The Cornerstones Of Living A Slow Life Are All Around Us

SCENE 1:
It was 7:45 PM. I had a burner on. And then two more. On one I put rice, another a pressure cooker with dal, and a pan for a vegetable sauté on the third. I then chopped spinach with much vigour, followed by mushrooms that I had washed and left to dry before the burners went on. I finished cooking in 20 minutes flat. As I sat to eat — the husband turned on the TV, adjusted the lighting to be viewing + eating appropriate, set glasses of water, and sat beside me. The show lasted 40 minutes. Our meal, less than 10. I had no memory of chewing and savouring my food.

SCENE 2:
I wrapped up yoga at 8.45 AM. Drank water and went for a bath. I got ready, ate my breakfast, packed my lunch, and reached parking at 9.30 AM. I drove. I reached work at 10.05 AM. I forgot to have coffee that sat on my dining table. The coffee which I love. The coffee which I picked after 20 minutes of research on Amazon.

SCENE 3:
A friend has a 4-year-old. A few weeks back, just as he was to leave his home for work, his daughter would ask him to play a round of snakes and ladder. He would refuse since he would practically be out of the door. A week later, she stopped asking.

SCENE 4:
Another friend bought a Jade succulent. This was her second month of moving into her own apartment. She had designed a reading nook — one with a lounge chair and an ottoman, a side table, a reading lamp, and few plants. The Jade succulent now sat amidst the other plants. My friend has not sat down to read even once.


These seem either typical or peculiar scenes of an urban, millennial’s life. It’s a lifestyle where there is a productivity overdrive and excess consumption. Everything is at its disposal, but nothing really is accessible. In the pursuit of checking off lists and buying sustainable and creating an aesthetic home and raising a perfect child, there is no space to savour.

Most of us recognize this. Most of us don’t think there is a way out. But, awareness is the first step.

Enter Slow Living.

Slow living refers to a lifestyle that encourages a slower approach to aspects of everyday life. If I have to explain it simply, it is about paying attention to what you are doing and saying no to maximum living. Slow living begets a customized approach for every individual. For some it can be listening to music, reading a book, watering plants, playing/chatting with your child or a family member, cooking a meal — but the point is, it is about doing one thing at a time.

It is also two more important things, being very away from your phone and social media and not binging on entertainment.

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This concept is a buzz in the land of the evolved. Minimalism, KonMari, Hygge, mindfulness are nothing but layers of slow life. If I have to contextualise it for urban Indians, I believe there are several challenges to putting slow living into practice. But there might be a clue — look at the grandparents. The ones who are in their seventies or more right now; who grew up without the finger-tip network or media access. They lived more deliberately and can simply recount stories from their youth. They had the chance to make space for thoughts, weave narratives, and introspect.

There is a possibility, we are losing the muscle to reflect, and fear being bored.

I am leaving you with a thought — because it isn’t like I have it all figured out. But here are the few ways in which I am going to practice slow living for myself.

1. Eat and not watch TV while at it
2. Read with the phone in a different room
3. Try to not schedule meetings at the best hours of productivity — and hold those hours sacred at work
4. Do things that involve hands — cook, clean, arrange, write
5. Make a playlist of 5 songs and just listen to them
6. Say “I don’t know enough about it to have an opinion” during a discussion

I feel, by doing these things, I will make more space for thoughts. So that when the next generations ask me about my youth, I won’t say I spent most of my hours on Instagram. Or chasing clients. Or eating without relish in sight.

If you make your list of slow living, do share.

If you like reading Rhyme & Reason, tell your friends about it. Or grandma. Or the neighbour’s dog. I’ll take anything. Send them this link: https://mailchi.mp/81a2d23bd9d7/subscribe