living even more enjoyable.
You can choose your attitude.
This one is pretty simple. You own your emotions - they don’t own you. You can choose to have a shitty attitude or you can choose to have a good one. You can choose to listen or you can choose to speak over someone. You can choose to be kind or you can choose to be ignorant. By consciously making these choices, you are living more intentionally. Again, for me, living intentionally is what slow-living is all about.