Embracing the Slowness 🐌

In May I checked in on the overarching goals that I set in January. One of those goals was to embrace the slow – and that’s exactly what I’ve been doing the last couple of weeks.

You guys. I’m not sure what happened in the last few weeks, but I have had quite the slow down and feel really good about it. Normally I halfheartedly try to push through these mindfulness efforts, knowing there will be benefits but feeling resentful about giving anything up. But for some reason, this has been a natural shift and easy to do.

Example: I’ve decided to savor the newest Louise Penny and am only reading 50 pages a day. It was difficult to hold myself to that limit for the first couple of days, but since then? I am contentedly putting the book down when I reach my 50 page mark. I want this Armand Gamache to last as long as possible because it will be a whole year until I can visit Three Pines again. Why rush it?

I have been quilting – just half an hour a day – and making progress on a languishing project. It has been fun and I am so close to having another finished quilt. I’ll keep plugging away, just a little at a time, until it’s done.

I have been cross-stitching. I picked up A Plump Wife for the first time in about a year and it still makes me laugh. I also started on The Flower a Day project — I picked this up because Mary was planning to do it for her 100 Day Project and I thought I might join along… but I decided to bow out at the last minute. Now it’s taking the place of my morning journaling – I have stitched on this for about 10 minutes each morning this week. So really – it’s become more like a flower in 4 days instead of a flower a day, but that’s okay. I don’t think anyone is timing me!

And of course – I’m knitting. I’m planning to turn a heel tonight on a second sock (Ravelry link). And I have the Shifty cropped sweater (Ravelry link) and a new shawl (Ravelry link) on the needles.

Normally I would worry about mania with all of these balls in the air, but this feels different. I don’t have that usual sense of urgency that accompanies that particular rush. I’m not hurrying through anything and have found that I’ve truly enjoyed the process of everything I’ve been working on.

It’s all so unusual and I’m embracing it while it lasts. So tell me — are you trying to embrace the slowness in your life? Or are you riding a wonderful wave of good things (because I’ve certainly relished being that position, too!)?

I hope you all continue to take good care and find ways to enjoy the weekend.

20 thoughts on “Embracing the Slowness 🐌

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  1. Doesn’t it feel good to just slow down to savor the things that bring us joy. It sounds like you are enjoying the moments of life, good for you. I am learning that not everything has to be done today and enjoy the things I often miss because my life is often cluttered. The simple things are often the best and learning to enjoy the slowness of life is so rewarding.

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    1. Yes – it feels SO good to slow down. I always put so much pressure on myself to DO all the things. But I’ve spent the last few weeks doing what feels right and it’s made such a difference.

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  2. I go back and forth between “everything doesn’t need to be done today” and “everything has to be done this minute because this project depends on other projects being done for blogs or podcasts, etc”. Ironically, I’m not like this with most other things in life 😂

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  3. I have also noticed a real slow-down lately. I think part of it is because work has gotten really busy, so I just haven’t had time during the day for reading and crafting like I did earlier in the year/summer. But I think part of it may also be seasonal, and as the weather cools and days shorten, it feels right to slow my pace.

    I did pick up the new Louise Penny last weekend (in hardback — the first one in the series I’ve owned!) but haven’t started it yet. Perhaps I’ll take your approach and savor it. By the way, did you hear that they’re making a Three Pines TV series?

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  4. Slow is good!! Take a few deep breaths – you are totally in line with the seasons, after all it starts to slow down already.
    (As an aside – depending on how far you are in The Bone Clocks you can TOTALLY skip the second big chapter. I promise. You will not miss anything)

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    1. Thanks for the advice about The Bone Clocks! I had already read the second chapter but have decided to abandon the book altogether for now. It has an interesting premise, but I don’t think it’s something my brain can handle in this moment 🙂

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      1. I totally understand – I was super close to abandon the book too after chapter two. 😉 I’m not spoilering, but if you don’t make it back … that’s cool. 😉

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  5. I have been reading on my Kindle in the morning – 30-40 minutes. This means it is taking longer to finish a book but also means that the story stays with me through the day and lingers. Slowness and lingering are good autumn practices.

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  6. I’m trying to hold “things” loosely these days – giving myself leeway to spend more time on things I love and less time on things I feel I should be doing. The sun came out this afternoon, and I can already tell it’s giving me some much-needed energy … even for that should-be-doing list! AND I love that you picked up a cross-stitch project … mine is still languishing and I’m *this close* to starting another one in “winter” colors 🙂

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