I’ve been delighted to see a growing trend in the term “slow living” in the last five years or so over various social media accounts like Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest. Maybe you have seen it as well and have been curious about the philosophy. Visually, the term typically translates to dark or muted colors, minimalism and simplicity, nature and natural beauty, slow food or culinary experiences, self care, and well-being.
I think often about an experience I had in 2018 while at the height of stress in an office job. I was wearing many hats, while also trying to hustle a side business as a photographer, take care of my body and home, and plan for the future. As a coping mechanism for the constant stress, I loved to take walks around my neighborhood in the city and let myself be drawn into the various plant life and trees in the park and people’s yards.
One particularly stressful week, I realized that my walks weren’t giving me the same peace and space of mind that they usually did. My head felt cloudy, my senses felt dulled, eating had lost all pleasure and had become a chore or a way to escape. I leaned down to smell a flower, and realized with horror that I couldn’t smell it. This was a time before Covid, and a time before the conversation about losing sense of smell or taste had become a topic of conversation. I chalked it up to stress, a cold, or hay-fever, but the feeling stuck with me, and I couldn’t shake it. My stress was affecting my well-being, and I knew that something had to change.
As a form of art expression, photography was my muse, and I had been exploring different ways that I could incorporate more expression and beauty into my imagery, and wondered how to express the feelings that I so wanted in my own life: Peace, calm, intentionality, gratitude, love, and joy. I had begun to follow various people on Instagram who shared similar philosophies, and came across an opportunity to travel to Toronto for a lifestyle workshop where we would photograph various home goods, well-made clothing, and two beautiful models in the home of a well-known local couple, John and Juli Baker in their bespoke home above their Toronto shop, Mjolk.
Even though it was not within our budget at the time, I bought a spot in the workshop, purchased a plane ticket, and booked an airbnb to participate. My goal was to get closer to the philosophies of slow-living that my heart was so drawn to.
During the workshop, I was blown away by the energy that Gillian and Emilie brought, the beautiful people who had been attracted by their offering, and the serenity of the home we were in. It was so overwhelming, that I found myself pushing back, and intrusive thoughts continued to creep into my mind.
“This can’t be real, I’m sure it’s just an act.”
“The only people who live this way are rich.”
“They must come from family money.”
“They must have had more support at home growing up.”
My mind couldn’t grasp the amount of care, thought, intention, and focus that came together to create everything around me in this situation.
My thoughts soon turned to reasoning that I wasn’t worthy.
“I guess this type of life just wasn’t in the cards for me".”
“Some people are are born lucky.”
“I am not talented/rich/connected/beautiful/knowledgable enough to make a life like this for myself.”
I sat with these feelings for a very long time, trying to get to the root of where these feelings were coming from, and doing my best to work through them.
I sat down and made a list of all of the things that I felt I needed to break through these personal barriers. On this list included: Having a stable home (we rented at the time, and were constantly fearful of having to move if our home was sold), stability in my finances, health, an education, and travel.
It took 5 years, and in this time, I took a pay cut to work a less stressful job, graduated with my Bachelor’s and Master’s degree, put enough money away for a down payment for a house, moved across the country to buy a new home, and started a new life full of intentionality and slow-living.
There were many, many in-betweens and hardships to this story, including a pandemic, an earthquake, the traumatizing death of one of my cousins and her husband, and countless meetings with a therapist who helped me break down the ways in which I was holding myself back from pursuing my best life. I realized through these experiences that I believed life was hard and painful, and that some people had it luckier than others, and to be grateful and happy with what I had.
Today, I am so happy to report that on my walks around our neighborhood and park, I breath easier, with my senses fully intact, carrying less stress, and knowing that my life and time has more intention for the life that I long to live.
At the heart of the slow-living movement is the dedication to philosophies of mindfulness, intentionality, slowing down, authenticity, simplicity, nature and sustainability, and finding the joy in the every day.
I hope my story resonates with you, and inspires you to continue to look inward to what desires you have in order to align yourself with your own slow-living lifestyle. This way of living requires constant awareness, and it is important that we understand that we never “fully arrive”, and that it is more of an evolution than anything else.
I love hearing about your stories and journey with the slow-living philosophy, and I can’t wait to connect. I read every comment, email, and message you send, so be sure to drop a line.