Slow down...at Home
A slow lifestyle and to slow down at home...could slow living just be a pipe dream? A few weeks ago, a friend of mine told me that she never ever stays home on the weekends. She’s always on the go, doing errands, taking her kids shopping and going places, etc. The funny thing is, I know she has a fabulous home and backyard that many people would just love to have. I got the feeling that she’s unable to just relax and be still - enjoy a slow lifestyle.
I think that some people always have to be moving or they get very anxious, they cannot slow down at home. I know what that’s like. Until I moved out to the middle of nowhere, I too, used to be on the go constantly, ignoring the slow lifestyle.
In San Diego, there’s so much out there to entertain us. There’s the beaches, all the great neighborhoods, zoo, Seaworld, shopping malls, movie theaters, and so on. In a way, I think we can get hooked on that outside thing to entertain us and forget how to just be happy and entertain ourselves. We have forgotten the art of slow living.
Whatever happened to people staying home? A slow lifestyle? Slow living? Of course, when we stay at home, we could spend hours watching TV or surfing the internet, but what about sitting and reading a good book? Or writing that book? How about getting to know your neighbors? Or baking banana bread. Trying a new recipe, cooking a delicious meal. Practicing an instrument or just listening to your favorite music. Taking a walk in the neighborhood. Planting a garden instead of just doing the mow and blow?
What ever happened to doing nothing? Have we forgotten the slow lifestyle? Try lying by the pool or just turn on the sprinklers, get in your bathing suit and have some fun with your kids. Be totally unproductive. Play with the dog, lie in the grass. Take a nap, try slow living. Let your kids relax too. Turn off the TV. Play a card game with your family or some friends. Can you think of something fun that doesn't entail getting in the car and driving? Don’t go anywhere this weekend and see if you and your family can handle it. Slow down at home, choose a slow lifestyle, try slow living.