The road to slow-living
With the busiest time of the year upon us, at Höst, we are giving ourselves permission to forget the to-do list and we’re learning to embrace a slower way of life.
Image: Unsplash
I like to think that I live a slow life but as I sit here in December, I wonder where the year has gone. I’ve blinked and there are suddenly twinkling lights all around me & a tree is stood proud in my living room.
This realisation has given me the perfect opportunity to reflect on the year that I’ve had… Me and my (now) husband have brought a house, Höst went from little old me running two properties to running seven within the space of one month, I quit my part-time job and ran into self-employment and I hosted over 150 holidays for guests this year. I got married, I maintained lovely friendships and made new ones along the way, I continued to be a committed auntie and never failed to take my little dog for a walk each day.
On reflection, that slow life that I thought I was living is in fact, not slow at all.
With the winter solstice on it’s way swiftly followed by the welcome of the New Year, I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to scrap setting unrealistic expectations of setting New Years resolutions and just make one promise to myself, to simply embrace a slower way of living.
Image: unsplash
What is slow-living?
This concept of slow-living is truly celebrated in Scandinavian culture and isn’t really encouraged in the Westernised world. It’s about taking time to slow down and enjoy the little things - the smell of freshly brewed coffee, a walk in nature, making your favourite meal & appreciating where it came from or simply having a soak in the bath.
Three ways to start embracing the slower way of life.
Take time for you, each morning.
Carve out some time in the morning where you can prepare yourself for the day ahead, it might be a busy day with a to-do list that feels never ending or there might be a certain meeting in which you are dreading. Taking this time, for you will set you up for the day and will allow you to leave your front door with a positive mindset which does a world of wonders.
Say no to the things you don’t want to do.
Being a chronic people pleaser myself, I know first-hand just how hard this one is to do but I also know how important it is too. Instead of making plans every night of the week, allow yourself to say no to the event that you don’t want to go to. You don’t need excuses, nor do you need to explain yourself. Simply allow yourself to say no, light a candle, cuddle up with your favourite book and have a nice cosy evening at home. If you want to go that one step further, turn your phone off too…
Create a bedtime ritual.
We all know what we need to do to prepare our bodies for sleep, yet we decide to skip them & promise ourselves that maybe we will do them tomorrow. Whether you want to start sleeping with your phone downstairs, or you’d like to read in bed for half an hour before shutting your eyes or you may even want to treat yourself to a nice bath to allow yourself to switch off from your day. Create the bedtime routine that suits you & your body.
