Well said. Modern life is way overrated. I love my simple, quiet life when at home. I'm a middle school teacher, so nothing "slow" nor simple about that, but still, my home life is quiet and simple and I love it.
totally agree! romanticizing and aestheticizing things is literally just adhering to capitalism most of the time, not actually finding yourself.
thought i’d add this really quick: i see so many ppl be like “ugh i hate my phone i want a flip phone yadda yadda!” but imo, it’s not the PHONE that’s the problem, it’s YOU!!! which sounds harsh but i’m sure you get what i’m saying. it’s not whatever phone you have, whether it be the newest iphone or a flip phone from 2009, it’s your own attention span and connectivity to the outside world. “slow living” doesn’t mean getting rid of your phone, it means going without it for a couple hours, forgetting to grab it when you go somewhere because you’re not obsessed with it.
also slightly steering off, but i love that you mentioned the aesthetics and how they’re lowkey racist. cuz i also want to pitch in that so many of these aesthetics that have underlying racism tied to them (does that make sense? sometimes grammar kicks my ass) have traits and trends STOLEN from woc, especially black women!!! “brownie lips” from hispanic women, tightly coiling (not curling) your hair to look like a black woman, girls suddenly wearing bonnets in public. i understand wearing a bonnet to bed just for the sake of your hair, but if you’re white and wearing bonnets in public, it feels mocking imo! but im also not black, so if any black women see this pls lmk your own opinion.
ok moving on!!! as an american, i cant really understand the slow life like you do, bc here everything is so fast and bustling and you have to keep going, going, going. but im glad you made this article anyway! it made me think, and even though i dont think im meant for the slow life, i love when its not romanticized or aesthetic or omg try this lifestyle with all these items you can get on amazon!!
once again emily thank you so much for commenting you're so refreshing to read. I totally agree with you that it's not the quality of the phone that makes a difference in its usage.
Of course aesthetics are racists, everytime i see a slideshow of an aesthetic on tiktok it's only white people, ostracizing poc and particularly black creators who participated in the trend. it reminds me of addisson rae stealing black dancer's dance and dancing to them and never giving credit (she eventually did tho she's in the clear) but yes so many parts of aesthetics come from poc living, i didn't know about everything you mentioned above but YES I SEE IT NOW.
You don't have to get into slow living, it's not for everyone, most of my friends live a very fast life and that works for them amazingly too, it depends from person to person. I love a rush (i used to work in restaurants) but the calm times are also very enjoyable so I like both sides ;)
American's have the hardest time with slow living because we were trained from birth to live fast. Hurry to day care. Hurry to preschool. Hurry to high school and get a job while there. Discover your career before graduating. Have a plan! Get married. Hurry up and have kids. Get a second job. Start planning your retirement at 25 and start working toward it. It's crazy here, and considered the 'norm.'
My wife and I went to slow living after my stroke. That's what it took for us to wake up and leave behind the rat race. But still, even two years after moving onto a small 5 acre plot to start a farm, I still find myself sometimes in a hurry for no reason at all. Sometimes, I'll take time for a big meal, but others, I just want to hurry up and get it over with because I'm "wasting time." Same with the yard. Or the garden. Some days, bliss, slow, and happy. Others, I'm wasting time. What time!? I have all the time in the world. Why the hell am I constantly in such a hurry?
Because it's the way I was raised since I was old enough to walk. It's the way all American's are raised. Hurry to school, hurry to life, hurry to the grave.
You have no idea how much this resonated with me. I am not from the south of Europe, but I am from the Caribbean, everything is slow. I think it has to do with the heat jajaja. But I've been wanting to write an essay on all the "slow living" content and the way people are using the adjective "quiet" to describe a way of life. I see this as you very well explain, an aesthetic mostly. But why are they even trying to sell this way of life? I feel like I almost want to go completely against it BECAUSE they are advertising it so much. Or is it just people showing off that aren't going crazy in a crazy world. But isn't it almost crazy to have a slow life in this crazy world? I don't know man, I feel like I'm babbling now. But as I'm typing this I feel my blood boiling thinking that I do not want this slow life thrown in my face. I want an energized life, I like waking up early, not to hustle, but because those quiet hours in the morning no one is talking to me, I don't need to talk either, sometimes I do but to myself and it's the best conversation of the day. My version of a slow life is exactly what you describe in the sense that I'm not on my phone all day... I use it to make plans of who when and where are we meeting and live in the moment. anywho... hope you're having a great Wednesday. I write this from my desk in the middle of midtown in Manhattan lol.
Well said. Modern life is way overrated. I love my simple, quiet life when at home. I'm a middle school teacher, so nothing "slow" nor simple about that, but still, my home life is quiet and simple and I love it.
totally agree! romanticizing and aestheticizing things is literally just adhering to capitalism most of the time, not actually finding yourself.
thought i’d add this really quick: i see so many ppl be like “ugh i hate my phone i want a flip phone yadda yadda!” but imo, it’s not the PHONE that’s the problem, it’s YOU!!! which sounds harsh but i’m sure you get what i’m saying. it’s not whatever phone you have, whether it be the newest iphone or a flip phone from 2009, it’s your own attention span and connectivity to the outside world. “slow living” doesn’t mean getting rid of your phone, it means going without it for a couple hours, forgetting to grab it when you go somewhere because you’re not obsessed with it.
also slightly steering off, but i love that you mentioned the aesthetics and how they’re lowkey racist. cuz i also want to pitch in that so many of these aesthetics that have underlying racism tied to them (does that make sense? sometimes grammar kicks my ass) have traits and trends STOLEN from woc, especially black women!!! “brownie lips” from hispanic women, tightly coiling (not curling) your hair to look like a black woman, girls suddenly wearing bonnets in public. i understand wearing a bonnet to bed just for the sake of your hair, but if you’re white and wearing bonnets in public, it feels mocking imo! but im also not black, so if any black women see this pls lmk your own opinion.
ok moving on!!! as an american, i cant really understand the slow life like you do, bc here everything is so fast and bustling and you have to keep going, going, going. but im glad you made this article anyway! it made me think, and even though i dont think im meant for the slow life, i love when its not romanticized or aesthetic or omg try this lifestyle with all these items you can get on amazon!!
loved this read!
once again emily thank you so much for commenting you're so refreshing to read. I totally agree with you that it's not the quality of the phone that makes a difference in its usage.
Of course aesthetics are racists, everytime i see a slideshow of an aesthetic on tiktok it's only white people, ostracizing poc and particularly black creators who participated in the trend. it reminds me of addisson rae stealing black dancer's dance and dancing to them and never giving credit (she eventually did tho she's in the clear) but yes so many parts of aesthetics come from poc living, i didn't know about everything you mentioned above but YES I SEE IT NOW.
You don't have to get into slow living, it's not for everyone, most of my friends live a very fast life and that works for them amazingly too, it depends from person to person. I love a rush (i used to work in restaurants) but the calm times are also very enjoyable so I like both sides ;)
xx
American's have the hardest time with slow living because we were trained from birth to live fast. Hurry to day care. Hurry to preschool. Hurry to high school and get a job while there. Discover your career before graduating. Have a plan! Get married. Hurry up and have kids. Get a second job. Start planning your retirement at 25 and start working toward it. It's crazy here, and considered the 'norm.'
My wife and I went to slow living after my stroke. That's what it took for us to wake up and leave behind the rat race. But still, even two years after moving onto a small 5 acre plot to start a farm, I still find myself sometimes in a hurry for no reason at all. Sometimes, I'll take time for a big meal, but others, I just want to hurry up and get it over with because I'm "wasting time." Same with the yard. Or the garden. Some days, bliss, slow, and happy. Others, I'm wasting time. What time!? I have all the time in the world. Why the hell am I constantly in such a hurry?
Because it's the way I was raised since I was old enough to walk. It's the way all American's are raised. Hurry to school, hurry to life, hurry to the grave.
This was an incredible write, by the way. You have a true way with words. Keep up the great work!
You have no idea how much this resonated with me. I am not from the south of Europe, but I am from the Caribbean, everything is slow. I think it has to do with the heat jajaja. But I've been wanting to write an essay on all the "slow living" content and the way people are using the adjective "quiet" to describe a way of life. I see this as you very well explain, an aesthetic mostly. But why are they even trying to sell this way of life? I feel like I almost want to go completely against it BECAUSE they are advertising it so much. Or is it just people showing off that aren't going crazy in a crazy world. But isn't it almost crazy to have a slow life in this crazy world? I don't know man, I feel like I'm babbling now. But as I'm typing this I feel my blood boiling thinking that I do not want this slow life thrown in my face. I want an energized life, I like waking up early, not to hustle, but because those quiet hours in the morning no one is talking to me, I don't need to talk either, sometimes I do but to myself and it's the best conversation of the day. My version of a slow life is exactly what you describe in the sense that I'm not on my phone all day... I use it to make plans of who when and where are we meeting and live in the moment. anywho... hope you're having a great Wednesday. I write this from my desk in the middle of midtown in Manhattan lol.