Summer’s long, sun-soaked days and short, star-lit nights are the stuff of winter daydreams. The summer has a tendency to fill our cups to the brim with long weekend getaways and evening patio sipping.
Autumn, on the other hand, can feel like a breath of fresh air; an opportunity to turn inwards after months of high-octane fun. Nature, too, seems weary as trees begin to shed their leaves — leaving behind the excesses of summer.
“Slow living” is the latest buzzword to set social media ablaze with its unhurried snapshots of bed-making, plant-watering, and forest-foraging. There’s something delicious about the notion of living more slowly, but is it just another highly curated (and unattainable) online trend?
In a recent piece for Refinery29, journalist Raquel Reichard investigates living slowly as an antidote to the burnout of hustle culture. In her work, hustling also takes on gendered and racial dimensions, illuminating its disproportionate effects on BIPOC folks.
The endless pressures of productivity — whether it’s in the name of caring for your family or an internalized desire to be successful — can also be especially harmful for women (especially low-income women) who are often burdened with the brunt of emotional and reproductive labor.
Beyond its whimsical cottage-core aesthetic, if there’s anything we can glean from the slow living trend it’s that a cultural shift is taking place — one that’s inspiring us to pause, take a breath, and stop glamorizing overextending ourselves.
The “girl boss” ethos that once fueled the need to have every slot in our schedules filled has lost its shine. In its wake, slow living is emerging as an alternative mindset and lifestyle that involves reconnecting with nature, kindling our creativity, repurposing objects (and creating new ones), doing things that bring us joy, and taking time to relish the small things.
Rest is resistance but, for many, it’s also a privilege. Like most online trends, slow living has largely been co-opted by white, affluent creators whose zen morning routines and afternoon lattes are far from relatable. But its popularity has made one thing clear: we’re craving simplicity.
A slower pace may not be accessible to everyone, but the benefits of weaving slow living elements into our day-to-day are within reach. It could be as simple as saying no to plans as an act of self-care or clearing our schedules for a few hours each week to engage in a hobby that brings us joy.
Slow living can also be a matter of shifting our consumption habits, from consuming more local and seasonal produce to breathing new life into well-loved items. Taking things slow can involve making the conscious decision to pick up a book instead of our phone or, more generally, resisting the constant pull of external stimulation.
It's a movement that's asking us to do less — and the way it takes shape in each of our lives will be different. Despite finding its footing within popular culture, slow living is also nothing new — cultures around the world have been practicing it for millennia.
Living slowly is a shift in mindset that’s encouraging us to live more consciously and intentionally, both for our own welfare and for that of the planet.
As fall rolls in, we’re making a point to quiet that little voice in our heads — the one that tells us to work faster, to rush through tasks, and fill our calendars to the brim. The frenzied holiday season will be here in a flash but, for now, it’s time to take a deep breath and rest.