The Slow Life Movement Explained

Friday, January 21, 2011

HomeStyle by Cynthia Bogart, GoLocalProv Style Expert

Everyone is talking about a relatively new movement called Slow Life. Translated, it is a combination of, ‘the way Grandma used to do it’ and 'stop and smell the roses.’ Huh? That’s right. Whatever and however life was led in the early 1900's is all the rage but under a hip name with cool new folks who work hard at getting back the basics of life. Unbeknown to the leaders of this movement, Rhode Islanders are inherently traditionalists and live about fifty years behind the rest of the country, by choice. This not only makes us seasoned Slow Life practitioners in this cyclical evolution, but it lands us as one of the top leaders.

What Exactly is a Slow Lifer?

A bona fide Slow Lifer would be someone who likes ‘green,' grows their own vegetables, cooks with fresh organics, incorporates energy saving practices, exercises to balance their body and spirit, enjoys time with their family (including eating dinner together), reads, knits, quilts, restore cars, bikes to work, sails, and in essence, finds ways to appreciate and enjoy time. Hmmm, perhaps you are a part of this movement? One of the big local Slow Life advocates is Dominique Browning, former Editor of House & Garden magazine. She pens her blog, Slow Love Life, from her home in Little Compton where she also compiled her book, Slow Love: How I Lost My Job, Put on My Pajamas & Found Happiness. Another is Farm Fresh RI, who tells you where to find farmers markets all year long, participate in workshops and find all kinds of good information to improve the quality of your life.

Now that you know what people are talking about when you hear the phrase, ‘Slow Life’, and perhaps you’ve discovered you might be a Slow Lifer, feel assured that when you consciously sit down to read a book, a steaming cup of tea in hand, a fire blazing in the hearth, you are not wasting your time. You are enriching it. After all, life is a journey and this, this is a good thing.

How to Go Slow

1- Enjoy Your Relationships. Make sure to carve out time for yourself and for your family and friends every day. That can mean going to a yoga class, chatting on the phone with your friend, reading by the fire with your kids. A great way to really make that time count is to do something that does not involve a computer or TV.

2- Electronics. There is a way to have it all but too often, the electronics seem to take over our lives. Give yourself some ground rules and stick to them. Turn off your cell phone and computer after 7 or 8 at night. If at all possible, don't keep a television in your bedroom or turn it off an hour before you go to sleep so you can read or perhaps talk and catch up on your day with your spouse.

3- Wholesome Foods. Change the way you shop. Go to your local organic market and get to know the experts there by name. Ask them questions, take a look around. Once you realize that if you shop for wholesome, additive free foods it might only be a few dollars more a month, not hundreds. Not only are additive free foods better for you, they taste SO much better as well.at. Keep in mind that obesity wasn't a problem until processed foods flooded the market. Doesn't that tell you something?

Cynthia Bogart is a Regional Editorial Editor for Better Homes & Gardens Magazines and the Editor-in-Chief of the www.TheDailyBasics.com, a website dedicated to one quick magazine like article a day on homestyle, lifestyle and youstyle. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter. Cynthia will also co-hosting a radio show, At The Table, which will be hitting the airwaves in the next few weeks.