It’s 8 am on a breezy Saturday morning. There is a slight nip in the air. You have settled into the New Year. You wake up leisurely with no set schedule on your mind. You make a steaming cup of coffee, pick up the book you have been meaning to read since the reviews came out last year, and settle down on your couch. You don’t know where your phone is. You are relaxed and focused on the one thing at hand – reading your book.
Just being is the most under-appreciated phenomenon in today’s fast-paced world. It feels quite ambitious and comes with a side of guilt. What is it about not doing anything that makes it so tough? Is it the FOMO induced by the pictures of other people’s constant trysts with adventure on social media? Or is it that when we think about slow living, we imagine the unattainable – a remote cottage in the Nordics, surrounded by a rustic farm, spotted cows, and red stovetop kettles?
Why Slow Down?
The words of the Welsh poet, WH Davies from his poem, Leisure, written over a century ago resonate today more than ever –
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
According to one research, around 80% of the Indian workforce has reported mental health issues. As per another study, 74% of Indians suffer from stress and 88% from anxiety. The stressful pandemic years led to a re-evaluation of priorities and we witnessed new phenomena like Quiet Quitting and Great Resignation as people around the world began seeking a more balanced life. This was reflected in popular culture as Beyonce weighed in on it! And in the latest instance, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, who has set the leadership bar high with her signature compassionate and empathetic style, announced that she will not stand for re-election as there isn’t “enough in the tank” any longer.
While breakdowns and burn-outs are the extreme manifestations of a punishing pace of life, often we are victims of it without even realising or acknowledging it. When was the last time you finished an entire playlist in one go without jumping to finish a chore or checking the Instagram feed? When was the last time you chose a train over a flight? Or decided to not do anything? This December, did you give in to ‘the mandatory fervour’ of the festive month, or were you fine to stay in and do nothing?
With the glorification of the ‘hustle’ culture and competitive materialism, our too-fast- too-furious lifestyles have become the new normal. Our life has become about quick getaways to places promoted by travel influencers, the must-buy trends from fast fashion labels, and food that are alien to our palate, like avocado toasts, that we ‘must’ eat. It is no coincidence that the adverse impact of this mindless consumption on the environment also affects our mental health, leaving us with feelings of dissatisfaction and inadequacy, Our coal, energy, and wood consumption, plastic pollution, and landfills have put our planet at such risk, that as per a World Meteorological Organisation report, there’s a 50:50 chance of global temperature temporarily reaching the 1.5°C threshold in the next five years.
Yet we are not happy!
What Is Slow Living?
Slow living is a movement that involves living mindfully and without rushing through life’s experiences. It is less about cottagecore, reverb music, beiges, and whites, and more about pursuing a balanced, more meaningful life. Our traditional goals put a time limit to everything and brand us as failures or lazy, if unattained. But slow living perpetuates connecting deeper with oneself, people, and the environment, and maintaining one’s routines at a manageable rate. It promotes breaks, reaching out to local communities, reducing waste, and focusing on doing what truly brings us joy.
It promotes breaks, reaching out to local communities, reducing waste, and focusing on doing what truly brings us joy.
This New Year, make one promise to yourself: To slow down. Here are some ideas that will help you kickstart your slow living journey:
Slow Fashion
We spoke at length about slow fashion and its benefits in one of our previous stories here. As the term suggests, slow fashion is the absolute opposite of fast fashion. Produced in small batches to avoid excess production and overconsumption, slow fashion is better for the body and the planet.
Here are some ideas to kickstart your slow fashion journey –
- Build a capsule wardrobe. If it’s practical and stylish, keep it. Step off the treadmill of keeping up with the new season’s styles and colours that fast fashion brands try to entice you with. Have a few classic, evergreen pieces, mix them up and keep it creative! You don’t need trendy pieces that will go out of style as the fashion season changes.
- Don’t impulse buy. This is tricky given the innumerable haul reels and big season slashes. But challenge yourself. Revisit your current wardrobe before purchasing anything new. Dedicate a month – or a few months – to go without shopping. Get your friends involved as ‘unsubscribing’ to addiction is easier when you do it with someone.
- Shop local, second-hand or slow fashion. This is the most fun because once you quit fast fashion, an entirely new world of alternatives opens up. You can kickstart your slow fashion journey with the labels profiled here. You can also check out the innumerable thrift and pop-up stores that encourage swaps, donate clothes you don’t wear, and buy chic pre-loved ones. You can start here.
Slow Travel
Slow travel means taking your time and traveling to connect with local people, cultures, and food, instead of giving into the FOMO-inducing travel influencer landscape. When you travel slowly, you savour every moment. Check out our previous blog on traveling sustainably and let it be your guide to kickstart your slow travel journey.
Start your experiments in slow travel with these tips –
- Ditch that to-do list: You know the meaning of happenstance? Make room for it. Ditch the car, walk around, forget dropping location pins, and take those turns that call out to you. Make your vacations about serendipity!
- Get off the beaten track: Discover lesser-known destinations. Stay in homestays and farm stays and be conscious of your carbon impact. This not only enables the local economy but also allows you to experience the destination.
- Live like a local: They know more than your favourite bloggers. When you talk to locals, you find out their favourite places to eat, relax, shop and visit. Remember that that little hole-in-the-wall cafe at some obscure turn might very well serve the best coffee you have ever had.
Slow Food
Maa ke haath ka khana and dadima ke nuskhe have an unmatched charm for most of us. Not long ago, there weren’t any food delivery apps and fast food chains offering the most exotic dishes from across the world (hello guacamole!). This meant eating out was a luxury, which made the entire experience something to look forward to. But with fancy restaurants with big marketing budgets taking over, even trying out a new cuisine has become a race. 36 years back the slow food movement kickstarted in Italy. Helmed by Carlo Petrini, it aimed at raising awareness about making choices that boost local economies and the use of locally-sourced ingredients. It’s time to hop on that wagon.
Here is how you can start relishing slow food –
- Cook more, order less: Cooking, especially traditional cooking, is a great way to experience slow living because they help you engage with the experience of textures, tastes, and smells. Also, preparing your meal means you can keep track of your calories and nutrition. And, this, in turn, helps keep your weight in check and ensure you eat healthily!
- Eat mindfully – We have all been guilty of eating while doing something else – watching TV, catching up on emails, or scrolling down our phones. Let us revive the art of eating slowly, savouring the food and the dinner-table conversations!
- Shop local food: As per a study, India’s dietary guidelines already have a 1.6 to 1.8 times lower carbon footprint than the EAT-Lancet recommendations. When 36% of food transport emissions are caused by the global transportation of fruit and vegetables, which is almost twice the emissions released during their production, why not start by eating local? Avocado on toast, we are looking at you!
Just Slow Down!
There’s no right or wrong way to start your slow living journey. Choose your pace, choose your lane. In 2023, prioritise yourself. As Billy Joel once said in his song, Vienna –Slow down you crazy child
You’re so ambitious for a juvenile
But then if you’re so smart tell me
Why are you still so afraid? (mmmmm)
Where’s the fire, what’s the hurry about?
You better cool it off before you burn it out
You got so much to do and only
So many hours in a day (Ay)
But you know that when the truth is told
That you can get what you want
Or you can just get old
You’re gonna kick off before you even get halfway through (Oooh)
When will you realize, Vienna waits for you?
And since we are talking Billy Joel, don’t forget to put on that music and slow dance too!