Slow Living - Are We In Danger Of Becoming Quite Useless and Sterile?

I am sure that I do not need to state the obvious but I'm going to say it anyway...social media and our instant access to most things is killing the joy of living.

If I just think back 10 years, I did more living than scrolling. 

Today we watch Instagram reels of an 'idyllic life' for inspiration but how much living to we do as a result? 

We watch bread being made instead of making it ourselves and savouring the smell of the yeast as the dough proves, followed by the aroma of baking bread permiating every room. 

We watch a kitchen garden coming to life and being harvested in a matter of seconds, but ours remains unchanged and unproductive. We watch someone walking barefoot through the meadows in her beautiful linen dress but we do not get out our sewing machine and we find every excuse not to spontaniously kick off our shoes and walk through the dew-covered grass.

We are a society slowly dying and loosing the essence of life as we trade it in for conveniance and more useless mass-produced things that clutter up our homes.

These are the thoughts that struck me recently as I picked up my neglected Kindle last week and suddenly missed the weight of a proper book, the feel of the paper in my fingers, the smell of a book never opened. When last did I visit my local library? I can't remember.

I used to make a trip every three weeks and leave with my arms laden with titles that looked intriguing, looking forward to spending quite times turning each page over the coming days with a cup of tea. A simple joy - willingly set aside.

3 years ago I watched the documentary The Social Dilemma - an exposé by the very people who developed all these 'social' platforms. Not one of them allowed their own children to have all these social platforms. Why? because they designed them to captivate the minds of users, to cause an addiction, to keep them coming back for more. Not only that, the algorithm feeds you more of what you like, agree with and seek, thus focusing your exposure to messages that reinforce your ideas to the exclusion of actually thinking about it.

I remember being shocked. Horrified. 

And yet we are convinced that we need it for our businesses. We need it as a source of inspiration and learning. We need it to 'connect'. We need it to make money. Yet it divides us, isolates us, destroys creativity and extinguishes the thing that makes us human.

I see all this in my own habits and in the way I live my life now compared to 10 years ago. It is frightening how quickly it consumes your hours and distracts from real living. 

So I'm making 2025 the year where I detox from attention span limiting habits and getting back to living every moment of my life. I'm baking my own bread, stocking my freezer with meals made from scratch and homemade bakes. I'm growng my own food, preserving, and making time for sewing, stitching, knitting. 

As soon as we move to our new home in the coming weeks, I will visit my local library and get a library card. Once again I will have piles of lovely books to page through on a range of topics. 

I'm going to join the WI, meet new people, establish a craft group, take long country walks, and savour the joy of each day lived in appreciation of each moment. 

Tell me, do you ever feel the same? Do you feel that we are losing the 'good old days' of common sense, long conversations shared, cooking from scratch or stocking the freezer with homemade meals for those days where time is short?

Do you miss spending quiet time with God? Unhurried time reading an actual book or sewing a dress, or growing food for your table? When last did you sit quietly listening to music or stroll around a gallery? When last did you spontaniously pack a picnic and head out in search of a riverbank to enjoy good food with others?

How about coming along with me and making 2025 the year where you take back control of your daily moments, where you take back control of your time instead of allowing the use of 'social' media to devour all your time.

My blog has always been a space where I record ordinary days. An online account of a life lived. I find it an insightful tool to look back on and I have done so oon many occassions. In keeping with documenting my days and in my quest to get into the habit of living each moment in a considered and purposful manner, I will share a few 'slow' things from my week. Perhaps you would like to share a few things that you are doing around your home. Why not start a blog and document your slow living and share your posts with me - just leave a link in the comments.

1. I'm Creating

I've taken up nature journaling again. There has been a three year gap since my last entry. Before that, my journaling time was a weekly habit; an outpouring of being in the daily habit of observing what was happening in nature around me.

Since my daughters graduated from our homeschool, my journaling has become sporadic at best. But I've decided to make time each week to sit quietly and record what I see happening in nature

It can just be something I noticed in the garden or when out walking. The idea is that by being aware and alive to your surrounds, you are taking joy in that moment.

I've managed to keep up with my journal entries this month, at least in sketch form. I'll spend a couple of hours this week painting them.

2. I'm reading - (a proper book - only real books for 2025) 

I'm reading English Pastorial An Inheritance by James Rebanks. This book was recommended by a dear friend. The author is from a farming family in the Lake District. His grandfather taught him how to farm the land the old way and he remembers the farm being a patchwork of crops and meadows, pastures filled with grazing livestock.

When he inherited the farm he says it was barely recognisable from the farm of his youth, such have been the effects of modern farming techniques on the land coupled with people moving away from the countryside as machinery took over their jobs. This book is his story on embracing the old ways and trying to restore the life that has vanished from the land.

It is beautifully written and so inspiring that I just don't want this read to end!

3. In the Kitchen 

With it just being the two of us at home now, I find that I have not baked anything in ages as it just does not get eaten. But then I remembered something my grandmother said many years ago, she said she used to bake cakes, decorate them and then freeze them. That way, she always had something in the freezer should she have visitors at short notice. 

I've taken a leaf out of her book and started baking again but freezing it in portion sizes that are suitable for two people. The cake above was cut into squares and frozen. I just take out a couple of squares every week to satisfy any sweet cravings we get. I've done the same with muffins.

Well lovelies, I hope that you are having a wonderful week. If you are finding that the world is all a bit crazy at the moment or that life is moving at a pace that is just way too quick, I would love to encourage you to stop what you are doing and choose just one 'slow living' activity to include in your week. Just a few hours of painting, reading or baking - whatever it is that brings you joy.

I shall see you back here very soon. Have a lovely week!