Slow Down & Smell The Roses
If you look up the definition of sustainability you will likely come across something along these lines:
Sustainability- The ability to meet present needs without compromising those of future generations. (source: Wikipedia)
Essentially it all comes down to the idea of ‘balance’ – typically on a global (or at least large) scale ie. the balance between human growth/progress and the integrity of the planet we live on.
Well, of course aside from planetary and societal balance, we also need to find a certain degree of sustainability in our own lives. With each passing year, the pace of mainstream living just seems to become more an more insane. Technological progress has of course helped us in so many amazing ways, yet it is also the main reason we seem to have so little ‘time’ for the simpler things in life.
As far as my own life goes, I like to think I’m already off the beaten track, and starting to make my way down ‘the road not taken’, so to speak. I decided once and for all a year and a half ago that I had no interest in joining in the insanity – and instead opted for life in the slow lane! I work from home, I pursue things I’m passionate about, and I make more time for the important people in my life. I’ve never been happier!
What’s interesting is that this idea of slowing down the pace of your life actually fits in quite nicely with the overall concept of ‘sustainable living’. In fact as I recently discovered, there is even something called the “Slow Movement”, which relates very closely to the topic of our recent guest post (by Tracey Smith) – ‘downshifting’.
Although I’ve certainly come across the term ‘slow food’, I haven’t really read anything about the Slow Movment as a whole, until today. This afternoon I came across a really interesting site called (appropriately enough) Slow Movement, and I highly recommend you check it out if this is an area of interest for you. (It seems to be a work in progress, but does look quite promising)
From the site:
The Slow Movement aims to address the issue of ‘time poverty’ through making connections. If we think about the following trends. Buddhism is the fastest growing religion in the world today. People are turning to organic food in droves. Schools are in turmoil.
How slow can you go? Home schooling is becoming commonplace. People are downshifting. The Slow Food movement is gaining popularity with 811 convivia worldwide.Stress is leading to unprecedented health problems. “Stop the world I want to get off” is a feeling we all have sometimes.
Why is this happening? What is wrong? What are we searching for? The one thing that is common to all these trends is connection. We are searching for connection. We want connection to people – ourselves, our family, ourcommunity, our friends, – to food, to place (where we live), and to life. We want connection to all that it means to live – we want to live a connected life.
I love the concept of ‘time poverty’! As rich as we are in our ‘developed’ countries, it’s funny to think that we have so little time to truly enjoy life.
Of course, my late introduction to the Slow Movement is no indication that it’s some revolutionary new idea. We’ve certainly talked about other lucky souls who are currently enjoying life in the slow lane (Lichenology, Pocket Farm, Path To Freedom, The Human Hobbit, to name a few).
With more people starting to opt for a more slow-paced, fulfilling life, I’d like to think we’ll see a heightened interest in environmentalism as a whole (there seems to be a fairly decent correlation between the two). I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of ‘normal’ people feel like they just “don’t have the time” to concern themselves with environmental matters (a fairly weak excuse of course) while trying to keep up with the Joneses. Even the transition to a slower paced life itself is pretty environmentally responsible when you think about it – the fuel savings alone would have to be pretty impressive.
Anyway, this is a topic area I will definitely focusing a lot more in coming months. Again, if you want to read about a closely related idea, be sure to check out Tracey’s Downshifting website.
Technorati Tags: slow movement, slow food, slow living, slow money, downshifting, stress reduction, sustainable living, appreciating life, simplifying
Written by Bentley on March 5th, 2007 with
1 comment.
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#1. March 6th, 2007, at 8:04 AM.
Hi Bentley,
On that note, I highly recommend wafting through ‘In Praise of Slow’ by my good friend, Carl Honoré.
A fascinating look at many aspects of slowing things down a gear, in areas ranging from cities to sex!
Keep it real…do it slow…keep it green,
TS x