When we started writing at 3mph five years ago, we wanted to share our explorations into living a slower more intentional life; an alternative to the American Dream. At least the rush hour traffic, nose to the grindstone, late nights part of it. We didn’t enjoy the productivity meetings, performance reviews and email hell all that much either. Then there were the busy airports, security lines and shitty restaurant food, not to mention credit card debt, a mid-life crisis or two, depression and that unshakeable emptiness that came from being owned by a giant corporation. But maybe your American Dream’s working out better than ours was.
“Slow Living is not about doing less in life, it’s about appreciating life more.”
We pulled the plug on the American Dream almost a decade ago, downsizing and moving as quickly as possible from the fast lane, into the slow lane. At the time we hadn’t heard of the Slow Living movement. We were just following our hearts, which were screaming for a slower, more connected and intentional way to live. “Keep your American Dream; give us back our freedom, our time and our life!”
The Slow Living movement was already in full swing back then, so obviously plenty of other folks were feeling the same disenchantment with the fast paced, fast food, fast living lifestyle that we’d adopted in pursuit of the American Dream. The Slow Living movement followed on the heels of the Slow Food revolution that began in Rome in 1986, after the opening of a fast food restaurant sparked a widespread national protest.
“Slow Food” officially became a global movement when leading Italian cultural figures and folks from 14 other countries signed the Slow Food Manifesto, in 1989. The Slow Living movement, materialized shortly after, in response to the frenetic and fast-paced nature of modern life. Just like our idea for 3mph, the slow living movement encourages a more mindful and intentional approach to daily life, with the goal of cultivating a deeper connection with ourselves, each other and nature.
“Speed became our shackles.” ~ Slow Food Manifesto
Guiding Principles of the “Slow Living” Lifestyle.
- Balance: Slow Living is about finding a balance between work, leisure, and personal time, in other words, having some fun. It discourages overcommitment and busyness in favor of balance and sustainablity.
- Connection: Build meaningful connections with others and grow community. Spend quality time with loved ones, face-to-face and enjoy local activities. Plug in!
- Food: The complete nutrition found in whole foods will bring you into harmony. The harmony that was stolen from us by the Industrial Revolution. We were fooled into trading an amazing smorgasbord of natural whole foods for industrial waste. Aisles and aisles of prepackaged food, not much different from dog chow, except that human chow generally contains more toxic seed oils and sugar. Eating should be an exciting, rich experience that not only sustains us but heals us. The “Slow Food Manifesto,” truly captures the essence.
- Mindfulness: Slowing down keeps you present in the moment and fully engaged, savoring each new experience and appreciating the details of your life.
- Nature: Slow Living is all about connecting with nature. Spending time outdoors, appreciating natural beauty, and living sustainably.
- Quality, not Quantity: Quality relationships, quality experiences and quality possessions. Invest in what really matters and stop wasting time on what doesn’t.
- Self-Care: Taking care of yourself instead of taking care of your job is one of the keys to Slow Living. We could create a half dozen bullet points on this one aspect and perhaps we will in a later post. Your spiritual, mental and physical health are all vital to long-term happiness and fulfillment.
- Simplicity: Focus on the essential things in life and eliminate the unnecessary. Declutter your living spaces, your schedule and your mind.
- Solitude: The idea of solitude appeals to many of us, but when it comes time to actually do it, we tend to let busyness rule, probably because of fear and uncertainty. “I have too much to do.” Just one more email or one more meeting or one more energy drink. Even when it’s draining us of our vital life energy, we stay switched on, always connected, always stimulated. Going, going, gone!
“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” ~ Lao Tzu
Slow Living is not about doing less in life, it’s about appreciating life more. Living intentionally, and hunting for joy in all the simple moments that life serves up. While the movement gained momentum in early 2000, the principles aren’t really anything new, in fact they align almost perfectly with those of our ancestors, prior to the Industrial Revolution. It seems that collectively we’re not just headed in the wrong direction, we are headed there in the fast lane.