Slow by name, Slow by nature

Slow by name, slow by nature is the topic for this Monday episode. After last week’s Facebook Live hostful and the end of the very first Live Life Simply online retreat, Brooke and Ben felt like they were hearing a lot of people come to the realisation that they’d been trying to rush their way to slow as quickly as possible, and that it wasn’t going to work. So they thought it was time to address this paradoxical approach to slowing down and remind us all (including themselves!) that the only way to do it really is slowly.

Slow living has been packaged and sold as a solution to all of the problems we face in our modern world, but people are coming to understand and accept that living a slow life is a slow process, not a quick fix. If you’re living a life of “I’ll be happy when”s (I’ll be happy when I have less stuff, when I’ve paid off my credit card, when I’ve got a weekend with nothing on) it’s hard to appreciate and be present for those moments in between. There’s nothing wrong with having these things in mind to aim for, but it’s important to remember to live life along the way and not get caught up looking at the end goal. It really is all about the journey, not the destination.

Brooke and Ben talk about the realisation that working towards slow living doesn’t mean everything is done slowly, but rather understanding that change comes slowly. It also means accepting that backsliding and failure and frustration are all part of the process too, and that actively softening into the things that we’re resisting can help us be present with where we are, let our experiences deepen and allow ourselves a little compassion.

The take-away from this week is to ask yourself what is something that is bringing you stress or rigidity in your life right now? Maybe it’s a few things - write them down, then just choose one and ask what would it look like if you softened into the process, understand that changes take time and keep slowly working towards it?

Let us know what that looks like for you - we’d love to hear how you’re softening into slow, especially at this time of year.

To read more, head over to http://slowyourhome.com/218/ for all the links and resources mentioned, as well as the full blog post.

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