Take it easy

Words: Annette Minnaar | Photography: Supplied

Your alarm goes off for the third time. You keep glancing at your phone to see how late you are. Is there time to check Instagram? You have five notifications. It’s laundry day and you’re about to commit to wearing gym leggings to work. You’ve misplaced your house keys. Your phone has just died and you need to call an Uber. It’s too late to catch the bus. You tell yourself it’s okay. It’s okay that you are late, that you are going to skip breakfast and aren’t feeling put together. “Unaligned” is the word. Where are those damn keys?

When I hear the term “slow living”, I think of wearing loose linen pants, drinking organic coffee from recyclable mason jars and living in an old-school van. However, following off-the-grid Instagram accounts and binge-watching yoga documentaries is as close to the worldly standards of slow living as my life gets. Can you blame me?

“Zeitgeist”, a lofty buzzword, was coined in 1848 during the extreme social unrest of Victorian England and is used to describe the “invisible agent” that dominates society as we react to the state of the present world. Slow living is the zeitgeist of our times and has manifested from trying to tackle high rates of anxiety, burnout and our dependence on technology. According to the United Nations Agency, depression has skyrocketed a total of 19% over the last decade with a particular increase among young adults. And the world has noticed. We’re seeing companies such as Investec offer unlimited leave to try and curb the loss of productivity caused by mental fatigue. Social media has reacted with “self-love club” narratives. Sub-trends such as minimalism and living off the grid have integrated themselves into pop culture, all in the efforts of slowing things down.

While this may all sound dire, the aim of slow living is to prompt a healthier mindset.

So what is it, exactly? To me, it’s mostly a state of mind. Being present, being content, being at peace and leaning into the ways of living that facilitate that. Doing things that make you feel good on a long-term scale. Taking time to self-reflect and check in with yourself. Accessibility and sustainability. A fine-tuned balance. Reading a great book, hiking at the brisk of dawn, playing board games with my family or saying no to activities that drain me. Naturally, slow living differs between individuals and can vary quite a bit. It’s rather abstract, but it isn’t a radical endeavour.

Do the things that make you happy. Put yourself first. Take the time to create memories with those who make you feel great. Start small by putting effort into the things close to home. Personalising the spaces you spend most of your time is a simple way to declutter your day. Maybe your work desk could do with some plants, a lamp, light reads and a storage basket? When it comes to your home, furniture that caters to your favourite pastimes is essential – outdoor pieces for picnics, comfy sofas for movie nights and kitchen heroes to take your cooking obsession to new heights. My space is often a reflection of my mental state and I find that one can very much influence the other. Waking up to a tidy home, for example, often shapes the rest of my day.

A little further away from home, my personal favourite is walking around shopping malls. I feel comforted by all the people in a strange way, like I am part of something bigger, but also find it soothing to disengage and watch everyone from a comfortable distance. It’s my way of acknowledging the hustle and bustle of life while introspecting among the chaos. As much as I’m a fan of slow living, I’m not a fan of missing out.