The Beauty of Slow Living

Transcript

hi everybody, welcome back to Soulish femme. My name is Glennavelle Manarang to those of you who are here for the very first time, I would like to welcome you on my podcast. And to those of my viewers and returning subscribers, thank you for coming back once again and today’s topic is titled, “The beauty of slowing down or slow living.” Yes, it is a trend that has been talked on YouTube, social media but what is slow living really and what does it take for you to have a slow life? Many people might claim that in order for you to have a slow living in life, you have to move somewhere. Perhaps, Italy a place where there is a slow living, out in the bundock or out in the country side. But as for me, as I pondered upon this concept of slow living, it’s nothing short of a mindset. It is your mindset. It is how you choose to live your life and you don’t have to pack your bag and live or move across 2,000 miles away to be happy and to have the kind of slow living.

#1 Preparation

If you can afford it. What’s going to what I’m going to do for the rest of us. So, this is why I must give you practical advices on how you can in corporate in slowing down your life. When was the last time you actually took the time to start your day in the morning without rushing and fumbling? But got up with ease and unhurried. These are the things that are detrimental to your body. It all comes down to preparation. The night before especially when you have a job in the morning. Especially when you’re a mother you must prepare the night before and so what does it look like. Well, perhaps you could prepare your clothes the night before figuring out what to wear and maybe the things that you have to do the night before so that by the morning you don’t have to fumble and you don’t have to become so stressed out. Especially when you have children and you are trying to take care of them too and you’re trying to prepare lunch for your husband and lunch for your kids.

a. Mindfulness & Time Management

So, this is one of the things that you must do. Preparation is the key. Being mindful of how you are going to use your time wisely. The time must be on your side and not going to go against you, and secondly perhaps as I said, to slow down is perhaps if you are going to wake up earlier than the rest of your family. If you are a morning person, it doesn’t really bother you. I love mornings because that’s a time when I can think about my life. I can slow down trying to enjoy my sip of coffee while journaling or talking to God or reading my Bible or reading a book it is a time for you to contemplate in the morning. But if you are not a morning person perhaps, you should probably going to stay away from your phone at 9:00 pm and tell yourself to stop being on your social media browsing countless, numerous things that are just nonsense.

Because that is going to rob you of your sleep sometimes I would tell myself that by 9:00 you have to get off your phone and screen time and just lie down on the bed sometimes. I would tell myself I would go to bed at 10 o’clock and sometimes I would go but most of the nights. I love to go to bed at the same time. Because our body really needs rest. Especially, like mothers like me we have so much things that we have to go through throughout the day. You need to be recharged. You have to have really a lot of rest. Because you’re going to take care of your children not only that you’re taking care of your husband, you have to do the laundry, you have to cook, you have to clean, scrub the toilet and oi, next thing you know the time is just running fast and you don’t have time for yourself. Sometimes you are just no time to take a shower, no time to brush your teeth because you are not preparing your time and in the morning you are just going to be haggard and stressed out.

#2 Savor Your Food

Another thing to slow down is perhaps enjoying your food. Yes, we have been programmed especially in United States of America to just rush eat while you work and it is something that I do not really like. I prefer to eat my food savoring every bite and really chewing my food because your stomach doesn’t have any teeth. This is the reason why for many years of my life I had indigestion. I had IBS, acid reflux because I was always rushing and I only had 30 minutes of lunch. When I was working and I have to come back and as soon as I have to come back. I have to do this and work and at night time I would also rush. Because I had to go to school at night time. So, all of my 20 years up to 30s I was developing all of this problem in my stomach. Not realizing that I was rushing all the time and my body was actually being triggered because of not have the time to slow down. I would sometimes just eat and rush through the day because we have nothing enough, we have short time of lunch and that’s why we’re always rushing and rushing.

a. Slow Down & Adapt the French Lifestyle

And this is why I love the French living that they always talk about really slowing down. It’s all about trying to have this presence, to have awareness. When you eat they enjoy their food. Food is a celebration for them and perhaps that’s why I love their way of uh. just trying to really understand that food is not something that you can really just put down in your throat and there you go, you can just leave. It takes one hour at least to two hours to digest your food especially when you’re eating meat and therefore I don’t know why we always rush things and why we always eating food as as much as we can. As if our life is going to become what is this unproductive. If we somehow have 1 hour at least to eat and this is why when Irealized the things that are going through in my stomach is because I was stressed out.

#3 Prioritize

I was always rushing always looking at the time. It’s time for me to go and I have to leave. So, another thing is that slow living isn’t just being stagnant or being lazy. I am not condoning that you should not do things that is productive. I’m not condoning that you have to be lazy. I’m not condoning that you must not go after your dreams. But it’s by learning to live a life without pressure or getting stressed out. It’s about cutting out any things that are no longer going to make your life beautiful. It’s about prioritizing things that truly matters. Perhaps, there are things in your life that you’re just doing 10 things in one day. Could you at least cut it down to five things that are priorities on your lists? You don’t have to do every 10 things on your to-do list especially as an American we love to have to-do list. I used to have a lot of to-do list. It makes us feel so good, doesn’t it as if you’re going to be rewarded of all those things.

No one is going to reward you. I don’t care what you say, I love to-do list. Don’t get me wrong, I like to check off my list, five things that I did today but at the same time when you cannot do those 10 things today. You can delegate them the following day, but you have topic at least three things on your list or to five things that are the top priority and the rest can wait and if you have unfinished tasks that you did not do today. You can again delegate it tomorrow and then the following day so that you don’t have to be so stressed out and then you’re just going to say I can’t do it all. Because I cannot keep it all. Slow living requires preparing ahead of time.

a. Create A Weekly Schedule

As I said, in a week so you need to have a calendar, perhaps; I used to have this uh Mondays through Sundays that I’ve made on my I think Google Docs. I have to really figure out what are the days that I do the laundry Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays before or sometimes I can be flexible and what are the days that I can actually prepare food for my family. Sometimes on the weekends that’s when I ask my family what are going to eat the following week. As I said, you really have to really just manage your time wisely so that you don’t have to waste any of your time. Because time is acommodity that you cannot afford to lose. Another part of slow living is be patient with yourself in the process. Because especially when we are trying to create this business and trying to achieve our goals. We think that we are going to just get there one night and over time we’re just going to quit because the following morning. We have not yet received or saw the outcome but a slow living is about really slowing down.

The process it’s enjoying the journey I used to think that just because it did not happen last year or my business is not booming yet I have not seen any growth. It doesn’t mean it’s not working because majority of us are programmed to do what? We are conditioned to make it fast, quick, and everything is convenient. As we know we have drive-thrus today. We have microwavable food because we don’t have time to cook and everything has to be convenient but at the same time. It is actually trying to teach us how to become impatient and this is why we cannot wait for the growth to happen and slow living is not in our vocabulary. Because it has been so embedded in our society that everything must be quick fast and everything must be working so well according to your plan. But sometimes when you are going to go fast and you are just going to do things sloppy and half-heartedly no quality and no excellence. This is why sometimes we have to learn how to slow down and just watch the process at as it goes.

#4 Breathe

Another thing that we have to also remember is to breathe. Yes, part of slowing down is to breathe. Learn how to slow down, meditate and contemplate. You have to think instead of spending so much time on your cellphone. Maybe you can just have 10 minutes of your time while you can just practice breathing in and breathing out. You have to learn how to listen to yourself. No one really likes to sit down because it is uncomfortable. We just like to be entertained because we have nothing short of entertainment. We don’t want to come into our self and really introspect and to self-reflect of what we’re going through currently.

So, what we do is we always like to engage ourselves with television, endless sorts of entertainment. We have always been bombarded with those kinds of things -distraction. This is why we cannot really sit for 20 to 30 minutes. Sometimes I have to tell myself to sit down and really just listen to what my body needs right now. If you have 10 minutes, that’s okay. You can gradually increase as a day goes or the week goes but you learn to breathe and slow down and meditate. You are you’re going to be surprised of how much tension your body is carrying. Because you don’t know how to breathe. We are carrying so much stress on our shoulders especially for women. We’re carrying too much stress. That’s why you have back pain. You have back ache because we don’t have time to just breathe.

#5 Move Your Body

And also movement is another thing. You have to really learn how to move your body stretching. You have to probably do a little bit of stretching 5 minutes to 10 minutes. It will also makes a lot of difference in your body when you stretch out your body. Majority of people want to get out of the city because they think they cannot create that harmonious living in your home. As I said, you don’t have to pack your bag and leave. Perhaps, if that’s exactly what you want to do with your life, go for it. But for the rest of us that right now in the season of your life. If you cannot afford to move out and being in a countryside. Then you just have to learn how to slow down.

#6 Organize Your Space

What can also help you to slow down is perhaps you got to live an organized living. A clutter space is a cluttered mind. Maybe you have been stressed out. You don’t have peace of mind because your surrounding is cluttered. It is messy. There are so many things that you don’t actually need that are accumulating dust. The things that are creating too much stressors in your life. Maybe learn to minimize those clutter and get rid of them. Maybe you toss it out, give it away. I don’t know what else you need to do but how much mug do you need? How many plates can you possibly have? How many stuff that are just laying around in your closet? Clothes that you haven’t worn for five years. How long can you possibly keep it up until when? I don’t know what about I don’t know about you, but sometimes when I have too much stuff laying around that I don’t need it gives me a lot of stress. I cannot think properly and for the past few days I had to intentionally go through my space. I have to really ask myself the question, what are the things that I’ve been keeping for so long and it’s hard to let go of some of the things that you have been keeping.

Because you thought to yourself, maybe someday I’m going to need it. I’m just going to keep it again or then the next year came and you haven’t really touched the thing. Therefore; you’re still keeping and hanging on to it. Therefore; you’re just accumulating and that space is supposedly for another space and then you just ended up getting stressed out. Because you have a lot of pile of books. Maybe you need to give it away some of it, a pile of stuff, and junk that you have not really touched for a whole year and you thought to yourself maybe this year. Perhaps, today is your assignment is to go through your house and figure out what are the things that are accumulating dust and you have not touch it for the last two years. Then it’s time for you to say goodbye because as I said, we cannot afford to just constantly accumulating stuff.

#7 Practice Gratitude

Another thing as I said is to have a slow living is learning how to just have gratitude. Be grateful for what you have in this life. Maybe people who have always been rushing because they think that the location is the problem because they have forgotten the things that they have. So, one of the things that this girl said when she moved to Italy is the pros and the cons of slow living. When she moved to Italy in a countryside, she didn’t realize that the things that she had to give up such as the convenience of a Wi-Fi that is fast, the delivery time like Amazon or anything that can be delivered at your front door in one day. Those were the things that she didn’t realize that she had to pay. So there are things that you don’t realize that convenience versus inconvenience. So you have to ask yourself the question, do I want to have a slow living but there are a lot of inconveniences like slow Wi-Fi, about the delivery time. Because if you want to be slow, I mean the country is not going to rush for you especially when the country is so used of doing things slowly.

Another thing she pointed out is even waiting for a train to arrive, she said, sometimes it’s on time and sometimes it’s late. So you just have to ask yourself the question, what am I willing to give up? Am I willing to give up convenience or would I want to being inconvenience? Because the train is not there on time and I’m actually rushing to go to work. So, as I said, we always learn to just complain, we try to not be grateful for the things that we do have in our life and then when we move out of the country. We realize that it’s actually not what’s crack up to be.

So, being grateful I think is that part of slow living is when you stop and slow down and really count your blessings. Instead of complaining and instead of asking for God to have more of whatever it is that you’re asking for. Maybe you have to slow down and stop for a while and count the things that you have in life. Maybe you have a wonderful family that loves you. Maybe you have a good health today. You’re living in a beautiful house, your health is good, you’re actually able to drive, you have food on your table. I don’t know but some people sometimes perhaps it’s because they’re not grateful for what they have and so they always think that the outside world is going to fix my problem. But perhaps, they haven’t really look within them that the only problem is them. The void that they’re trying to fill in their hearts. The chasm that is in their heart is because as I said slow living is a mindset per se.

#8 Cultivate Inner Peace

It is something that you’re thinking. It’s not something that you have to go across the globe in order for you to slow living. I think if I can search it right now. I love what this quote that says that I forgot the name. I think he was a Catholic monk or priest. I don’t know it’s Pasqual that said. Forgive me, because I’m actually trying to type it as I go and search it of exactly what he said. And I love what he said about this and he quoted, St Francis De Sales, “Never be in a hurry. Do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever even if your whole world seems upset.” There you go. Apart of slow living is never be in a hurry. You have to be deliberate. You have to do things quietly, in a calm spirit without complaining, without grumbling without trying to rush things. I know I’m guilty because when I used to live in the west coast. I mean the east coast rather, everybody was always rushing and everybody was always busy. When I moved to the west coast many years ago, hello! I had a culture shock as if I was in a different country. Because people in the west coast have a different mindset. They were not rushing. They took their time and so when I moved from the east coast to the west coast. I had to adjust. I had to adapt to that culture because people were not going to rush for my sake.

So, this is the reminder by St. Francis De Sales to not lose your inner peace. So your inner peace is going to be the one who has to govern how you live your life. Because the world is going to continually go wherever it wants to go. You cannot stop the time. You cannot really want the time to just stop based on what you want it to become. It’s actually, as I said, it is you who has the control over it. It is your mindset. It is how you approach life. It is how you deal with your circumstances and then it’s going to just acquiesed to what you want it to become. So, do not blame it on the traffic. Do not blame it on the weather. Do not blame it on the location that you’re currently in. Perhaps, it’s how you live your life. It’s how you approach things. It’s how you manage your time. It’s how you become so an prepared. It’s how you prioritize your things so per se. Yes the things in life that can contribute stress to you.

You can probably eliminate them. Of course, family is something you cannot eliminate because for some reason, God never given us a choice of what family we belong to. Nevertheless, the things that you can control and the things that is in your control, these are the things that you can do. As I said, maybe you’re going to plan ahead and have time management and you have to prioritize things. Then let go of the rest and that is all that I would like for you to think about that slow living or slow life is a mindset. It is how you approach things in this life and do not allow people to dictate to you. You cannot say yes to everybody. I said you must learn how to say no. You cannot be overly committed to everybody, overly be there for everybody because if that’s not the season of your life, why must you be at everybody’s beckon call? And you have to really learn to say no and set boundaries. Because for some of us we overly commit. We overly engage, we overly say yes to our family members or maybe friends, they asking us a favor and we keep saying yes and yes and yes. And you wonder why you’re all so stressed out and that is all that would like for you to think about on this podcast and I always leave you with be bold, be brave, and be courageous. I will see you on my next podcast.