The art of slow living. A hashtag on instagram that has garnered hundreds of thousands of photos linked to it. It is something we all seem to talk about on social media but is it something we all really practice? This weekend was the first weekend in a long time where I have had zero plans. To me, it was a blissful thought. There was no frantic rushing around trying to make plans and fill my diary with things to do. Instead, I filled my time “on a whim.” It was spent around the house and pottering around. What might sound mundane to some, it was actually something I needed for my soul. I finally got to practice #theartofslowliving for realsies.
With no plans, there was no time scale to stick to, which meant that on both Saturday and Sunday I could have a well needed lie in. And then when I woke up feeling refreshed from a good nights sleep, I’d spend the rest of the morning in my pj’s pottering about until I decided it was time to leave the house.
We went on long dog walks to test out my new Lakeland boots (which btw happen to be the comfiest walking boots I’ve ever owned) in both rain and shine. And whilst doing so we spent Sunday foraging for sloe berries near our home. We love making homemade gin and for years we’ve searched high & low for them with no joy, and finally we found a very fruitful (excuse the pun) tree filled with the juiciest (yet bitter) sloeberries. A full pound of them in fact, and we are going to head back for more. That means we’ll spend an afternoon piercing them and prepping them to go in the gin to absorb for over a year. Now that is slow living!
We now get our shopping delivered, not because we feel like we have that middle class privilege but because it free’s up so much more time for us. (It’s also a godsend for keeping to a budget) I ordered lots of fresh produce. I was determined that this weekend we would spend a lot of time cooking. So, I spent Sunday cooking up a mean feast for Mr C and I. A lamb roast dinner with all the trimmings, with a home-grown apple and pear crumble with custard to finish off. Quite frankly, I know I outdid myself. With no rushing around, I was completely at ease whilst I was cooking and it felt blissful. I even had time to catch up with everyone by posting a couple of insta-stories!
I’m currently sat at my laptop on this Sunday evening (you’ll be reading this on Monday) and despite our weekend being a quiet one, I feel so blumming content right now. And, not in a smug way. Just in a way that I realise that I don’t have to be running around like a headless chicken all the time trying to keep up with everything and everyone.
Sometimes a weekend at home, just pottering about, doing “life” things is exactly what we need. The art of slow living doesn’t need to have a fancy practice that goes with it, it’s just about soaking up the now, taking things at a slower pace and not being restricted with time. That’s what it means to me. This could quite possibly be one of the most boring posts you may have ever read, but this weekend has been a massive eye opener to me, because I didn’t realise just how much I needed it.
When was the last time you had a slow weekend like that? Do you make sure you have at least one weekend like this?
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