How many times have we been caught in the whirlwind created by the speed of the world?Does living at a breakneck pace make you lose moments, nuances, sensations, details?Details that often make a difference. In the 1980s, the slow living movement appeared, or “living slowly,” and more and more people chose to follow this philosophy of life. What is the preaching of this movement and what benefits can it bring us?That’s what we’ll talk about next.
Unfortunately, in our culture, the word?Slow? It can have negative connotations, being compared to terms such as “unemployed” or “vague”. Our intention is to break up this partnership. Living slowly does not mean living badly or living irresponsiblely, but living by attending to the present moment, enjoying every moment.
- We live fast.
- Very fast and do not realize.
- It is no coincidence that Brazil is the most anxious country in the world.
- People suffering from a lot of stress end up developing emotional disorders such as anxiety and depression.
- We realize our suffering.
- It’s too late.
“There is no order in the world around us and we have to adapt to chaos. – Kurt Vonnegut-
As we grow, we learn about the rush and take it like a flag. We learn to run to school and run around the yard so we don’t have to be late for classes; run for extracurricular activities and go out even faster to go home and do our homework. Everything’s working. We take express baths, have dinner in two minutes and get into bed, because tomorrow will bring more of the same.
The same thing happens when we get to college and when we enter the labor market, we are preparing for life to become ‘what happens between our working hours’. I work where we got to run and we go out the same way, because you definitely have something waiting for us at home?Whether it’s a family to look after, the relationships to fill or the clothes to wear.
Have you heard of boiled frog syndrome?This can help us explain why we normalize stress. If we put a frog in a pot of boiling water, the frog would jump frantically to try to escape.
However, when we put the frog in the water at room temperature and gradually increase it, the frog adjusts its body temperature as the water heats up; eventually, it ends up boiling to death without realizing what happened.
It may sound tragic, but something similar is happening to us, since we were children we are immersed in a world and in a society where virtually everyone walks at such a fast pace that it is not natural, however, we adapt like the frog, over the years, normalizing the situation.
The most alarming thing is that we come to see stress as a positive thing, because when we are without it, we get bored, when we finally realize how much the sprint affects us, it is too late and we are already in serious trouble for that. .
“Life is what happens while we are busy doing other projects. -Allen Saunders-
The slow movement encompasses almost every aspect of life, from food (slow food, origin of everything), to sex or education, to aspects such as exercise, leisure, travel, fashion and, of course, work.
When we allow ourselves to eat natural foods through conscious food, when we use technology rationally and conveniently, when we promote local trade and break the buy-use-fall cycle of our garments (this influences the entire production chain).
This lifestyle offers to live with serenity. This allows you to enjoy things and give them the attention they deserve. What is the most valuable thing?Do something running or spend more time, putting all our awareness into the activity?
I know it’s theoretically easy. Therefore, the slow life movement gives a series of recommendations to start “living slowly”. The first is: be patient. No one changes an entire system of life in a single day.
Get up a few minutes early, it’s worth it! Bath and have a coffee with peace of mind, avoid getting to work or the place of study breathlessly, if possible take a walk and watch out, if you need to use public transport do not get distracted with your mobile.
Live with less. Escape consumerism and buy only what you need, of course if you stop for a moment and look around, you will find that we do not need more, but less, you can implement the 7 days rule: when you want to buy something that you deem necessary, wait 7 days; after that time, if the need persists, buy. This time it will also be an opportunity to analyze other options and compare prices.
Enjoy the present. We live in a torment in the past that we cannot change and we are afraid of a future that we are not entirely sure of, so giving is all we have and therefore we must not let it go. life invites meditation and the practice of yoga, as well as other disciplines that promote mind-body connection and whose motto is “Here and Now”.
Striving every day to do something good for someone, contrary to what you might think, this achievement may be more positive for us than for the person who receives the gesture, it will gradually become automatic.
Be part of a group or community, volunteering, team sports, travel?We are social beings and, as Tajfel studied, social identity is conditioned by membership of certain groups. In addition, the concept of itself is conditioned by the emotional meaning and value of belonging to certain groups.
Write a journal of gratitude. Take a moment of the day to notice three positive aspects, which can be actions, thoughts, feelings or events, at first you may be surprised not to find three positive things, but little by little you will learn to appreciate the little things and believe them yourself.
This seems to be of great importance, but note it. Thoughts end up being replaced by others that we consider more important, writing is a way to shape them and we can even use them on cloudy days, it is a technique that works with depressive patients, who are surprised at the benefits of changing mindsets. And see!
Disconnecting. C is the hardest point. Put your phone in silent mode, go out without it and, if possible, turn it off, you can’t imagine what it’s like to be free of any technology.
“Happiness is nowhere but here; Aren’t you at a different time than you are now?- Walt Whitman-
You’ll find it’s very easy to do previous activities almost everywhere, but doesn’t it end there?Unbelievably and impossible as it may seem, there are slow cities all over the world.
Are these cities where people like to walk, chat?Here are some of them around the world:
These cities promote slow, respectful and low-impact tourism, focus on tourist activities that respect nature, culture, society and the values of each community.
The movement began in 1986, in Italy, founded by Carlo Petrini in the face of his astonishment at seeing a McDonald’s in the Spanish Steps in Rome.
He led the movement against fast food and founded the philosophy of slow food, with which he sought to protect local culinary traditions, their products and gastronomic pleasure. From the slow food movement, everything else developed into a complete philosophy of life.
I was very lucky to meet some small towns in Southeast Asia and one of the first things that caught my eye was the tranquility with which they lead their lives, there is not a corner where people are not seen nodding. motorcycle, climb stairs in the streets, walk in a park or ride a cow.
They start their days very early and live for the most part in a humble way, I dare say that there is never a shortage of smiles or gestures of help, besides, especially in Buddhist countries, the practice of meditation is widespread, they are true experts in slow jealous life, right?