Living Slow When Life Feels Fast

Slow living sounds nice in theory, right? Moving leisurely through your days with little hurry or anxiety about the next thing while being fully present in the moment. In modern culture, something that was once the only way people knew how to live has become this fantasized and “unrealistic” thing. But what if we were actually meant to live this way? Maybe it isn’t just some fairytale life but something that is attainable and even necessary to provide healing and bring forth your best work.

journal and green mug of coffee sitting next to a window where it's raining outside with a purple flower in the window

Lately, I have found myself feeling quite anxious as I prepare for weekends away, trips, and vacations. I wouldn’t consider myself an overly anxious person in general, but this most recent season of life has brought it on for the first time. One of the times it rears its ugly head is when we are preparing to leave town. I experienced it in full force as I was packing for a recent camping trip. Fortunately, this was a time that I was able to put slow living strategies in to practice, so I thought I would share just exactly how slow living works when the day ahead of you feels overwhelming.

Slow Living in Practice

We’ve all been there, you’re supposed to leave town in a few hours and you have absolutely nothing packed. The panic sets in as you don’t know how you’re going to get it all done. Worse yet, the task overwhelms you leading you to procrastinate or distract yourself from the uncomfortable feelings you’re experiencing. This is exactly what happened to me as I got ready to go camping last weekend. Camping not only requires you to pack the clothing you will wear and the food you will eat, but also the literal shelter in which you will stay.

All of these feelings and more were what I was experiencing as the day we were supposed to leave was upon me. In the past, I have implemented different strategies for handling packing.

I used to write very detailed lists and think through every aspect of the trip. I then went item by item on the list. I eventually found this exhausting to essentially go through the packing process twice (once for my list and once for the actual pack).

After I burned out on this method, I the went to having a very generalized list (sometimes just one in my head) and would just wake up and start doing something, anything the day I had to leave. Whatever thought came to my head, that is what I did next in the packing process.

While this method seemed time effective because I was constantly moving and could jump right into packing and not stop moving, it also led to inefficiency and procrastination since I felt so burnt out by the constant flurry of movement in both my brain and body. To say I was scattered would be an understatement.

This was the urge I woke up to the morning we were to leave to go camping. I wanted to just jump right in and do something but also dreaded the burnt out feeling that would result from this action. I felt anxious and overwhelmed by all that I wanted to get done. The uncomfortable feeling brought about the urge to pick up my phone, open YouTube, and find a distraction from these feelings. Instead, I had the forethought to pause and ask myself “Is this really what I need right now?”

The answer was of course a hard “NO” but then led to the next question, “What do I actually desire right now?”. This answer was a little harder to come by but as I sat there is the discomfort, the realization eventually dawned on me. What I truly wanted was a moment to rest and relax before diving into the tasks of the day.

woman reading a book outside with a cup of coffee practicing slow living

Slowing Down Is Healing

Even though taking a few minutes sounded like something I didn’t have time for, I embraced it. I grabbed a cup of warm lemon water, pulled one of my favorite books off the shelf that I love to re-read at this time of year, and headed outside to sit in morning sunlight.

What I intended to last 10-15 minutes turned into closer to an hour as I soaked in the late summer sun, did a little reading, and even just sat in silence letting my mind wander. I forced myself to simply be in the moment. I pushed away my anxieties and worries and let the warmth of the sun energize both my body and my spirit.

As the life came back to me and I no longer felt chained down my anxiety, I slowly let myself come back to the tasks I hoped to accomplish that day. Instead of feeling rushed and overwhelmed, my mind was able to construct and slow and peaceful but efficient way to get all of the packing done.

Keep in mind, not a single thing that I needed to get done that day had changed. What did change was my mindset around it.

Once coming back inside, I again felt an urge to begin hurrying to complete the plan I had formulated; but I again stopped, slowed my mind, and began taking deliberate but peaceful steps towards packing.

I finished folding laundry and packing up clothes for the weekend in about 20 minutes. I then moved on to digging out the camping items out of a storage closet and so on with the packing process. Not only did I finish packing before lunch, but this also included a trip the dog park to soak in more sunlight and watch the pup prance around at the park.

Since I had finished the packing earlier than anticipated, I kept up this slow and steady pace as I vacuumed and mopped the floor and tidied up the house. I even had time to begin brainstorming this blog post!

It is amazing what I can accomplish in a day when I slow down. Previously, I would have frantically worked for a few hours, then crashed a burned and procrastinated on my phone until I had to hurry once more to get everything done before leaving.

I in no way have this slow living thing down all the time, but this day was a huge step in the right direction for me. It is so much more peaceful, joyful, and productive to work at a slow and natural pace.

Practical Steps For Slowing Down

I am a big believer that life and experience are the greatest teachers. No method, strategy, or outline is going to instill a lesson in your mind like experience does which is why I think the real life example above is most helpful.

At the same time, when we are overwhelmed by our thoughts and feelings, that step-by-step guide can be helpful in bringing you back to the place where that lesson was learned. That’s why I have written out this step-by-step process to walk through when such a moment as this arises.

Take a deep breath. I know this is what everyone says but it is an actual physiological process that will settle your body down from this fight-or-flight mode. Take a few deep breaths if one doesn’t do the trick.
Ask yourself what you need right now. This is so powerful because it loosens the grip that our emotions have on our actions. So often we act based on our emotions rather than asking what are emotions are showing us that we need in the moment. Ask yourself; “What would help make this situation easier, more peaceful, and more enjoyable?”
Move forward in peace and slowness. Once you have taken care of what your body and mind needs, you are then able to take the steps towards accomplishing that which needs to be done.