“Slow living” and “analog living” are common terms used on social media these days. It’s become a trend to live like it’s the 90s or 2000s. I see so much about these topics every time I go online. And for so many, it’s this “new way of living”. But for me, it’s just always been my life. I know no different.
The terms “slow living” or “analog living” aren’t terms that I’m a huge fan of. Mostly because of all the trendy hoopla that goes along with them, but also because I don’t believe it’s a very genuine way of living. As with any trend, people adopt this new-to-them idea, it “radically changes” their life, they completely turn their life upside down to fit this trend, whether it be redoing their home interiors, wardrobe, even their beliefs and values, and then another trend comes along a few years later and the cycle repeats itself. Ingenuine, fake, very weird, in my opinion. As someone who has a general intolerance of trends and whatnot, that way of living just doesn’t jive with me.
I’ve written about what I describe as “gentle living” on my old blog quite often. This is not a new-to-me topic, but rather what I have written in the past has simply been an expression of what I’ve always known and lived. As I’ve gotten older, though, things have changed, I’ve grown and learned a lot, and my values and beliefs on this topic have also grown and taken on different meanings. I have learned that not only do I believe in living a gentle life, I also firmly believe in living quietly and in being rooted. Now as with anything, things can have different meanings for each person. But today I wish to share what they mean to me, and perhaps and hopefully, encourage kindred spirits along the way, too.
Ten years ago, I was in my early twenties and full of ideas and thoughts about life and living. A decade brought a bunch of life experiences (some good, some bad) and many lessons learned (again, some good, some bad) and, also a gentle, subtle shift in my thinking and in what I believe about life and how life ought to be lived. I have settled into who I am, instead of trying to become what I thought I needed to according to societal norms or expectations. And in that decade, the beliefs of living quietly and gently became deeply ingrained in my heart and soul, along with that of being rooted, which I feel very strongly about.
To me, gentle and quiet living go hand in hand. To live gently is to live in such a way that you are attuned to the important things in life, to the sacredness that fills our everyday and ordinary moments, to be convinced that life is more than attaining what is labeled as “success” in the eyes of most folks. To live quietly is to live in such a way that you are dedicated to tending your corner of the earth well and minding your own business and cultivating contentment and peace in your little space.
And finally, to live rooted, for me, means to plant firm, deep roots right where you are and to bloom where you are planted. I believe that when you do so, contentment and happiness begin to bloom in harmony with one another, and from that, a freedom is born that is completely foreign to those who can’t settle down or don’t know how to stay in one place. I literally believe in being rooted, in staying in one place, in belonging right where you are and in blooming there. I do not believe we were meant to be nomads or to roam the earth. (Please note that I’m not saying it’s wrong to travel, but rather I believe we should spend most of our time right where we call home.) I believe in tending to my corner of the earth, and in doing so well. I believe in being rooted right where I am, cultivating contentment and watching the freedom and happiness that blooms from that contentment. I believe in making my corner of the earth what I want it to be. For so long, I believed I could be happy and content anywhere but where I was...where I still am. And finally, I have come to realize that my happiness and contentment are right here, and they were all along, I was just too caught up in the ideals of travel and grand adventure and of what is force-fed to nearly every person out there...I now take great pride in having lived in the same place my entire life. In driving the same roads my grandparents drove, going to the same grocery stores my whole life long, taking walks in the parks that I grew up playing in, knowing the history of this place in my family story. Rootedness is a true blessing, along with gentle and quiet living, all of which go together in my book.
Living a quiet, gentle life doesn’t mean you move in slow-motion all day long. It doesn’t mean you’re back on Little House on the Prairie or don’t use and appreciate modern appliances and conveniences. I am thankful for running water and indoor plumbing and air conditioning on hot summer days, and electricity. It does mean, at least to me, that I am choosing a better way of life, a wiser way, a more meaningful way, a simpler and more peaceful way.
On a practical note, this (for me) looks like keeping technology in its place. I do own a smartphone, but I treat it as a landline. I never wear it on my body, nor do I take it with me every second of the day. Most of the time, it is sitting on a table, and when I go out, I put it in my purse. I use it for phone calls and texting (which I prefer), a GPS when we aren’t near familiar places, and the only form of social media I engage in is Instagram, as I do find some good things to enjoy on there. I use a digital camera for taking pictures. I use pen and paper for list making. I use notebooks and cookbooks for making dinner and collecting recipes. I use CDs or our record player and my parents’ old records to listen to music, even in the car. I have no idea how to use a Bluetooth connection. I read only physical books and have been collecting DVDs (along with books and CDs) since I was a preteen. It means living in a “dumb” house, no AI, no Siri, no Alexa, none of that. We talk to each other if we have a question; we don’t ask an AI robotic nobody. Does anybody remember that 90s Disney Channel movie, Smart House, and how the virtual assistant (what we would call AI today) causes so much disturbance and turmoil in the home and family? That’s a simplistic example of what AI is doing in our world today. Yeah, I’m not a fan.
Living quietly and gently and rooted means (for me) living a simple, home-centered life. And what I mean by that is choosing old-fashioned values and beliefs when it comes to schedules and such. I don’t believe in lots of things that take you away from home and family, especially extracurricular activities for children. That’s something my mom really held strong to when my sister and I were growing up, and we had a rich, vibrant, imaginative childhood because of it. We played outside all summer long and after school, riding bikes, running through the sprinkler, playing basketball on the driveway, drawing with chalk on the street, and coming up with tons of fun, imaginative games with each other and our friends. We did have TV growing up and we watched it daily, but it did not consume our lives and we did not spend every waking moment in front of it. For grown-up folks, I believe (for me) this looks like choosing to spend free time at home as much as possible and being with family. I truly believe home is the place where life should be lived, not just a pitstop along life’s way. I believe in making home a place you want and love and desire to be. Cultivating hobbies and interests centered around the home, tending to your home and space well, and thriving while doing so. And not having lots of social outings that are away from home. When we get together with friends, I’d much rather do it at home, and if we do go out, I prefer a walk in the park or something along those lines. Some of this also is probably related to being an introvert, though I also seriously believe there is a direct agenda to get people away from home and family as much as possible (for meals, entertainment, holidays and celebrations, hobbies, etc.).
It means focusing on exploring places near to where I live and keeping vacations simpler and closer to home. I genuinely don’t believe we were meant to be constant world travelers. Sorry, but that’s just my opinion. I think there is something seriously wrong with people constantly having to take grand vacations or leave their own country for travel. I’ve been out of the country twice, and I’m not saying that in itself is a bad thing. But it’s when we are no longer content with a closer to home trip or exploring places in our own homeland that I think it is a serious problem and issue of discontentment. I just don’t think international travel should be the first and most common choice.
It means making homecooked meals and eating at home with loved ones. It means taking walks without earbuds and noticing nature. It means being close to nature and learning from the earth’s gentle wisdom. It means when I do watch TV, I’m choosing things that are fun and enjoyable, and not feeding my mind with negative thoughts. It means letting nature be nature in my yard and gardens, not spraying toxic chemicals into the earth and my space. It means making my home what I want it to be...a cozy haven for me and my dearest ones. It means cultivating friendships with like-minded folks and doing life together, not just having shallow, superficial relationships with people. It’s valuing true friendships with a few kindred spirits...truly quality over quantity.
It means sitting outside in the evenings and breathing in fresh air, listening to the birds, and realizing that life doesn’t have to be loud or fast or busy for it to be meaningful or worth noticing. It’s realizing that what most consider “rich” and “success” isn’t actually either one of those things at all. It’s protecting my mind and not engaging in negative or distressing activities and not watching the news and knowing when to logoff social media...and using social media as minimally as possible and only so long as there is something good for me on there...and then, also, and most importantly, knowing when it’s time to bid it farewell.
It’s learning from the old ways and traditions and upholding the values and morals that are deemed “old-fashioned” or “outdated”. It is hungering for goodness, truth and beauty and seeking after it wholeheartedly. It is knowing that such goodness, truth, and beauty are found in the ancient traditions and roots that have been neglected and long forgotten by so many and mocked or criticized by many others. It is believing and realizing that life is magical...and I’m not talking spells and potions. I’m talking about wonder-filled, beauty-steeped, overflowing with meaning and value, sacred and deep, and full of splendor. It’s reawakening your imagination as an adult and protecting your inner child. It’s embracing your true self (and no, I’m not talking all that woke/modern garbage) and realizing that you are not broken. It’s being gentle with yourself and being authentic. It’s not giving into what everyone says you must be or do, but about following your heart and intuition. This took me a long time to understand as a quiet, reserved, highly sensitive introvert surrounded by people who made me feel broken or like something was wrong with me. You don’t need to change your personality to exist in this world. It’s being gentle with yourself...and with others.
It’s resisting busyness and modern ideals that tell us what life and family and home should be. It’s being a woman (or man) of conviction and realizing that being an idealist isn’t an unrealistic trait. It’s simply your heart and soul and mind working together, knowing that a better way is out there and guiding you towards living that out. It means using money wisely and spending frugally (which is different from being cheap) because that’s the wisdom our ancestors passed down to us. It’s having common sense, which isn’t all that common anymore. It’s being tied to our ancestors and passing things down from one generation to the next. It’s not being easily influenced by societal norms or mainstream ideas and opinions. It’s realizing that celebrity culture is absolute evil and not engaging in anything of the sort. It’s being mature and not holding famous people/celebrities in high regard or influence or really giving them any place in your life at all. It’s living naturally and cherishing our natural beauty, not giving into the makeup industry or changing our appearance with certain procedures. It’s not desiring or striving to climb the “ladder of success” but having an income that provides what you need for the life you value and not being governed by the love and pursuit of money. It’s believing in the absolute importance of a home and family centered life, regardless of age, marital status, season of life, etc.
Simply put, it’s living with wisdom.
Hear me out. This is not a list of rules I live by...I simply just live this way. It’s as natural for me as breathing, as it’s how I was raised and it’s all I’ve ever known. Nothing about this is meant to come across as legalistic, but rather as a genuine sharing of what this kind of life looks like really, truly lived out in our modern day. I want to simply offer *some* (not all by any means) of the practical ways I live the way I believe, with the hopes of encouraging those who are living similarly.
And yes, it does mean slowing down in terms of not going about life at 100 mph or constantly hustling or following what everyone else is doing. It’s not being a robot or puppet to the ideas forced upon us, intended to make us miserable, sick, and unhappy, to separate families and destroy the home, to completely overthrow any morals and values and decency. It’s not the slow or analog living you see on social media...that’s not what real life looks like. Rather, it’s slowing down and choosing rhythms and creating a life that breathes life into you instead of sucking it right out. It’s not a trend that lasts a year or two only to be replaced by something else. It’s real life.
The older I get, the more I learn and realize that this is what it means to live a rich and successful life. I’m not one to aspire to greatness or big achievements. Some wise folks whose writings I’ve read and been inspired by talk about striving for “mediocre living”, and that’s exactly what I aspire to. There’s a lot to be said for that, and perhaps I’ll share my thoughts on that here at some point. It doesn’t mean lazy living or low-life living. It’s actually about living a richly beautiful life full of all the important things and steeped in wisdom, value, and meaning. And that’s exactly how I believe life should be lived.
I have very different beliefs on what success is than the general ideas of society. What most consider important, I do not. What most value, I do not. What is considered “success” by most, I consider the exact opposite. Most of the time, I feel like a true black sheep because of my beliefs on even the most ordinary, everyday things. I value what most people would consider nonsense, meaningless, small, and ordinary, and what most people consider fundamental and essential, I see little to no importance in. That makes life very, very hard at times. Sometimes, you just feel completely invisible and forgotten.
I could ramble on for ages about the absolute joys found in living a simple, rooted life. I get really passionate about living a life rooted in home and nature and of seeing, truly seeing and noticing and experiencing, the magic of everyday life. Not to mention the gentle healing and sweetness it brings. It hits me deep when I think of how beautiful a simple, rooted life is. I think of all the people who are chasing such big, grand things that have absolutely little to no meaning in the grand scheme of things. But to cherish and love your simple life, I think that’s one of the most undervalued gifts people don’t even realize they have. And too often, they don’t want it. They don’t know the beauty of everyday life, the magic found in daily tasks, the wonder of making a house a home and a haven, the excitement of small things that brings endless joy to your days and of knowing that there is endless value in what you are doing. Tolkien said it best...It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life.
May your ordinary self on this ordinary day in your ordinary rhythms of life be blessed…