I was a farmer more than a decade and now a clinical herbalist. I didn’t and I don’t make a lot of money. Slow seasonal living is something most people can do it is just a lot of work and creating priorities. It means getting off the consumer wagon.
I was forced to give up my NHS work to support our whole family's grief recovery and healing at home full-time. Slow living is definitely part of our healing process. I often question if I’m privileged. I lost my parents and husband within a few years of each other. I don’t feel privileged or lucky. But I feel grateful that I had some inheritance to help me financially. Many people are forced into slow living and have to survive on benefits.
To be able to reframe slow living positively and to see the joy and beauty is admirable especially when our income is severely cut. Reframing is something I strive to do so I follow you and other writers who inspire me. Thank you 🙏
Absolutely, I agree—slow living truly is about mindset and intentionality rather than the size of your bank account. The idea that anyone can embrace mindfulness and appreciation for the small moments is empowering.
But what's the downside? Are there challenges or limitations to adopting slow living without financial security? For example, could the stress of meeting basic needs or the lack of time and resources make it harder to fully practice these principles? I'd love to hear thoughts on how to navigate those potential barriers while staying true to the essence of slow living.
My slow living is completely different….I’m slow because I can barely walk. Even a few steps and the pain in my hip can be excruciating. I need a hip replacement, but how long it will take, who knows 🙁.
Such interesting perspectives! I think that slow living actually means spending less in many ways. Less money on clothes because you’re not following trends. Less money on going out because you’re not chasing down the next big event.
I guess it depends on what you mean by 'rich'. My husband and I earn about 3000 pounds a month between us (converted from Australian dollars). We live in a rural area so some things are more expensive, others less so. I don't currently work for physical & mental health reasons, but try to contribute financially by selling stuff on eBay (a side hustle I've had for over a decade) and hopefully one day making my Substack into a source of income. (And, for full transparency, I receive government benefits as a student, but it's not much).
We live 'slowly', even my husband (who has 3 part-time jobs), but we also sacrifice a lot. He drives a car with a bashed-in door. I have a strict budget for the food shop. We live at home with one of my parents, paying two-thirds of their mortgage instead of moving out and buying a houseful of furniture on top of paying rent. We have prepaid phone plans and own everything outright. We sock money away each month and are in a pretty good place financially, but only because we are strict with our finances. So slow living is certainly possible for those on a budget, but you do have to make sacrifices and figure out what's most meaningful to you. For us it's important that I'm home so I can recover from severe burnout and also study for my current qualification, so we make it work.
Also, "certain aspects of slow living, like buying organic flour, are undeniably costly" - I'm currently trying something called Organic September, and I'm discovering how expensive organic is! We have already decided we aren't going to continue buying organic after this month's experiment, because for us it's simply financially unsustainable. We have the money, but it's more important to us right now to be saving for our future than spending it on food, even if it's lovely food.
Perhaps ask a single mother of three living in a highrise in a city what she thinks about “slow living”? Of course, it is only for the rich and privileged. Like having a diet which avoids UPF’s, that girl lifestyle and whatever other cr*p Instagram is churning out to make people feel inadequate and inferior.
Thank you for sharing. I have always felt seasonal living was a reference point to return to when we have a moment. Nature is all around us, even in the cities that we can all take from regardless of monetary circumstances. Nature is not an us/them scenario but it about us and something that connects us all
what a thoughtful roundup. I've embraced slow mornings with my kids because they need that before being rushed out the door. when weather allows, i take my coffee out to the garden, they trod after me, forgoing their screens. we cuddle with the sun on our faces. morning and evening sunlight is also essential to this type of slow living, i think!
I really enjoyed reading your “roundup” and the way you summarized so many differing perspectives. You took a potentially divisive set of answers and weaved them into a beautiful tapestry that made space for all of it. This really ties a bow around the idea of slow living! At least for me.
And thank you so much for including me. That really made my morning and means more than you know.
It’s not “just for” rich people, but having money certainly helps to live a slower life. For example, it still takes money to buy a sizeable land to live off of. Once you have it, that’s great, until then you have to survive, hopefully thrive, somehow. But I firmly believe that no one should wait to have a set of skills that embrace a self-reliant life - that’s slow, yet also costly at times. In the end it’s all about finding a sense of balance.
I think that the problem arose a few years ago when slow living became an Instagram aesthetic which implied that it wasn’t possible without all the linen trappings, wooden shutters, styled dining tables, and fresh flowers which came with that. I think that, just as you’ve done here, we need to work hard to break that barrier down. Ultimately, ‘slow living’ is, perhaps, a poor choice of phrase, but thus far, I don’t think anyone’s bettered it!
I once heard someone say "Having money isn't everything, not having it is."
And I agree. I think it's really difficult to feel a sense of security, stillness and safety when you're living with the uncertainty of constantly worrying about having enough money to pay the bills or putting food in the fridge.
Whilst I do think you can adopt a slow living mindset, I do think slow living requires a certain level of privilege sadly.
This was such a beautifully written piece Aimée 🫶🏼
So exciting to see this post, Aimée! The timing is spot on too; I actually am midway through a letter on a related topic. Echoing a bit of what Vicki and Lyndsay mentioned above... slow living to me is wrapped up in our nervous system’s relationship to time, environment, and events & people within that environment. Artisan products and rituals can both be deeply linked to financial wealth and privilege and I don’t think those doorways into slow living are always available. But I do think every individual everywhere has the available potential to heal their relationship with time & tend their own nervous systems. For some people groups and family lines this definitely will be harder...history of abuse, trauma, intergenerational wounding carried forward in genetic memory all alter nervous system capacity...but I still think that practice is universally accessible in some form to most people.
I was a farmer more than a decade and now a clinical herbalist. I didn’t and I don’t make a lot of money. Slow seasonal living is something most people can do it is just a lot of work and creating priorities. It means getting off the consumer wagon.
I was forced to give up my NHS work to support our whole family's grief recovery and healing at home full-time. Slow living is definitely part of our healing process. I often question if I’m privileged. I lost my parents and husband within a few years of each other. I don’t feel privileged or lucky. But I feel grateful that I had some inheritance to help me financially. Many people are forced into slow living and have to survive on benefits.
To be able to reframe slow living positively and to see the joy and beauty is admirable especially when our income is severely cut. Reframing is something I strive to do so I follow you and other writers who inspire me. Thank you 🙏
I love the question and all the different perspectives here of slow living. Thank you for the roundup Aimee🌻
Absolutely, I agree—slow living truly is about mindset and intentionality rather than the size of your bank account. The idea that anyone can embrace mindfulness and appreciation for the small moments is empowering.
But what's the downside? Are there challenges or limitations to adopting slow living without financial security? For example, could the stress of meeting basic needs or the lack of time and resources make it harder to fully practice these principles? I'd love to hear thoughts on how to navigate those potential barriers while staying true to the essence of slow living.
My slow living is completely different….I’m slow because I can barely walk. Even a few steps and the pain in my hip can be excruciating. I need a hip replacement, but how long it will take, who knows 🙁.
Such interesting perspectives! I think that slow living actually means spending less in many ways. Less money on clothes because you’re not following trends. Less money on going out because you’re not chasing down the next big event.
Love this post Aimee! So many interesting perspectives, and all valid. ❤️
I guess it depends on what you mean by 'rich'. My husband and I earn about 3000 pounds a month between us (converted from Australian dollars). We live in a rural area so some things are more expensive, others less so. I don't currently work for physical & mental health reasons, but try to contribute financially by selling stuff on eBay (a side hustle I've had for over a decade) and hopefully one day making my Substack into a source of income. (And, for full transparency, I receive government benefits as a student, but it's not much).
We live 'slowly', even my husband (who has 3 part-time jobs), but we also sacrifice a lot. He drives a car with a bashed-in door. I have a strict budget for the food shop. We live at home with one of my parents, paying two-thirds of their mortgage instead of moving out and buying a houseful of furniture on top of paying rent. We have prepaid phone plans and own everything outright. We sock money away each month and are in a pretty good place financially, but only because we are strict with our finances. So slow living is certainly possible for those on a budget, but you do have to make sacrifices and figure out what's most meaningful to you. For us it's important that I'm home so I can recover from severe burnout and also study for my current qualification, so we make it work.
Also, "certain aspects of slow living, like buying organic flour, are undeniably costly" - I'm currently trying something called Organic September, and I'm discovering how expensive organic is! We have already decided we aren't going to continue buying organic after this month's experiment, because for us it's simply financially unsustainable. We have the money, but it's more important to us right now to be saving for our future than spending it on food, even if it's lovely food.
Perhaps ask a single mother of three living in a highrise in a city what she thinks about “slow living”? Of course, it is only for the rich and privileged. Like having a diet which avoids UPF’s, that girl lifestyle and whatever other cr*p Instagram is churning out to make people feel inadequate and inferior.
Thank you for sharing. I have always felt seasonal living was a reference point to return to when we have a moment. Nature is all around us, even in the cities that we can all take from regardless of monetary circumstances. Nature is not an us/them scenario but it about us and something that connects us all
what a thoughtful roundup. I've embraced slow mornings with my kids because they need that before being rushed out the door. when weather allows, i take my coffee out to the garden, they trod after me, forgoing their screens. we cuddle with the sun on our faces. morning and evening sunlight is also essential to this type of slow living, i think!
I really enjoyed reading your “roundup” and the way you summarized so many differing perspectives. You took a potentially divisive set of answers and weaved them into a beautiful tapestry that made space for all of it. This really ties a bow around the idea of slow living! At least for me.
And thank you so much for including me. That really made my morning and means more than you know.
It’s not “just for” rich people, but having money certainly helps to live a slower life. For example, it still takes money to buy a sizeable land to live off of. Once you have it, that’s great, until then you have to survive, hopefully thrive, somehow. But I firmly believe that no one should wait to have a set of skills that embrace a self-reliant life - that’s slow, yet also costly at times. In the end it’s all about finding a sense of balance.
I think that the problem arose a few years ago when slow living became an Instagram aesthetic which implied that it wasn’t possible without all the linen trappings, wooden shutters, styled dining tables, and fresh flowers which came with that. I think that, just as you’ve done here, we need to work hard to break that barrier down. Ultimately, ‘slow living’ is, perhaps, a poor choice of phrase, but thus far, I don’t think anyone’s bettered it!
I once heard someone say "Having money isn't everything, not having it is."
And I agree. I think it's really difficult to feel a sense of security, stillness and safety when you're living with the uncertainty of constantly worrying about having enough money to pay the bills or putting food in the fridge.
Whilst I do think you can adopt a slow living mindset, I do think slow living requires a certain level of privilege sadly.
This was such a beautifully written piece Aimée 🫶🏼
So exciting to see this post, Aimée! The timing is spot on too; I actually am midway through a letter on a related topic. Echoing a bit of what Vicki and Lyndsay mentioned above... slow living to me is wrapped up in our nervous system’s relationship to time, environment, and events & people within that environment. Artisan products and rituals can both be deeply linked to financial wealth and privilege and I don’t think those doorways into slow living are always available. But I do think every individual everywhere has the available potential to heal their relationship with time & tend their own nervous systems. For some people groups and family lines this definitely will be harder...history of abuse, trauma, intergenerational wounding carried forward in genetic memory all alter nervous system capacity...but I still think that practice is universally accessible in some form to most people.