At Līneae, we often talk about the art of living slowly, the beauty found in taking your time, in doing things that encourage deep reflection. Living slowly can allow you to have more creative ideas, to enjoy the little things and to feel more gratitude for life.
It is as Kayleigh Dray of Stylist magazine describes, “slow living is not about living your life in slow motion; it’s about doing everything at the right speed and pacing instead of rushing. By that same logic, slow living is not about losing time by going slowly; it’s about gaining time by doing the things that are most important to you.”
"Slow living is a life philosophy, a state of mind and being."
And yet slow living goes further than simply how you spend your time. It’s more than writing, journaling or communicating via letters. The art of living slowly is an entire mindset and it is one that all of us can benefit from.
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Slow living can take on many meanings, and we wanted to use this article to give insight into some incredible examples of slow living. In this age of fast consumerism, focusing on slow living feels even more important. In order to save our environment, we must adapt our mindset and living slowly is a great way to do that.
Slow Food
Slow Food is a global organisation that is dedicated to promoting local cultures and food traditions in this age of supermarkets and high supply and demand. A company with a lot of important lessons to teach about living slowly, Slow Food encourages people to take an active interest in what they eat. This means not only taking time to cook and appreciating tasty meals, though this is obviously great, but taking time to understand the origins of each ingredient. By doing this, we can promote more sustainable ways of living and cooking.
A Blueberry Moment
If you don’t already follow @ablueberrymoment on Instagram, you definitely should! With a blend of content that showcases her beautiful artwork and her journeys into nature, this page is a real breath of fresh air. She often posts reminders of the importance of taking a step back to appreciate creative progress in whatever form it may occur. This is a key component of slow living - creating just for the sake of what you may learn from it rather than continuously trying to hit goals.
The Minimalists
The Minimalists, who describe their mission as being allowing people to “live more meaningful lives with less,” are a great account to follow if you’re looking for inspiration around minimal home decor and living slowly. Sometimes, by focusing on a few key pieces in our homes, we may find greater clarity and ability to reflect calmly. The Minimalists are great advocates for slow living, consistently reminding their audience to resist the pull of society’s expectation that we are always busy and to take time to enjoy quiet contemplation.
Byway
Founded during the Coronavirus pandemic, Byway is a “slow tourism” company that organises vacations where travel includes only bike, train and boat. Not only is this wonderfully environmentally conscious, but these tours are a reminder of the beauty to be found in taking in a country on foot. Living slowly means being able to get truly immersed in wherever you find yourself in the world.
Giulia Writes
@giuliawrites champions living slowly, her content illustrating the benefits of writing in allowing us to connect to our intuition and live more intentionally. More than just a beautiful feed, Giulia encourages her audience to get the most value from each piece of content that they see. When reading a book, for example, Giulia recommends that we really take our time to reflect and apply what we can to our own lives. She encourages the same considered approach when spending time in nature - something that we should all do more of when trying to appreciate the beauty around us.
Journal Junky
@Journaljunky has got to be one of our favourite Instagram accounts! Nicole posts journaling advice for both business and personal growth, but makes sure to give tips that implement sustainable, authentic growth. Journaling is such an important thing to do when trying to live slowly, but deepening the practice is key. To check out our range of journals, click here.
Which companies or individuals inspire you to live more slowly? Which practices are you going to implement going forwards?
Be sure to keep an eye on our page for more about the art of living slowly.
Written by Beth Longman