Jill Thomas is a rambler, traveler, and storyteller with a big laugh who thinks its funny how life leads you right where you need to be, however the roundabout path.
How often have you uttered the phrase "too busy" in your lifetime? I couldn’t even begin to estimate how often I have used these words—offering them up as both a complaint and a badge of honor.
I suspect I would classify 90% of the days I’ve lived so far on this planet as "too busy" —each one overfilled with work and other (often self-inflicted) obligations and urgencies. I learned to rush and squeeze unavoidable commitments (like getting dressed and grocery shopping) into the edges of my days.
I've lived in denial of the fact that there is a finite number of hours in a day, writing bloated to-do lists underpinned by unrealistic aspirations. I made the most of every minute by responding to emails while standing in lines, and returning phone calls while driving.
I filled most of my time with activities that didn't nurture my well-being. Nonetheless, I was proud of my busy-ness. Being "too busy" made me feel accomplished. An inbox full of urgent emails made me feel relevant and needed. At the same time, quality time with friends and family, exercise, and creative hobbies were deprioritized and abandoned, leaving me feeling guilty and constantly tired.
I'm sure many of you can relate to this.
I lived like this uninterrupted from late puberty until I was suddenly ejected from a high-pressure, hectic career in 2019. While I was grappling with this change in circumstance, the world shut down and I found myself with a job I could accomplish in 5 focused hours a day, an empty nest, few household chores, and zero social commitments.
And to my surprise, it was wonderful!
I learned to enjoy what I might previously have considered "wasting time." I savored long, rambling conversations with neglected friends and cooked healthy meals. I deep-cleaned closets, leisurely sorting through boxed-up mementos while guiltlessly taking time to enjoy the memories they evoked. I brushed every tooth, applied layers of body lotion, and relished hot showers before bed. I spent my morning coffee time bonding with my hubby and cat.
Most importantly, I went for a long walk every day, sometimes for hours. My hubby often joined me, and we'd stroll through our neighborhood, noticing the unique features of the houses and the plants in the yards.
My days felt nourishing and intimate, and I felt content and grounded for the first time in my life.
A simple Google search reveals that I am not alone in discovering the joys of a life lived slower. It seems there is a social movement happening about living slower. People are taking time to enjoy carefully prepared, and leisurely eaten meals. Others are traveling slower, vowing to embrace the benefits of exploring fewer places more deeply.
Living a slower-paced life isn’t about doing nothing but rather about doing more of what makes you feel good. Slow living urges us to let go of things we only do because of self-inflicted obligations, peer pressure, fear, envy or societal expectations. It encourages us to do more of what we like, and to be in the moment while we’re doing it.
Studies at Harvard University cite the numerous health benefits of living a slower life, most of which are associated with decreased stress. Slow living also deepens our social connections, helps us build healthier communities and combats loneliness. It encourages greater awareness of how we move, lessening missteps that cause injury. It improves our concentration and short-term memory by releasing the intellectual stress of constantly multitasking.
Overall, enjoying life at a slower pace increases your sense of well-being, contentment, and happiness. However, to reap the benefits of living slowly, we must put more energy into fewer things and this involves difficult decisions about what not to do.
In the years since the world reopened, I've tried to protect and maintain my slower-paced life because I'm convinced of its benefits. I now know firsthand that moving slower makes me happier and healthier, and my slowing-down skills have improved.
I am fully onboard with the concept but I admit I find it hard to slow down when being "too busy" is a badge of honor that those around me continue to proudly flaunt. I find it hard not to covet other people’s lifestyles and strive to get them for myself.
I am finding increasingly difficult to resist jumping back into the fray as the world around me has ramped back up to a pace best described as full throttle. I feel the pull of my relentless ambition and insatiable craving for more and better, and I find that growing older has only increased my fear of what the future will bring. I find myself once again starting my days by planning the execution of my overscheduled day while hurriedly brushing my teeth and worrying about becoming irrelevant.
I wonder if I can resist these pulls, and stay slow, without the gauzy protection of a worldwide pandemic. I have two practices that I find helpful in this regard.
First, when I brush my teeth and make coffee in the morning, I try to think only of teeth and coffee.
Second, I prioritize going for a long solo walk almost every day over just about everything else. I do this because usually, sometime between the first and second mile, my angsty ruminations lessen, and the essential things in my life come back into focus. Walking helps me clear out the mess in my head, so that I can better direct my attention to the things that I believe matter most.
On that note, it is now 5:09 pm, and I've been sitting on my sofa under my computer for 7 hours, so it’s time to go for a Ramble. I'd love to hear if you crave a slow down and if you do how you’re creating it in the comments.
READ MORE > JT's Tales From the Trail
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