How The Slow Movement Helps You to Recharge

Why The Slow Movement Can Benefit Every Area of Your Life

There are days when you just feel overwhelmed.

There’s so much to do. So much happening. So much information to absorb.

How can you ever keep up?

Trying to pack in as much as possible into every single moment has become normal.

And it’s exhausting!

It’s called “time poverty” – and there’s a lot of it around!

Our Ancestors

I often reflect that we have it SO much easier than our ancestors.

• We have water and electricity at the flick of a tap or switch.
• It’s not too long ago that the idea of a supermarket close by, full to the brim with every type of food, open and available long hours, would have been un-imaginable.
• We have so many labour-saving devices from vacuums to fridges and freezers, food processors, gardening and DIY tools, calculators and computers, mobile phones and the internet….. the list is endless.
• Excellent road systems and cheap flights make travel easier than ever before.
• Vacations used to be a very special occasion, but now many people take several holidays every year.
• We have easy access to vast amounts of information at our fingertips, instead of trudging to a library to leaf through endless books.

We are so lucky!

And yet ….

People are less happy – and more stressed – than before.

How can that be?

Why Are We Unhappy?

Many psychologists and scientists believe that our stress is due to our

• fast–paced
• commodity–focused
• unbalanced
• impersonal

modern human culture.

We’re always rushing. We’re always being shown the latest gadget or tool or game or appliance. We are totally disconnected from where our food comes from. We don’t connect with people the way we used to.

And that’s a bigger problem than we realise.

What We Really Need

Because if you go back to basics, here’s what we humans REALLY need:

Assuming we have food and shelter:

• We need to be seen and appreciated
• We need to belong
• We need nearness and care, and a little love

Those needs haven’t changed over centuries.

But it’s difficult to have those needs fulfilled when we’re constantly rushing – and stressed!

We need to connect more meaningfully with others, with place, and with ourselves.

The Fast Food Example

Let’s take the example of going to a fast food outlet.

The food is instant, cheap, and tastes good.

You’re greeted with a smile (hopefully!) but how genuine is it? Do you know the people who work there? Do they know you?

Your burger is probably made from cows who were raised on a factory farm – it’s not good for the cattle or for the environment. You have no idea where it came from, nor what’s been added to it.

It’s packaged in plastic and cardboard which you use once and toss away.

It tastes good (hopefully!) but it doesn’t leave you satisfied.

You had no connection with the staff at the outlet. You had no connection with the food. The food isn’t healthy or good for you.

You eat the food either alone or with others, but do you talk and connect while you do so? Or do you watch TV or drive or do something else while you eat?

That’s How It Started

It’s difficult to put an exact start to the global Slow Movement, but many believe it started with a protest against the opening of a McDonald’s restaurant in Rome’s Piazza di Spagna in 1986.

The Slow Movement is all about connections.

Because we’ve lost our connection in our fast-paced life.

Even with all our modern conveniences and luxuries, we’re searching for connection.

We want:

1. Connection to people – ourselves, our family, our community, our friends
2. Connection to food
3. Connection to place (where we live and work),
4. Connection to life.

We want to live a connected life.

And that’s what the slow movement is all about – connection!

Here are some examples of how you can use the Slow Movement to your advantage.

The Slow Movement – Travel

Instead of rushing to several destinations and seeing just a tiny piece of each one, stay in one place for the whole holiday or the majority of it.

While you’re in your chosen area, you get to know it thoroughly and connect with the local community.

On a slow holiday, you live as if you have moved into the area, going to local shops and restaurants and cooking at “home” in your villa or cabin.

If you’ve ever returned from a vacation feeling like you need another holiday, you’ll appreciate what a difference slow travel can make!

The Slow Movement – Food

Slow food is basically a form of mindful eating.

It couldn’t be further removed from the fast-paced, fast food culture that raises and slaughters animals at breakneck speed and disconnects people from their food.

Truly enjoy your food and the pleasure it brings, in both preparation and eating.

Eat it deliberately and mindfully, with friends. Celebrate local cuisine and artisan fare.

Slow food helps to preserve traditions and heritage.

It emphasizes the enjoyment involved in eating well.

The Slow Movement – Schools

With so many schools in crisis around the world, slow schools or slow education is proving an attractive alternative to many parents.

Standardized, compulsory education is generally focused on test scores and meeting government standards.

But slow schools try to connect children with the world, with the process being as important as the outcome. Slow schools are concerned with the larger concepts of how children are learning, methods of teaching, and real life experience.

The Slow Movement – Cities

Slow cities are small cities (less than 50,000 people) which are made up of multiple towns, cities, and communities that agree to meet slow criteria and adhere to particular principles.

Slow cities have a traditional feel. There is less traffic, more pedestrian areas and less general noise.

The Slow Movement – Books

Yes, OK, “slow books” seems daft – but in this day and age of quick info-bytes and e-books, sitting down with a real book is more and more unusual.

An ebook can also be a slow book. The point is to settle down comfortably and read for a period of time without interruption or distraction. (Isn’t that a gorgeous window seat in the photo?)

In this way you will genuinely enjoy the book, use and improve your imagination and motivation, and reduce your stress levels!

The Slow Movement – Money

Another way in which the slow movement seeks to connect us to our communities is by the use of money.

Slow money means supporting local businesses and small enterprises such as farms. Buy local fresh produce, go to a Farmers Market near to you, or invest in a CSA where fresh produce is delivered to you. Go to a small local store if you can, rather than a large chain.

And when you’re more involved with your local community, you’ll be able to do things like borrow big items instead of buying them.

Slow is Green

And (just in case you hadn’t noticed!), the whole slow movement ties in perfectly with green living. Nothing disposable after only one use, enjoying fresh local produce, living like a local on vacation, enjoying a good book and truly relaxing, and supporting local businesses.

Perfect!