In Praise of Slow: How Slowing Down Can Lift Us Up
Stopping to smell (and share) the flowers photo by Sandra Butel
I am Sandra Butel and this is my beautywalk.
beautywalk is my invitation to you to join me as I travel the internal and external paths that rise up in front of me as I experiment with a semi-nomadic lifestyle. I travel from house to house with TrustedHouseSitters, take care of people’s homes and their animals and focus my energy on writing and building my coaching practice and deepening my connection to myself, to others and to my deeper purpose here on this earth.
A Slow Walk to Start
I am just back from a walk on country lanes in Mid Devon, UK with my latest charge; the incomparably smart and gentle and focused dog, Gypsy. There is a pot of tomato sauce simmering slowly on the stove, from a recipe I got from my friend Louise, that will provide the base for a baked eggplant parmesan I will be making for tonight’s supper. My intention for today’s blog is to focus some attention on the value of slowing down and it is fitting that I took a long walk with Gypsy before shifting to the task of writing down my reflections on this topic.
What do you mean Slow?
The first time I came across the concept of slow anything was when I was traveling in Italy with my partner Francis and we arrived in Orvieto which was touted as one of the places where the Slow Food movement had begun. We took long leisurely walks through the medieval town and took much time enjoying the drawn out, delectable meals that were made from local produce and products from the region. I remember this food as being delicious and more importantly I remember the experience of eating it. The slowing down that it took to savour each bite of small course after small course and the diversity of flavours that we got to enjoy together is a memory I can still call up into my body and my spirit.
Gypsy shows me how to focus Photo by Sandra Butel
Slow Travel
I have been reflecting on my current lifestyle and have come to think of it as the epitome of Slow Travel; a form of travel where the focus is on delving deep into a place for long periods of time, with a focus on savouring slow-paced, intimate experiences. This can perhaps be better understood in contrast to the regular tourist experiences of rushing from thing to thing with fast paced, fully packed itineraries in an attempt to cross one more bucket list item off of our lists.
In the majority of my house sits I have chosen to be out in the country, away from towns and cities with only my feet as my mode of transportation. Often the home owners find it hard to believe that anyone would want to spend multiple days and/or weeks with only their house and the fields around as “entertainment”. They are quick to offer to lend me their car so that I can go further afield and get a “real” tourist experience in their lovely part of the world. Most often I thank them and tell them that I am looking forward to experiencing a very focused part of their part of the world and that I will not be needing a car to do that. My feet and my heart and my eyes and my ears are all I need to gain deep appreciation and knowledge of an area.
There is such joy in this new pace. In the taking of one step at a time both literally and figuratively. I am able to stop and smell and photograph the flowers and to take the time to feel the quality of the air on my skin. I am making choices of where and how to be in the world that are based on my deeper values and on the positive impact I want to have in the world. I am finding ways to expend less energy (mental, physical, spiritual) to care for myself and my fellow human beings. I am only purchasing things that are second hand and am spending less money and spending more time on cooking for myself and on finding ways to conserve the Earth’s resources. I myself am the vehicle and it is with such a sense of personal power and competence that I succeed in taking myself where I want to go.
In Praise of Slow
There is such joy in this new pace …
The Opposite of Slow
In my former career and home life I spent the vast majority of my time running and rushing from one thing to the next. I felt as if I was always behind and fear was a constant pressure in my chest that I would run out of time to accomplish all I needed to before the day was done. The stimulation of my nervous system was constant and the level of cortisol in my system was at crisis levels. I had a very difficult time relaxing and in the words of my wonderful counsellor, Tania, I was not very good at doing nothing.
Does this sound familiar to you?
We live in a society that is addicted to the idea of getting shit done; the idea that we will find what we are looking for in the next and the next and the next. A kind of restless unease permeates so much of the societal messages we receive each and every day through our phones and laptops and radios. I realize now, after much contemplation and slowing down, that I was afraid to slow down. Afraid of what I might find when I stopped. I can recall the slight bitter taste of fear on my tongue at the thought of curbing my busyness and putting aside, for even a few moments each day, the endless TODO list of “important” tasks or things I needed to buy to be happy. The Judge that is inside all of our heads was telling me that if I stopped trying so hard I would be giving up and that would prove what I already feared; that I was not of value in the world.
The slow beauty of the natural world photo by Sandra Butel
The People on the Bus Go Up
Earlier this week I jumped on a bus with the local seniors who were being taken on a mini bus to the market in the nearby village of Tiverton. As we settled into the curves and turns and stops and starts of the journey I was struck by how living the slow life was what seniors were always doing. As the body ages we are given limits to what we are able to physically handle and this forces us to slow down and to put our attention on the small things that can bring us joy and fulfillment. There was a lovely camaraderie amongst the ½ dozen others who made the Friday journey to the market and back, their bags bulging with richness on the way back home. Giggles came in quiet whispers and they checked in on each other to see how they were faring these days. They took my presence in stride, neither acting standoffish at the stranger in their midst, or overly intrusive to find out who I was and what I was doing there. I was accepted as part of the journey and welcomed into the experience of watching the beautiful countryside going by.
The People on the Bus Go Up by Sandra Butel
The Gift of Slow
Like my busmates, I have come to embrace the gift of slowing down to just be with what is and am learning to be ok with doing nothing; with being nobody. I have found that this is what frees me to really connect with who I am. Once I connect with who I am then I am free. Free to be at home wherever I am or in the words of Maya Angelou “You are only free when you realize you belong no place - you belong every place - no place at all. The price is high. The reward is great.”
I have come to understand viscerally that the universe has a clear plan for me and my life. Part of this has been a deep acceptance that the time it takes for something I want to manifest in my life is the time it was meant to take. I find myself moving forward at a slower pace but when I look back over the last 3 years since my old life was turned upside down, I see how far I have traveled to arrive in the here and now. It has been a slow journey with twists and turns and stops and starts, but with each step I am arriving at a place where I truly belong to myself.
Ripples in a small pond by Sandra Butel
Invitation to contemplation
What impact is a fast-paced lifestyle having on your mental health, physical health, and the environment?
What images or feelings come to mind when you ask yourself what it would be like to slow down for a while?
Is there a slower way to get to where you want to go that will increase your ability to enjoy the journey?
What will change for you if you manage to find a way to slow down in your life?
What is one thing you can choose to do today to support your own slowing down?
What resources do you have access to that will assist you in beginning the long slow journey towards truly belonging to yourself?
Resources for Further Study and Personal Growth
More information on the international slow food movement. https://www.slowfood.com/
A UK based website that outlines the ins and outs of slow travel. https://www.slow-travel.uk/
An interesting blog I found that delves into the intentionality of slow living. https://blogs.chapman.edu/sustainability/2022/03/04/slow-living-intentionality/
My new program From Worry to Worthy offers up an opportunity to find your own version of slowing down that will bring you the space you need. Check out the full program details and book your first free session with me to get started.
If you are interested in signing up for TrustedHouseSitters you can get a 25% discount (as well as pass on 2 free months of membership to me in the process).
I am Sandra Butel and this is my beautywalk. What’s yours?
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