‘Slow Living’ Adds Value to Life With Deeper Conversations, Connection With Nature_ Writer

In the age of social media and hustle culture, it can seem impossible to slow down and connect offline, but many of us feel better when we have a chance to put down the devices and have a deep conversation with someone. Similarly, a long walk in nature can help calm our minds and give us a fresh perspective. To learn more about incorporating these elements in a daily life, I spoke with Walker Larson. He's a freelance journalist and culture writer. I asked him what the slow living movement is all about. Yeah, good question. So there's not just one definition of slow living out there, there's kind of different ones floating around, but there's certain common elements that run through it. And I think kind of a good way to summarize it would be, it's an effort to prioritize the things that are most important in your life, to focus on quality over quantity. And so it's kind of making time for the things that are most valuable to you, whether that's family relationships, activities that improve you as a human being, those kinds of things that have more permanent, lasting value, rather than just getting caught up in the busyness of everyday life. Yeah, absolutely. And Harvard says that an active life is a healthier one, but they say there are benefits to embracing this slower pace. And it's not necessarily, says an expert at Benson Henry Institute that's connected Harvard, it's not necessarily doing less, it just means putting more focus into things at the right pace. Now, should we spend more time in nature too? Yeah, definitely. So this is one that comes up frequently in people who are part of this slow living movement. They often talk about the importance of spending time in nature. And there's a number of reasons for that. I mean, right off the bat, there's been a lot of studies that talk about the benefits just mentally and physically of being out in nature. But even in addition to that, I think it does slow down our pace a little bit. When you're out in nature, you kind of look around, you see the beauty around you, and you realize things are slow moving out there. Nothing is really rushed in nature, and yet there's all this abundance and this beauty there. So I know at least for me, when I'm outside, time does really slow down, and I'm able to kind of reflect and just see this beauty around me that soothes the soul and reminds you of kind of the bigger picture. You're able to maybe think about bigger questions of life a little more easily out in that beauty. Nature can be very soothing, especially with the bird songs and the fresh air and everything like that. What are some ways to focus on really meaningful things? Yeah, so there's, of course, a lot of ways. We mentioned nature as one. I think that's a great one. I think particularly important maybe for us in this time is to place some thoughtful limits on technology usage. There's another movement kind of allied to the slow living movement, you could say, which is the tech resistance movement. And again, this is not about throwing out all the phones in the dumpster or something. I mean, that's not realistic, but it is about placing meaningful limits on them just so that we're controlling our devices rather than the devices controlling us. And those devices, they often are, can be addictive. There's different platforms that really draw you in and can just suck up so much of your time and constantly be kind of putting thoughts into your mind. It's all this stuff that's coming into you, into your mind, and it can take over your mind. It can replace your own thoughts. So I think placing limits on technology, just simple rules like in our household, for example, there's certain rooms where we just don't bring the phones. It's been shown, Sherry Turkle, an MIT professor, in her book, Reclaiming Conversation, she talks about how just the presence of a phone, even if it's turned off, tends to prevent people from having deeper conversations, for example, because there's that potential interruption that's just always right there, ready to break in. So having these kind of sanctuary places, so to speak, where you can go and be free from that technology for a little while, I think is a great way to focus on more meaningful things. Conversation I mentioned, I think that's a really important one, cultivating true conversation, learning a craft. Such fascinating points from you, Walker Larson, freelance journalist and culture writer. Thank you.