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We’ve all seen the homesteading instagram reels, you know the ones, where they go out to their chickens each morning and grab the eggs for breakfast, stop at their garden for tomatoes, and go milk the cow for the milk to make the cheese. It looks so idyllic. And, while yes this is the ultimate dream goal, it’s not how most of us live.
Which is what this blog even aims to do. I’m not a skeptic. I’m not saying these things can’t be beautiful. In fact, I do believe we NEED to romanticize our lives. We only get one, let’s truly LOVE IT! There was a meme going around for awhile and it speaks to my soul about the importance of romanticizing our lives.
However, this blog was built out of the aim of being a REALIST. Americans are stressed. To the max. And we can’t just stop everything completely and just live at home on a farm (even if that is MY dream). In fact that’s not even what half the people want to do anyways! So, we need to find ways to live slowly WITHIN our chaotic, stressful day.
Also, this blog was born out of my life experience and struggles with anxiety and rushing everything. So I hope this never comes across as judgy or as if I have it all together, because I don’t. This post acts as a reminder to me to slow down and enjoy this one life we’ve been given.
And I have 5 tips for doing just that.
- Be present
- simply stated, be where you are. Not in the future. Not in the past. Not multitasking. Be with the people you’re with. If you’re alone, be present with yourself! Journal, prayer, meditation, yoga, whatever helps you to come back to you. I have definitely had my fair share of being on my phone too much at a party (just ask my sister! lol), or worrying about what the plans are this weekend instead of watching my kids do the trick they asked me to watch, but I have to consistently remind myself to BE PRESENT, and the more I remind myself, the more it becomes second nature. Quite literally, being present will make you slow down in and of itself!
- Don’t feel obligated to say yes
- this is a hard one, especially when the FOMO gets you. But the more we add to our plates the less present we’re able to be. Because we HAVE to worry about where the soccer uniforms are, or how we’re going to get from point A to B in 15 minutes when the GPS says 30. There are certainly things we’d like to do, and will add value to our lives and our children’s, but there has to be a line somewhere. For example, my kids can each pick 2 activities per season (or school year) and sometimes they don’t even pick 1. Mainly because they see the value in unstructured play and being able to hang out with friends on a whim, if they’re not tied down to a schedule. But we also have seasons of being in activities that require us to be prepared and on time. And both add value to our lives.
- Find joy in the small things
- this goes hand in hand with romanticizing our lives. Finding joy in watching our children play, or the cat purring on our lap while we drink our morning coffee. Listening to the rain fall down while we read a book. Those are all beautiful and poetic but what about also finding joy in the laundry, or cleaning the bathtub? Finding joy in the small things and also in what we are doing, will not only help you live slowly, but will also help you to just be happier in general with your life.
- Learn contentment
- being content with what we have is definitely a hard task. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes my want monster takes over and I act a bit out of character. But, the more you do anything the more it gets easier, right? So, looking around at all of your blessings and seeing what you already have instead of what you lack will really really help you to reprioritize your desires. The less we aim to have, the slower we can live, because if we’re always striving for more and more and more we’re just creating more work for us, in more than one way. We have to work extra hours to buy the new thing we want, and then we have to work on maintaining it, and work on organizing it to fit into our home.
- Live your life authentically
- don’t live for other people, live for yourself. This is something I’ve ALWAYS struggled to do as a people pleaser. I remember a few times doing something selfishly and I still feel bad for it. Even though I know I was doing what was best for me and my family. Living authentically will help you to live slowly because you will be able to prioritize what is important to YOU, instead of trying to please someone else, and in turn create more rushing, responsibilities or distraction.
I hope that’s all helpful and I hope that if you have anything to add to the list you would feel free to do so, I’d love to hear your opinions!
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