Slow is beautiful – my own way of slow

Today I am going to write about living slow.

How beautiful slow is.

I would like to write what slow means to me

and how I am going to incorporate it in my life.

I heard about it for the first time in the context of food.

Being vegan allowed me to encounter slow food idea

quite naturally.

And in fact slow food was the first slow thing 

which appeared in general: in 80s., Italy.

It was going to stay against fast food. 

Put an importance on quality over quantity.

Then the idea got popular

and right now probably you can find slow in every single 

sphere of life.

When I observe it on social media

I realise that eveyrything that gets big

gets individualized.

In spite of all fears globalisation

did not lead to homogenization.

The world became even more differentatied.

So now slow can mean different things 

for different people.

For me above all it means doing things in my own style

without caring what others think about it,

but at the same time without hurting them

and all environment that surrounds me.

It means doing things slow

so doing them not surfactant,

but from the bottom of my hard.

Because the motivation for them is my own belief

that what I am doing is right.

If we think about nature 

I must refer to Tsuji Shinichi's book Slow is beautiful.

It emphasizes environmental acpect.

The idea of slow life in this meaning is

 directly connected with fair trade and veganism.

I became vegan mostly for ethical reasons,

but thanks to my boyfriend

now I think about environmental issues much more.

Maybe we can not change that much.

Maybe we are just small birds throwing a drop of water

on forest in fire,

but just imagine all army of birds!

Not only small humming birds like in the link below

but eagles, hawks, falcons!

All of them with buckets of water!

The can do a lot!

Kurikindi hachidori

Of course ethical reasons for veganism

are also connected with the idea of slow.

Living slow means living without hurting other living creatures.

I am not an idealist that much anymore

so I know that it is impossible on a complete level,

but I can do it on my own Kurikindi/ humming bird level, right?

And then slow means 

everyday slow life.

I want to emphasize that slow for me does not mean

minimalism.

It is often accociated with the idea of slow life

but it is not the same thing.

I love splendor.

I love having lots of beautiful clothes, accesories, 

being surrounded by fancy goods.

I enjoy lovely cafes, refined restaurants and castle-looking hotels.

I would never spend the night in a tent.

At the same time I can live slow.

I love beautiful things, but I choose them slow.

I enjoy dinner in a glamorus restaurant,

but it will never be just by chance.

I do not care what is popular, 

what is on must-see and must-have list.

I life my own way.

And every single thing or place

was chosen with love and fascination.

I give it 100% of my heart

and turn it into the beautiful memory I will treasure until death.

Living slow is as close to stoicism as to epicurism.

It means doing what you REALLY love.

It also means saying goodbye to things 

which you do not care about anymore.

Yes, I am a big fan of Marie Kondo's

The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying Up

and I throw all unneeded things

without any scruple.

Slow life does not mean I do not have any life goals, 

that I get out from all world rush.

But it means that I choose my goals precisely.

I think what they mean to me, are they really worth my effort.

And if I feel that: yes, that's it! then I give them

my all enthusiasm.

At the same time I resign from other things. Put priorities.

To be able to live slow. To have time.

And if I want to start new things I start them now

when they are still sparkling.

Ot at least make some steps to start them.

No more only if... I will... which never turn into reality.

Slow is also being good for yourself.

Giving yourself time to do errors and to loose way.

Laughing from your own unskillfulness.

To allow yourself to do not know.

To over-eat. To do nothing all day. To have headache. 

To be weak and dependable.

This part is propably the most difficult for me.

How to fight with this tiring perfectionism... and 

0-1 way of thinking... this criticism toward myself...
This hate that I fall down so often...

Slow means having rest without remorse.

Having rest and forgetting that something beside it exists.

As Joanna Glogaza, Polish blogger,

wrote in her book about slow life:

it means putting entertainment in your calendar.

Then it means enjoy little things.

Slowing down to have time to look around.

Look on flowers, get excited when finding perfect avocado,

smile when your strawberries are sweeter than usual.

It means living now and being aware of this fact and its uniqueness.

And for the end of the list and above all:  human relations.

Gratefulness for your family and time spend with them

and their love. Even if they are not with you anymore...

Then it also means finding your people and giving them 100%

of your attention, love and care.

I can not express gratitude for my wonderful boyfriend

who shares my ideals and values.

Who was fascinated with slow life much earlier than me,

even though I was the first one to be vegan.

Without him my slow and fight would never be possible.

All this slow story sounds beautiful and I am fully aware of 

how difficult to materialize it all is.

Believe me I know.

You just heard it from the person who 

is on treatment for depression and neurosis.

Who had suicidal thoughts and panic attacks.

But this person also used to be an idealist in her teenage years.

An idealist who then understood how impossible it all is.

And now tries to do things on her own level.

And falls down a lot. And tries again.

The point lies in accepting that you are just a humming bird,

have your limits and can not save the world with a drop of water.

But it does not make the existence of huming bird senseless.

His technique of flying is so unique. One in its own way.

The Maya and Aztecs believed in his spiritual and magical power.

And he also tries. His drop of water is not only heroical, its powerful.

It changes more than we can see.