I am writing this as I come out of my second quarantine this year. Today is the first day that I can finally leave the house and walk around freely after ten days of being confined at home. I am not complaining though, ten days go by in the blink of an eye, but if someone had forced me into it a few years ago, I would have probably had a good fit about it.
“What do you mean I can’t go out?!”
At this point in time, however, I’ve learned that being trapped and feeling trapped are not necessarily the same thing and that there are actually things to be gained by embracing quarantine. In fact, I would say I’ve actually squeezed great and long-lasting value out of both quarantine experiences.
You can read more about my first quarantine experience in New Zealand here.
Now I see quarantine as an opportunity to have more time to focus and work on myself.
For me, both periods of confinement have resulted in having the right environment to reflect, think things through, learn new skills and educate myself further on topics that I’m genuinely curious about, build better habits, take better care of myself, and ultimately gear down a little.
I say *the right environment* because not everyone’s quarantine looks the same, and I feel the need to give caveat here. I am incredibly privileged to have a stable economic situation, a good co-living atmosphere at home, a job that allows me the flexibility to work remotely, and only myself to look after.
So no, I do not expect everyone who might be going through quarantine right now to be happy campers, clap their hands, and see this as their golden opportunity to “slow down”, because it has been quite the opposite for many, bringing their anxiety levels and stress up the roof, especially for those who have had to deal with delicate health issues, or integrating their personal/family duties with their professional ones.
However, that is a different conversation for another time. The point I actually want to make in this article today is that both of those experiences where I found myself “stuck” at home invited me to reflect on the accelerated pace that our lives can take if we don’t remind ourselves to take the foot off the gas every once in a while.
And that’s the tricky part right there, that we have to remind ourselves.
What I mean by that is that our current lifestyles, led primarily by our careers and the ingrained necessity to climb some never-ending ladder to “success” (which is often defined on other people’s terms rather than our own), has become this tyrannic monocycle that forces us to keep on pedaling if we don’t want to fall off.
But what if you absolutely love pedaling? What if you get a kick from it? Some people like speed more than others. Maybe pedaling is all you know. I actually love pedaling too. I enjoy having big aspirations, throwing myself to new challenges, working on projects, producing, creating, learning… it gives me the feeling that I am moving through life. It’s stimulating.
And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having a passion or being ambitious if that is what drives you. However, it is important to identify and dig a little deeper into that ambition’s “raison d’être”. Is the motivation that fuels it healthy? Sometimes, if you’re going too fast, you might miss the things that are truly important, and once you’re looking at them from the rear window, it’s too late, they’re gone.
Being ambitious and being able to live a more slow life, however, are in no way mutually exclusive. Contrary to what some people might think, living a slow life is not about doing less, caring less, or making excuses to be unmotivated, but rather about intentionally choosing where to care more.
What Slow Living Is Really About
Slow living is about structuring your life around meaning and fulfillment. It’s about being conscious and deliberate with your choices, and it is nurtured by an intentional, reflective and purposeful approach to your daily life, rather than by running around in circles on autopilot.
Slow living is connecting with yourself, those around you, and the world.
It’s about quality, rather than speed. It’s about choosing to do things well and fully, instead of doing them quickly.
This is precisely, one of the key points within the slow-living philosophy that strongly resonates with me, and something that I have been reflecting on a great deal this past year since the pandemic started.
I’ve been questioning the whole current approach of modern life to growth, competition, and value, and how these elements intersect with each other. I think we still have a lot of homework and re-evaluating to do in this sense, not just on a personal level, but as a society on a global scale.
I could go on for ages, but I’ll save you my rant on this topic for some other time.
Ah, time.
That’s another thing you can’t control no matter what you do. No matter how fast you try to rush through life, the clock keeps ticking exactly at the same pace for all of us. The only thing we do have control over is how we decide to distribute that time and whether we invest it in the things that have meaning to us or not.
That is exactly why presence and gratitude are such essential pillars of slow living. They allow us to savor each moment a little longer as if by taking it all in, we could slow down time. Stretch it. It’s an illusion, of course, but a pleasant one.
Have you ever heard of the term ‘ukiyo’? Also known as ‘the floating world’, it is the Japanese term used to describe living in the moment, detached from the bothers of life.
So in a way, slow living is also a way of fighting back the continuous busyness and time-poverty state of mind that modern life has ingrained in us.
It is looking at things long enough to find a deeper meaning, in a way that ripens us. It is to contemplate. To observe. To sit often, totally present with the world around us, instead of going against the natural slow rhythm of life. It’s replacing the energy of “more, more, more” with “thank you, thank you, thank you” instead.
And now that we’ve presented gratitude as one of the best slow-life promoters, let me introduce you to its counterpart: Ego.
Ego is pure kryptonite when it comes to living a more purposeful, intentional and slow life.
It’s this delusional and deceiving little voice that constantly tries to get in our heads, trying to convince us that there is this image of ourselves, this character, that we should strive to become in order to find fulfillment.
Ego tells you that when you get that degree, that car, that job, that text back, that new purse – that when you are finally seen, validated, or praised – you will be a little bit closer to that person that you are constantly trying so hard to be.
But who are we, really, when all of the things that feed our egos fade away?
In the end, not being aware of our egos, and not learning how to silence and manage them leads to lives that are focused on achieving things (frequently material) that have nothing to do with what we really value, leaving us feeling empty and constantly hungry for more.
Slow-life implies intention, acceptance, meaning, and awareness, whereas ego implies unawareness. That is exactly why the louder your ego speaks, the more power it will have to intrude and sabotage your intentions for a slow and more purposeful life.
One thing that has really helped me become more aware of my thoughts, and be more intentional with how I want to approach my life holistically is journaling.
Journaling has helped me be more self-aware of the world inside and outside of me, as well as to single out the enemy in my own head (you’d be surprised about how many times it’s just that sneaky little ego hiding behind some of our most common worries, behaviors or concerns). Journaling is also the practice that I enjoy the most when I want to disconnect from the world around me and connect with myself.
You can read more about those and many other benefits that you can gain through the simple practice of journaling in this article.
Ego makes you orbit your energy and time towards empty and superficial things, which in the long run, only weigh you down. But you are the curator of your life, and it is completely within your power to deviate your attention towards the things that, at the end of the day, bring true value into your life.
As Leo Babauta puts it, “slowly cut out until you are left only with what you love, with what is necessary for your soul. With what makes you happy.”
Related read: Decluttering and letting go.
The rest is just dead weight, and I believe that when we simplify our lives and declutter them from all the noise and non-essentials, we find there is more space to let in the simple pleasures of life and attract the things that hold true meaning.
So if there is one thing that these two quarantine breaks have taught me this year is that there is also pleasure to be found in stillness; in the little things. I would probably get overly cheesy if I’d write the long list of things that come up to my mind just now, thinking of all the tiny details that have made me so happy during these past ten days spent at home, but they really have. They’ve filled my soul. And I am genuinely grateful for them.
Turns out we don’t really need that much to fill our cups, but we sometimes forget.
So this is your reminder.
Your reminder to take your foot off the gas for a little while.
Because yes, the hustle will come, the busyness will knock on your door again, and your ego will still sneak into your head trying to convince you that you’re not doing enough every once in a while. But you can put your foot down and deliberately create space in your daily life for all the things that nurture a slower, more intentional, and mindful life.
So today, I’d like to invite you to rethink your pace and have a walk on the slow side of life with me. I want to do that by sharing with you the song that has inspired me to write this article today. It’s ‘Slow It Down’, by the Lumineers, which was playing while I was journaling this morning.
In this live session, Wesley Schultz says that “you should demand things that you believe in” and talks about being true to your essence. I think true essence is found once the masks, the covers, and the shields, product of the ego, fade away.
So I invite you to pick a moment today to ‘just be’. Play a slow song and enjoy it while you lay on your bed. Make some tea and sip on it with a good read. Go for a walk outdoors and pay attention to the way nature unveils around you. Watch the ocean. Listen to the rain under. the covers. Take a long warm shower. Whatever brings you joy and fills you with peace, but choose to really be in the moment and savor it fully.
Choose to do one thing at a time, to do it slowly and deliberately, to devote time to just be, to observe and contemplate, to look more around you, and be grateful for what you have.
Choose to slow down 🕊