31 Days of Slowing Down is a series of blog posts outlining 31 days of different slow living practices to start your journey into slow and intentional living.
Modern society gives us the impression that faster is always better, and that using technology is the best way to do everything. While I appreciate of this type of advancement and in am awe of what we’ve accomplished as a race, I have also found solace and joy in being in tune with the pace of Mother Earth. Something as simple as hand-grinding your own coffee and taking in the fresh aroma, or feeling and hearing the scratching of pen on paper when writing a handwritten letter, or listening to birds and feeling the breeze on a walk can step us out of our convenience based lives.
The simple act of taking the slower, harder, or longer route can bring our awareness back to the present when much of our lives flit by from one thing to the next. If you’re anything like me, you’ll find it’s much easier to mindlessly scroll on your phones or to binge watch shows than to spend your time being intentionally and with awareness. But how many memorable days do we create in filling our days with those activities? How much more memorable would each day be if we spent more time unplugged, and with the intention of doing something fun, productive, or worthwhile? Aside from work duties for the day turn off all electronics and spend the day unplugged! How did your day go?
Slow Living Practice of the Day: Journal About Your Values
What brought you here? We are drawn to slow living because we acknowledge that our current quality of life could benefit from a change of pace. Beginning a slow living practice starts with clarifying what’s important to you. Journal about your goals and how you imagine your dream life to be. What brings you the greatest joy? What goals do you have, and what fills you with a sense of accomplishment, purpose, and/or happiness? What are your core values? What do you absolutely require to live an intentional and fulfilled life? This is the most important step, since what you’ll discover today will determine how you spend the next 31 days the rest of your life!
A large part of slow living is being intentional about how we spend our time. This requires acknowledging how we’ve planned our days in our personal and work life and making a series of small changes to better align with our priorities. While slowing down sounds easy, making the switch to a slower lifestyle doesn’t happen overnight. To encourage my own journey into a more meaningful life, I put together 31 days of ideas to practice my muscles for slow living. Every day, I will reflect on the previous day’s theme and journal a bit about my experience so I can reflect on my challenges and accomplishments during the month.
I was tempted to put this off and begin on the 1st of the next month, but after some thought why wait? Feel free to click through each day to see the full post. I hope these ideas will help you on your journey to slow living!
Journal about what’s important to you, things and hobbies you love, a favorite pastime, a good book you read, your loved ones, or anything else that resonates with what brings meaning and joy to your life.
A wonderful quote from the film, Fight Club: “The things you own, end up owning you.” Things require space, time, and energy. Be mindful of your belongings.
Whether it’s an over complicated skincare routine (unless this brings you joy, of course) or paper bills that could be made into automatic payments, there’s room to simplify.
For a frame of reference on just how small we are, and also to appreciate nature’s beauty.
The last one was a bonus (because I’m a selenophile, love the night sky, and thought you might too). I hope you enjoyed trying out all (or some) of these ideas. Hope your days are filled with the people and activities that delight you.
Read more about how to start your slow living practice here.
