Is Slow Living Only For The Wealthy?
Or is the rest of us simply not brave enough to reorganize our lives or withstand the pressure of the fast pace of life?
Hello out there - in a rushed world,
Here comes your weekly permission to Un-rush and Stress Less.
Timeless insights and impulses on how the power of slow helps you grow - in a rushing world crushing your life
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IMPULSE
Is Slow Living Only For The Wealthy?
Or is the rest of us simply not brave enough to reorganize our lives or withstand the pressure of the fast pace of life?
The other day I was sitting with my husband in a Limousine SUV driving over to the fairgrounds of the Xposure Photography Festival in Sharjah, next to Dubai. The Greek photographer sitting next to me tells us how you can’t keep up with life in Dubai, everything develops sooo FAST that it makes you dizzy. He is teaching at the university and has lived for a while here but doesn’t know how much longer. The photographer on the other seat is from Abu Dhabi, and she explains to us that Abu Dhabi is sooo much SLOWER pace and way more relaxed. Good to hear that. The French photographer one seat over spent already a lot of time in this area and talks about his experience living with Dubai’s 24/7 urge and desire to constantly go faster.
Life in the FAST lane in Dubai and Sharjah means sitting in SLOW traffic jams most of the time. We get a good taste of it because it should take five minutes from the hotel to the fairgrounds, but traffic on the eight-lane “street” is moving slowly, no matter what time of the day. Dubai is a revolving door, foreigners and expats love to rush through, stay for three or four years, jump on the fast track of Dubai’s working world, and then move on to the next gig. If you are in this environment, you will be swept along by the wave, whether you like it or not.
On second thought, you do have a choice. You can decide not to live and work in a place that is rushing and pushing you. Or you can decide to create pockets of sanity as part of your lifestyle.
We generally think going slow or slow living means doing things at reduced speed, slowing down all processes, or not having any ambitions. That’s not what it is about. The idea behind the concept of slowing down is to do things at the right speed. That you take time to reflect, to be in a space that is calm and quiet, to avoid crazy noise, busyness, hectic, and rushing environments.
The things that cause us stress and make us restless
Think about what triggers stress, fatigue, and worries. Besides the pressure we get from work, business, and home, there are many other factors in our hyper-modernized world we are often exposed to that cause stress. No matter where we are and where we go, we are always surrounded by noise and crowds, for example at airports, in traffic, on public transportation, in big-city centers, in crowded places and cluttered spaces.
You can avoid or at least reduce the exposure to those nerve-wracking circumstances by taking a taxi instead of public transportation, living in a spacious home, moving outside the city, or flying business class.
That wellness and yoga retreat for slowing down
All of those come with a price tag. So, it could be argued that a certain financial cushion buys you that space and extra time which provides you with moments of quietness, stillness, alone time, and physical space that you need to collect your thoughts, breathe, and reduce your stress level. Taking breaks and going on vacation, taking time off, and going for a nice weekend break or spa retreat are all (temporary) things that help to slow down.
And the more you have the resources to spend on these calming pleasures, the higher your possibility to retreat from the noisy outside world. We just need to look at all the luxury and wellness resorts or meditation and self-help retreats that continue to emerge and cater to the ever-growing crowds of busy-culture and stressed-out guests. These are all treats that help you to regenerate, connect with yourself, and return recharged to the daily grind.
The world looks different when your pockets are less filled.
The other side of the spectrum
If you are working three jobs to make ends meet, can’t avoid living in the middle of a big city, and can only afford a small place to live (in those big expensive cities), it might not be that easy to find “that space”, in terms of place and time, that helps you to slow down and to pause.
These are the two extremes on the spectrum between being able to treat yourself to a luxurious break for slowing down and the stress of getting through the day and keeping your bank account afloat.
Depending on where on the spectrum you find yourself, you have different choices or little choices. But, as travel writer and author Pico Iyer rightly says, “Stillness is not just an indulgence for those with enough resources.”
Slow living for everyone
Here are some ideas on how you can create room in your life to slow down.
Instead of going to that party or yet another dinner night out, you can choose to stay home in the evening with a book that pulls you into a different world away from the busy world. You stay in the quiet environment of your home with a book or a bath and stay away from the noise and chatter of a night out.
Clearing the clutter in your home and creating an organized, uncluttered living space helps A LOT to relax and calm down your nerves. No matter the size of your living space, by organizing your space better, clearing things out, and storing and designing any objects in your place cleverly, you regain physical space and mental space.
Going to work by bicycle or on foot keeps you away from the crowded, noisy, annoying public transportation. No matter where I lived, I barely ever took public transportation (except in Tokyo, where it wasn’t easy to avoid it) and I always took the bicycle or walked. I wouldn’t take a job where I had to commute for an hour. That was my lifestyle choice.
Being out in nature is the best remedy for calming down, digesting all the input, reflecting, and relaxing. I go for a walk in the forest every day. I don’t need some wellness spa or a crazy weekend in god knows where, just going to the mountains or in the forest is the perfect getaway. Your parks, gardens, mountains, or beaches nearby or outside your city are a simple, effective, and just wonderful way to create some little slow space for yourself.
The space in between
There is a space, a moment, in between everything we do. There is a little bit of time when you walk from one meeting to the next. There is a space and time when you sit alone in your car before you pick up your kid after you leave the office. You can also decide to create those moments that you use for just being with yourself and slowing down. You can say No to that colleague who wants to ask you yet another question - and you have five minutes for yourself.
Likewise, you can go out for a walk - instead of going to lunch with your colleagues at work. You can leave the smartphone in your pocket while waiting for the taxi – and look around and observe what is going on around you. You can just sit and reflect while waiting for the event, a meeting, or a show to start – instead of chatting with your seat neighbor or scrolling on your phone.
There are endless small moments during the day when you have the decision in your hand about how you use these moments. You have to become aware of them and use them to slow down, by reflecting, observing, listening, breathing, and walking. You can think more clearly when you give yourself some space to do so.
“It’s the moments that I stopped just to be, rather than do, that have given me true happiness. Why? Because allowing yourself just to be, puts things into perspective. Try it. Be still. Be present.” – Sir Richard Branson
INSIGHTS
Curated stories and links on the topic of slowing down and stressing less, designed to open up new ways of looking at why you should give yourself permission to un-rush.
Books on Slow Life
There are plenty of books that look at the value of slowing down. These can be books that talk specifically about slowness or pausing or books that look at aspects directly connected to the idea of slowing down, such as stillness, doing nothing, thinking, focusing, and attention.
Here are 10 books I can recommend to you, and I give you some descriptions of the books.
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