Adapting to slow living

For most of my adult life I had a full on, stressful career, was a single parent, studied, and it felt like my life was travelling at a hundred miles an hour and I hardly had time to take breath.  I was always exhausted and often ill when I took annual holidays.  It took me a while to adapt to slow living when I first retired.  This didn’t mean that I just sat down and did nothing.  It meant that I was more intentional with my time and found regular ways to take a breather from our fast paced lives.  They became habits and then part of my normal life.

Life is busy for every one and I wish I had intentionally slowed down a lot earlier.  I might not have burned out that way.  These are some of the ways that I have learned to intentionally slow down.  They help me feel less stressed when life feels like it is speeding up again.

1. Spend more time outside.  I will cook outside, take my hobbies outside, sit and peel vegetables outside.  I spend as much time as I can outside.  I especially like to sit outside first thing in the morning. This could be done by anyone before work with a cup of coffee or whilst eating breakfast, even if they are short for time.  I like to put my bare feet on the grass or stone to ‘ground’ or ‘earth’ myself. The sound of the birds makes me feel calm.  I feel like I am unplugging, and I especially enjoy it if the sun warms my skin.  My mind wanders as I do mindless tasks without thinking, and the whole world seems to slow down.
2. Forest Bathe.  This is how I switch off when the world gets too much for me.  I will walk in a quiet wood and find myself a spot to sit down.  I will then meditate by using all my senses.  I think about what I can smell, what I can feel (eg the gentle wind on my cheek or a rough stone near my hand), what I can hear which maybe a babbling stream nearby, what I can notice when I look around,  This could be the colours, ants running along a branch, or pollen floating through the air. Sometimes I will even taste young leaves, a bramble or wild garlic. Forest bathing helps me to slow down my breathing and feel at one with nature. If you want to learn more about forest bathing and how it works and can help your health then follow this link
3. Make creative meals from scratch. Cooking makes me feel more grateful, especially if I am using ingredients that I have grown and foraged myself.  I enjoy the creativity of making something from nothing if I have few ingredients.  I love the slow art of cooking rather than throwing something into the microwave and trying to do something else at the same time as it is cooking.  It makes me take time out. The slow art of kneading and make bread also helps me to release stress.
4. Journal.  I like to journal when I have a lot on my mind and my thoughts are whirling. I have a nice notebook that I journal in and I just write down my feelings, my thoughts, and often unconscious thoughts fill the page and I amaze myself with what is written.  I feel better afterwards as it feels like a big brain dump, and sometimes I even solve my own problems and find my own answers to things that have been bothering me.
5. Take time for Self Care.  Find the the self care activities that help you and make time in your week to enjoy them.  This might be a candle lit bath, listening to music, being out in nature. meditating or exercise.    Find what feeds your soul and works for you.  For me it is being in nature and also writing.  Regular self care helps me to reduce my stress and I feel happier and calmer.
6. Put your phone down and turn the television off.  I can start scrolling and answering people and the next thing I know 4 hours are gone.  I am the same when I watch a box set.  I can waste a whole day.  I am more intentional with media now and try to limit it.  I often don’t take my phone with me to some places, especially if I am going for a walk in the local countryside.
7. Take photos of nature.  Taking photographs when you are on a walk is a great way of slowing down and observing what is around you.  I bet you miss so many things normally.  It wasn’t until I started taking picture that I noticed the apple trees on the canal.  I like to take photographs at different times of the year so that I am aware of how nature changes throughout the seasons.  Getting the right angle, or waiting for an animal to look at me so that I can take a good picture helps me slow down.
8. Take time to read, knit or sew.  I rarely read unless it is a non fiction book as I have to finish the whole book before I do anything else, once I start it.  On my last holiday I did make myself sit down and read.  Reading can reduce stress and help you escape to another world if you have lots on your mind.  I used to read a lot as a kid.  Many of us feel guilty if we take time out of life to sit down and read, or to do a hobby like knitting or sewing, but it is important that you do take time to relax and do something that you enjoy.
9. Watch a sun rise or sun set.  We used to see some beautiful sun rises when we had an old camper van.  These would often be in the mountains or over the sea.  There is a feeling of magic and anticipation whilst watching one.  I get totally lost in the experience.
10. Eat at the table and make it an occasion.  Over the years I have eaten so many meals whilst watching television and have hardly tasted or appreciated them. at other times I have bolted down food before taking the children to a club, or eaten at my desk at work whilst on the computer.  Now we set the table, get the nice crockery out, make nice, tasty food, and slow down and enjoy and appreciate our meal.
11. Walk more. I like to get lost in my own thoughts when I walk.  I even talk to myself sometimes!  The exercise also helps my mental health, and keeps by aged knees moving.  Taking time out to go for a walk each day has really improved my life.  There are so many benefits of walking as you age.
12. Gaze at the stars.  I remember learning the different constellations when I was in the Girl Guides as a child. I like to look for them on a clear night and wonder what is out there.  There is something magical about star gazing with another person on a clear night rather than sitting looking at the screen of a television.
13. Garden.  Being in my garden is my happy place and it is my favourite way of escaping the stresses of the world and slowing down.  I find it so therapeutic. Caring for my plants and nurturing them from seeds is a special feeling and teaches me to be patient, grateful, and reminds me to nurture and be patient with myself, and the importance of my own self care.  There are so many benefits to gardening.
14. Make a herb tea and take time to sip it.  I am not a tea or coffee drinker but I do like to make myself herbal drinks and to take time to just sit and enjoy them.
15. Book a break away.  I find that when I am home I tend to work quite a lot.  There is gardening, preserving, foraging, cooking, cleaning (if I must) and also my family to help or care for.  It is therefore important that we get away.  These are always frugal breaks with free or cheap accommodation but they mean that I am some where new, have no people wanting my time, no chores or responsibilities, and I am made to relax.

Do you intentionally slow down your life?  How do you do it?