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Loading...5 Simple Ways To Slow Down
- Judi Gerber
- June 7, 2010
- 11:05 am
- 201 comments
Having instant access to everyone and everything in our lives via cell phones and computers has certainly made life convenient, but it has also sped up the pace of our lives.
We brag how we can multi-task and instantly get directions to any place we want to go, and are happy that we can keep up with our loved ones via text message even when we are apart.
Most of us are so plugged in all the time that it has become second nature. When we can’t get the information we need instantly, we often lose our patience because things seem to be moving “too slowly.”
This hit me over Memorial Day weekend when I realized that I am one of the biggest supporters (and addicts) of this instant access. And, as someone who writes about the need to reconnect to nature, to gardening, and to our food. I feel a bit hypocritical and think that I am not “walking the walk.”
So over the holiday, I decided to just do nothing and slow down, and sat under a tree and read for two hours, something I haven’t allowed myself to do in over a year.
I always say I am “too busy,” and am always working, volunteering, cleaning, or doing chores. Ironically, I am writing about the healing power of nature and not enjoying it myself. I even find trying to be diligent about being organic and sustainable keeps me going at high speed to keep up with what I “should” be doing.
When I look at the groups that I support, I also notice the irony. For example, the very name Slow Food, should be an indicator that I need to look at my life and slow it down.
Enjoying the simple pleasure of food is something that can be applied to other areas of our lives. I came up with some ways that I am trying to slow down so that I can enjoy the process of life more, not just the end results.
Read more: Health, Lawns & Gardens, Nature, Nature & Wildlife, Outdoor Activities, relaxation techniques, slow food, slow movement
Judi Gerber
Judi Gerber is a University of California Master Gardener with a certificate in Horticultural Therapy. She writes about sustainable farming, local foods, and organic gardening for multiple magazines. Her book Farming in Torrance and the South Bay was released in September 2008.
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.
people are talking
such cuties! :)
Of course life can be a struggle...
I think the emphasis here should be on quality and not quantity, and the further your spread the net…
How fun! Thanks for sharing.
Yes, it should be legal. If individual has right to live, then individual must have right to die.
201 comments
+ add your ownHa ha! Reading under a tree - that's getting your nature fix and catching up with some reading at the same time ... multi-tasking? But I think, if it ever stops raining, I may well do the same thing - making sure I leave my mobile phone at home!
thank you for this advice
Wonderful advice! Thank you!
I really needed and article like that. It's horrible that society and even ourselves ask for being always doing things fast, efficiently and non-stop; and the worst thing is that when you stop doing it you actually feel guilty! Terrible. That's why I often enjoy a little time without thinking about my duties and just relaxing staring at life and little daily thing, and of course spending time with my dog in my garden! ^^
Multi-task should really be a four letter word and not a polite one. Staying on that train can literally kill you. I don't own a cell phone or even an answering machine. The closest I come to multi-tasking is playing with my cat when he feels the "need" to help me weed a flower bed. My life used to be a constant pulling in way too many directions-get this work project done in half the time it should take, trying to do 10 things at once, doing more and more until I realized my life was becoming nothing but a blur. Now I work from home on my schedule on one thing at a time. I am shedding "stuff" that only clutters up my life. Leading a simple life is so much more fulfilling. I appreciate life and every second of it. Now life is worth savoring.
mea culpa , mea culpa...
Hmmm.....
It has been a little over a month since I decided not to be listening to the radio when driving to work, why ? I don't know but I concentrate in all the sounds around me, it's awesome!!
I wasn't taking my breaks at work but now I just walk around the block and go back. It is helping a little. I definitely need more nature!
Eating, and only eating, a meal is a great way to be present in the moment.
Unfortunately, it's one I struggle to do. I always want some distraction when I am eating. For instance, I read the Slow Project articles while I was eating lunch. I have little memory of the actual eating, but, the bowl is empty.
Why is it so difficult to be present while doing some activities? What is that about?
Karen
www.webdatadesigners.com
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