Let's Talk About: Living

Photo by Jackson David on Unsplash

I have been recently intrigued by the concept of - Slow Living.

Not sure whether you have chanced upon it yourself; but it's basically - 

the idea of taking things slow in this fast-paced world (perhaps I'm oversimplifying here).

Taking that idea deeper, it would mean intentionally unplugging from technology, setting boundaries (from work), choosing to work on things from scratch instead of opting for the convenient and fast option (like cooking instead of ordering in). 

Now, this idea could either seem interesting and much needed - 

OR

- a concept that would totally freak you out.

In a world where we are constantly bombarded by information through a variety of sources such as:

• WhatsApp 
• Telegram
• Instagram (and now - Threads!)
• Tiktok
• Facebook
• YouTube
• Google 
• Outlook / Email
• and many many more etc

Some becoming an absolute necessity for work purposes, and being synced to our smart watches that buzzes when we get a notification from any of the above apps.

We barely have time to have time for ourselves amidst our busy schedules of work / study, to breathe yet alone think.

***

The question to ask ourselves is perhaps:

What is living? 

What does living mean to you?

Are you just surviving (day to day)?

Do you want to survive or thrive?

Are we where we want to be?

If not, what are we doing to get to where we want to be?

***

On a side note related to living, I wanted to exploring 2 related-concepts (taken from God Never Blinks, a book by Regina Brett, which I am currently reading): 

1. The concept of saying no (to the things that you do not want to do) and saying yes (to the things that you want to do)
   
   
   So often we go about life saying yes - to doing things for people who we do not care for, and attending events that we are not interested in - just because we are scared of their opinions (what people would think) if we rejected their offers. 
   
   Time is linear, and limited. We have 24 hours a day and 7 days a week and so on. We are only able to do a certain amount of things and see a certain amount of people in our life.
   
   What would we do and who would we spend our time with, if we only had a day left to live? 
   
   I'm not saying to reject all and any offers that is out of your comfort zone and not to challenge yourself to meet new people (or whatever it is that scares you!) By all means, if there is meaning (to you!) behind attending an event or spending time with a group of people, do so. You do you. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.
   
   But perhaps we can be more circumspect on how we choose to spend our time and efforts on. Things that brings us closer to our purpose / goals, and brings us joy? or not?
   
   May we choose wisely.
   
   
2. The concept of living in the moment, i.e. not waiting to use the nice dress, candles etc 
   
   
   Growing up - I was taught the concept of delayed gratification. Pricey things were not available all the time, and 'special occasions' was when we got nicer things (or rather, a chance to splurge). 
   
   I can't say the same for everyone, but I would think that most people experienced life as such too (except the extremely rich!). So when we become adults and earned money, we also waited for 'special occasions' to buy nice things (for ourselves) and / or keep nice things (that we got for ourselves or as a gift) for a 'special occasion'. 
   
   The issue comes when we keep delaying that enjoyment - and never really get round to it. Until the 'saved' thing becomes worthless or disintegrated(!) and we never got to enjoy it at all. 

Resources

1. God Never Blinks, Regina Brett