The Art of Slow Living

There comes a time when the world gets quiet and only thing left is your own heart. So you’d better learn the sound of it. Otherwise you’ll never understand what it’s saying.
— Sarah Dessen

So what is does the art of slow living have to do with me?

If anyone can relate to the ongoing insanity that is our relationship to time living in the 21st century in the western world. I am thinking about the trending conversations, blog posts and articles about mindfulness, self care and simplifying,  it speaks to a few years ago and the onslaught of articles on organization and systems to manage ones clothes, belongings, and all our worldly possessions, we had to buy more organizers, systems, cupboards, closets and files. Now we have to buy new specially designed agendas (so we can track how we feel, what we truly want and who we are), calendars, join groups and hire coaches to get clear and fit it all in . . . Don't get me wrong I think these are all valuable and useful things but for me there was a disconnect,  I was trading my time (working) with every thing I was purchasing, paying or hiring, to create space in my life for me, to be well, ME?  I had to work more, get my numbers correct, attract more and manifest, while curating vision boards and all of this was taking up my life energy, and resources but more importantly for me, my TIME in this one and only life? 

The outcome of a long and well travelled and transformative path, I am living in a place where in essence time stood still and remains the same as it did 100 years ago in many ways.   My western culture and upbringing, naturally wants things faster, neater, more organized, but my nervous system and over all health and well being feel that I have actually acquired the most precious commodity of all . . .TIME. 

In that TIME, I have the ability to pay attention, as the distractions are few,  I can actually hear who I am and do what I want,  as I rediscover me, the me who had been forgotten, or shelved for a long while.  I have always been an artist but was often fitting the creating into and around the tired edges of my life . . . sound familiar?  As this is quite a radical approach to reinventing ones relationship with time, (I am wild like that) the difference is that now there is space, my Art and my time are at the centre of my life and that is always what I wanted more of, and like most things in our lives, I believe there are trade offs for every decision we make but I can say that by paying attention and setting my intention to make every decision from that place of "did it get me more of, closer to the desired outcomes in my life that I craved?"  It did, and it actually has. My main focus now is to S L O W  D O W N and just be, and live, that is new. . . in the vastness of this immeasurable space, overwhelming silence, extreme simplicity,  I am feeling a sense of freedom that I have only dreamt of,  a connectedness to myself like never before and I am so looking forward to my new studio to incubate ideas and bring them into reality. This is my job now, learning the art of slow living.

I feel like I dreamt my vision into existence and while it may have taken the better part of half of my life, I am forever grateful.

So . . . please take the risk, say yes to that thing, create your next adventure!  What is the best thing that could happen and if not now when, make a date and work towards it?  Really, there is only ever now . . .and only you get to decide whether it be one day or day 1 of creating what you truly want in your life.  What do you want to do with your time?


in gratitude, 


Michelle Fletcher