The Pleasures of Slow Living
We all live it or live with it to some extent – our society’s obsession with speed. Whether it’s with omnipresent traffic, constant deadlines, or crammed schedules, too many of us spend too much time running or overrun. The pace itself can over time become a lens for life, our focus in constant erratic motion. In the cursory sweeps of our day, we miss out on the nuanced textures of life – the sensory pleasures of a good meal, the subtle changes in our growing child’s face, the quiet beauty of a weekend morning, the warm connection with a partner or friend. What do we do when we find ourselves caught in an unsustainable momentum? The answer for some is an internationally growing – and diversely focused – movement known as slow living.
Today experts tell us that runaway stress has us teetering on the verge of a public health crisis with three-quarters of Americans reporting they “experience stress at levels that exceed what they define as healthy.” Undoubtedly, our obsession with speed contributes to this trend. We’re taking on more than we can reasonably process. We’re doing more and experiencing less.
One of the central voices of the slow living movement, Carl Honoré, argues our society is caught in an ever escalating “arms race” of speed, and we’re all paying the consequences. In one of the movement’s seminal books, In Praise of Slowness, Honoré illuminates a sad reality shaped by everything from fast food to “one-minute bedtime stories” as well as research on parents who spend twice as much time on email as they do on playtime with their children, workers who face burnout in their twenties and thirties, and doctors whose minimal time with patients causes them to miss pertinent if not critical information. Our addiction to speed, Honoré warns, is undermining our personal relationships, our societal civility, our individual fulfillment, and physical health.
Speed in this sense is more than a velocity, as slow living proponents explain. It morphs sooner or later into a personal and collective mindset. It becomes the rationalization behind all manner of deleterious choices. From a society standpoint, for example, it can be relying on “fast” farming methods (e.g. CAFOs, GMOs) that produce short term profits with long term consequences. On a personal level, it can encompass all of the games we play with ourselves to stay above water like eating quick instead of nourishing food, neglecting fitness and play, using stimulants to get through another afternoon, giving up sleep, and multitasking our way through each day. In our attempts to meet the most immediate obligations, we miss filling our most essential needs.
Beyond the logistical strategies and short-term fixes, there’s a better way, say slow living advocates. Slow living, according to its proponents, is predominantly about the attention and intentionality we bring to the spheres of life. It’s about living one’s values and giving out time and attention accordingly. Slow living as it exists today grew out of the slow food movement, which began in Italy during the 1980s with a call to focus on the sources and experience of food. The broader scope of the movement today reflects the getting back to basics ideal behind slow food. Then it was about supporting regional food, traditional cooking, and and the personal and social pleasures of eating. Today in the various and sundry offshoots of slow living (e.g. slow parenting, slow design, slow travel, slow money, slow education, and slow health), it can mean everything from seeking out complementary and alternative therapies to working (and living on) less, from observing “secular sabbaths” from technology to savoring the pleasures of slow sex.
Experience tells us that slow activities and a slower pace make for a more relaxing experience. People everywhere take up “slow hobbies” like knitting or wood carving (even if they never thought of them in this light). We enjoy the quieting influence of an ambling stroll at night. We relish the slow and sensory feast of a big holiday dinner.
Yet, there’s science to support the call to decelerate. Long, slow low-level aerobic workouts, for example, are correlated with everything from improved memory and increase longevity to reduced risk of metabolic syndrome, breast cancer and cardiovascular disease. The Body by Science strength training protocol, in which loads are lifted at an extremely slow rate, can result in greater muscle gain for some people and can help diversify a strength training regimen. “Slow agriculture” that raises livestock with biologically appropriate feeds (e.g. grass grazing) and grows crops without the use of the synthetic pesticides make for a more nourishing (and less toxic) food supply. Activities that induce the quiet state of mental flow can ease symptoms of anxiety and challenge us in positive, healthy ways.
To advocates, the crux of slow living refuses quantification. Living slowly ultimately means living deeply. Slow travel, for example, is both a lesson in its own right and a metaphor for the movement. There’s something missed in hitting the postcard sites of a city we travel to and then moving on to the next destination. We have the photo memento for our collection, but we leave relatively unchanged. Committing to a single destination for as much time as our vacation allows gives us the chance to delve into the culture of a place – to experience the subtler but more telling characteristics of a locale. We meet the people, hear the stories, feel the communal rhythm. With time and attention, we encounter a place and let its influence permeate us. We return home different, richer for the journey. Slow movement advocates talk about the importance of incubation, that rich period in which the influence of an experience synthesizes with self. Time and mental space is critical for this absorption. Slow living – in all its spheres – seeks above all to cultivates a reflection and nurturance our immediate gratification culture often eschews. Proponents say it calls us to commit our time and passion to what feels most natural and life-giving.
How do I see the connection between slow living and Primal living? I think slow living on some level reclaims what is natural in human relations, basic sustenance, and life balance. Though I might suggest a more worthy slow food ritual than bread baking, I’m won over to the overall concept. Contrary as I am, I appreciate an effort to challenge conventional thinking.
More than that, however, I like how slow living in many respects brings us closer to some of our evolutionary patterns. Sure, Grok wasn’t pondering the virtues of a “slow” stock portfolio or holding workshops on tantric sex (although who knows). Nonetheless, the core of the movement rings true – and timeless. There’s a reason we miss quiet weekends untethered to technology. There’s a reason a city with ample park space and a vibrant pedestrian zone feels more inviting than a congested sea of skyscrapers and cars. There’s a reason we feel uniquely fulfilled cooking and sharing a homemade meal with others. These were the basic experiences of our ancestors. Humanity evolved with rhythms and rituals modern acceleration has left in the dust. Our psyches haven’t caught up with the change of pace. Life makes more sense the slow way.
As slow living advocates explain, it’s not about moving through life at a snail’s pace. Slow living calls us to bring intention to our mental tempo. We exert the energy and speed we want to conjure for a particular task, but we don’t get caught up in an addiction to pace. It’s about deciphering a “sweet spot” for living, a personally optimal rhythm for life that serves us best. We can be challenged without being overwhelmed. We can feel recharged without being stagnant. A good Primal life seeks that same sweet spot – an individually determined set point for thriving. Slow living can be one more framework to help you cultivate that goal.
Thanks for reading today. Let me know your thoughts on slow living. Have a great end to the week, everyone!
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Posted By: Mark Sisson
Once again, this is the most important primal topic and think we shouldn’t allow the most privileged among us to define it (oh, I live on my island, my servants bring me morning poached eggs to the beach etc.) in order not so much to prevent perception of being elitist, but primarily to prevent further barbarization of society.
I just finished reading a Slow Living blog for the first time. My own personal philosophy has moved markedly in this direction over the last couple years, though I hadn’t thought to put a label on it or realize that it’s a nascent movement.
Thank you for posting this article. It’s nice to know there is a community of like-minded people from whom I can glean ideas on how to further improve my quality of life.
This blog was so timely. Recently, I started allowing myself to get caught up in the speed of life. Things were moving a million miles an hour in my mind and I was afraid to slow down because, in my mind, I just “had so much to do.” Its time to sit down and, as the author Tim Ferriss commonly states, “focus on the critical few instead of the trivial many.” Thanks Mark for this helpful reminder!
My favorite vacation spot is back home in Colombia. I wake up to a view of the mountains, TV is not a big part of everyday life, walking to places is routine, cell phones are not abundant. It’s a slower pace culture that favors human interaction over multitasking. Time passes slowly and peacefully. After every visit, it takes me two weeks to readjust to the chaos of my life here.
I think Ferris Bueller said it best. “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
I was just discussing this, this morning as I’m visiting family down in Georgia, while I’m from around Boston. Life is so different down here, and although it seems like a stereotype I actually really do notice it. Maybe its the heat, but people move a lot more slowly
I definitely like it though, its making me less stressed and more happy.
http://gawker.com/5931205/you-dont-need-that-fancy-shit
I thought this link exemplifies a slow living take on exercise. Let’s go kick some banana trees!!
Like so many things primal, this resonates with me tremendously. I have been realizing this myself for some time. I have adopted reading by candlelight in my bedroom to wind down before sleep on some evenings. It is incredibly relaxing. I wish that the 40-hour workweek would disappear in favor of a 3 or 4-day workweek, no more than 8 hours per day including the drive. How sweet that would be!
I just resigned from my job as a nurse in a level 1 trauma center. I transfer in 2 weeks to a small community ER. It is known for its slow pace and I seriously worried I would be bored. This could not be a more timely piece for me to read. At my current job, I know daily I don’t give really good care, everything is rushed, always. I am looking forward to being able to have a conversation with my patients again, soon.
I calmed down just reading this article
Just reprint the same article weekly so I can get regular reminders!
Slow living sounds like the perfect pace of life. It would be a lovely change to our frenetic need for the next new thing. I wonder if there will come a point in our future where we’ll find that balance again?
Thank-you for this blog. It’s the best. You articulate thoughts and feelings that I have re: this issue. I had 2 reactions when I read it — gratitude that you had written it, and “who can I send it to”. I sent it to my sister who is like-minded and she had the same 2 reactions. We thought it useless to send it to people we thought could use it since they would be too busy to read it. I am so happy to hear that there is a slow living movement — that there actually are other people out there who see the negative repurcussions in the way our world is going. Even if we have to work 9-5 there are ways to work “slowly”. I would love to be able to open a little restaurant called “the slow living cafe” and the tag line would be “if you are in a hurry, don’t come here!” Thanks again for putting these thoughts down on your blog.
Stress and cortisol are two issues that I struggle with. Any thoughts on the best way to track whether these two issues could be causing health issues or otherwise preventing me from improving myself further? I know that blood tests are a possibility, but any quick checks that might provide more immediate feedback? (e.g., blood pressure, blood sugar testing, etc.)
Thanks, Mark!
Today I lived slowly. I’m one of those people who can get caught up in accomplishing a mile long list or I don’t feel good about my day. I caught myself this morning getting worked up and just stopped- here’s what I did today instead of those million other things:
Went to our farmer and picked up our meat and eggs for the next couple weeks.
Talked to his wife while our kids played.
Went for a swim with my mother and son.
Went shopping for an hour and ate a nice dinner.
Went to my aunts farm to walk and play with my son. Read a book on the porch while he played some more. Showed him around the barn. Decided we should spend the night at the farm, while dad had a night with his buds. Read some more. Played cards. Watched part of a movie with son. Put him to bed and read some more.
Tomorrow when we wake up we are going to exercise in the yard together.
Drink coffee on the porch while dad sleeps in.
Return home.
It’s been fabulous.
Ive been practicing and working at perfecting this for 3 years now and just wrote a short piece on my blog about it yesterday. I really feel I own my life again!
There was once an American traveler who planned a safari to Africa. He was that typical Type-A American tourist, who many of us may be and who I admittedly am when I travel. We do our research about this travel destination and we have a timetable, maps, and a clear agenda of the things we need to see and do. Some local people had even been hired to carry some of the traveler’s supplies as they trekked throughout the land—it was that level of planning.On the first morning, they all woke up early and traveled fast and covered a great distance. The second morning was the same—woke up early, traveled fast, and traveled far. Third morning, same thing. But on the fourth morning, the local hired help refused to move. Instead, they sat by a tree in the shade well into the morning. The American traveler became incensed and irate and said to his translator, “This is a waste of valuable time. Can someone tell me what’s going on here?” The translator looked at him and calmly answered, “They’re waiting for their souls to catch up with their bodies.”
(Terry Hershey, Sacred Necessities: Gifts for Living with Passion, Purpose, and Grace, 68-69.)
I think slower living is also more conducive to better mental activities. Years ago, I used to live alone. While my work was pretty hectic (I worked for a food service), but it was bearable as I was pretty much free once I clocked out. Outside work, I had minimal commitments, which allowed me to pretty much do whatever I wanted. At home, I had no computer (too expensive, relative to my income), and TV reception was so bad that I did not bother with watching TV. So, I had to find other ways to entertain myself. I predominantly read books and worked on art projects. On hindsight, these were very good habits, but they required quite a bit of free and slow time.
I deliberately try to stop and stare and not go out much as I know I need loads of time alone to be happy. Lots of cultures though, most of those in jungles etc and plenty in sophisticated countries cannot understand any need to aloneness, silence and privacy and are totally communal in life.
I had considered decades ago not pursuing a career and just being self sufficient and I am very glad I did not. If you farm (our neolithic ancestors 9000 years ) then you labour from dawn to dusk (7th day ye rest etc) and it’s not an easier life at all. In fact it’s subsistence and pretty dire.
If you hunt and forage (paleo ancestors 1.5 m years) you probably do sit around more (see various interviews with jungle tribes) and just help yourself to what you need as long as you have a tiny population and massive amount of land with abundant fish etc.
There is a big issue in the UK of many people being very very slow as we have a cradle to grave social system and free healthcare for all so people like I am who work very hard are subsidising a lot who have chosen a very slow life indeed. That is a very political issue and on a micro level anyone who marries someone better off and then they do not work nor do housework is picking perhaps very sensibly slow living but in effect on the back of the efforts of others. One reason I can at times be “slow” is one of my older children works for me part time so they are doing the fast necessary things the household needs so I can be slow.
I have no option but to take things slow-not from choice but from an arthritic hip for the last ten years.If anyone knows how to regenerate a hip joint let me know
I think there is a difference from taking it slow voluntarily than forced to be slow and that makes it stressful. Perhaps I need to relook at it from this angle and enjoy it.
I am lovng that living the primal lifestyle means taking some time to go to the farmer’s market, and to potter in the kitchen preparing foods. Just want to share this great book from downunder: The Rushing Woman Syndrome by Dr Libby Weaver.
http://www.drlibby.com/rushing-womans-syndrome/
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