Good Morning Monday + The Slow Yourself Challenge

Hello! How have you been?

I’m in Pune, visiting my parents and enjoying some downtime. Slowing down in every sense of the word. Letting go of to-do lists. Cutting back on writing & reading, chores & tasks, home management & cooking.

I’m in a good-kind of lull. Resting before I head back to set up my home in the north of India. Dust and decorate, clean and cherish a sprawling bungalow that’s been without its dwellers (us!) for almost two years. There’s a lot of work waiting for us next week – new routines and to-do lists to me made, meal plans to be created and a sense of warmth to be infused into that shell of a house.

But this time, I plan to do all this on the slow. Not at snail’s pace, but more mindfully without multitasking and whirling about like a dervish. That’s my intention – to live slow, to nourish slow, to be slow, to parent slow.

I’ve not always been like this. I’ve lived the busy life, multitasking at my work desk, home and Air Force life. My days passing me by in a haze of bustle and busyness. While I kind-of enjoyed it most of the time, patting myself on the back for my multi-tasking abilities and the capability to take on a huge load of work, I’ve also been fortunate enough to know what slow is.

When I was pregnant with Baby N, my body slowed down, my soul demanded slow living. It was then that I let go of the concept of busyness, doing everything more mindfully, savoring each task at hand, cherishing a life without mental clutter.

When I say ‘slowing down’ I do not mean stopping work, doing your tasks at snail’s pace or being lazy. By slowing down and savoring slow, I mean opening yourself up to living mindfully, cherishing the now, doing work that matters to you, enjoying the ordinary details of your daily life, adding some downtime into your days, nourishing yourself through wholesome food and self-care.

In the weeks to come, I’ll write more on living slow through self-care and mindfulness, but at this moment, here are some interesting go-to websites to pique and nurture your curiosity for infusing a breath of slow in your otherwise busy lives.

I loved Slow your Home – the ideas and articles, the words and stories, the concept of slow and how one woman is on a mission to add a generous dollop of slow into family life and daily living.

The Slow Family Movement has enough inspiration to make you want to slow down your family and give the gift of time to your children, spouse and you.

One of my favorite bloggers, Leo Babauta has this offering for free. A jewel of a book about sharpening your focus in this “age of distraction” by slowing down and adding mindfulness into the mix of life, work, family.

In this interview, award-winning writer Carl Honoré talks about the beauty of slowing down and his book ‘In Praise of Slowness’.

Are you up for the Slow Yourself Challenge?

What steps will you take to slow the pace of your life? I’d love to know! Head over to our Facebook page to share your views on savoring slow. 

#SavorSlow #SlowDown #SlowYourself