Slowing Down

Life will always feel fast. 

Not only does our modern technological age facilitate speed in every conceivable way, but our perception is always warring against the inevitable erosive quality of day to day experience. 

Something I noticed last year, and to be honest previously, is how urban lifestyles are so synonymous with speed. Personally, I think this is both a proximity and accessibility thing. 

We are so close to so many things in cities, including each other, that it is relatively simple to pop around from a yoga class, to our favourite coffee shop, to our friends house, to our grocery store and back home in less than two hours. Generally, for those living more rurally, the spaces to cover are a lot bigger and there is less expectation to move so quickly. 

Additionally, there are more of us in cities which means more things are happening; more opportunities for socialising, more actives to host and attend, more things to be entertained by. 

Though this additional stimulation is fun and for many makes cities such attractive places to live, like all good things it comes at a cost. 

It means we have the potential to be overloaded, to be over-stimulated and risk excessive fatigue or even burn out. 

As a result, we need to take more intentional action to move more slowly. There is so much potential and excitement in our daily lives that unless we purposefully slice out time for ourselves, we risk filling every spare moment with ‘something’. 

You go for a walk and use it as a time to call your friend. 

You take a sauna and listen to an educational podcast. 

You sit in front of the tv while scrolling on your phone. 

Even though there is nothing inherently wrong with these things in isolation, over time the continual choice of multiple stimulus has a knock-on effect. We are literally programming our brains and selves to crave multiple inputs at once, meaning if we don’t have this sensory overload we are more likely to feel bored or under-stimulated. Interestingly there is a clear correlation between modern technology and the incredible spike of adult diagnoses of ADD/ADHD. 

I am as of guilty of this excessive stimulation as anyone. Due to both my work and personality, I often have many things I am doing at once and my day’s activities can be split between varied jobs and responsibilities. 

This result of modern life is exactly why consciously slowing down is so vital. Whether it be disconnected from your devices to go for a walk, a regular meditation practice, time on the couch with a good book or soaking in a bath - putting the time aside for ourselves to slow down is vital not only for our nervous systems but our sense of self too. 

Movement creates energy and the more we move, the more we build up a sense of momentum in our bodies. Though this means we can be more active and engaged, it also means that quieter times can feel uncomfortable and unsatisfying. 

It is like a carbonated drink (a bottle of Paul Roger, let’s say…) being moved from place to place; the gases bouncing around inside the bottle as the bubbles begin to feel more and more pressurised. When it eventually comes to a place of stillness and you go to take the lid off, all of that pressure is released in a hectic explosion opposed to a relaxed hiss. 

This is how to think of ourselves energetically when we don’t take time to pause. We condition ourselves to be always moving in order to feel comfortable, until the point that we pop with illness, chronic fatigue or some other complication to our wellbeing. 

There is a saying I have always agreed with: like attracts like. Those of us who are naturally more firey, energetic and fast paced will be drawn to such activities. For the ones who are naturally more internal, reflective and quiet it will be those places and pastimes we will be drawn towards. 

Perhaps one of the hardest things for us to do is recognise when we need to choose what is uncomfortable for us with the knowledge it will be good. 

We don’t necessarily need to take drastic steps, but without concerted effort to change the speed at which we live and how we go about our lives, it is too easy to be caught on an energetic hamster wheel where we find ourselves as passengers in our own lives opposed to the drivers of them.