Everyday rituals to embrace for a slower life
Living a slower pace of life is something that should come naturally, not a lifestyle that can be forced. It’s about embracing those small moments that we are used to rushing through, and learning to appreciate every little detail. As you learn to pause and slow down, everyday rituals will begin to emerge. You’ll learn which parts of your daily routine you enjoy lingering over and get the most joy out of – but here are some of our own suggestions, of the slow rituals that we make the time for each day.
Everyday rituals don’t have to involve buying new things, spending money, or partaking in an activity purely for its aesthetic value – rather, you should try to avoid anything that feels ‘forced’ and embrace those rituals that feel natural to you. Consider your usual daily routine: if you could, which moments would you linger over?
Begin with your mornings. Perhaps you’re a night owl and detest early mornings; in which case, make the most of your time in bed by creeping to the kitchen when you awaken and pouring a cup of coffee to take back and enjoy beneath the sheets. If you need to be up and out, introduce brisk, cold showers into your morning routine to wake you up with an invigorating way to start the day. Or if you love early mornings, rise with the birds and head outside to listen to the dawn chorus before breakfast.
There’s something magical about the change of day to night, as the sky lights up in flaming colours and the birds sing. Try to spend either sunrise or sunset outdoors to fully appreciate this time of the day, whether that involves sitting inside with a glass of wine in the evening or taking a shinrin yoku solo walk in the woods at the crack of dawn.
Often, slow rituals can effortlessly fit into your everyday. If you have to commute to work, take a book to read on the train. This could become a favourite moment of your day, when you tune out the hubbub of rush hour by losing yourself in the pages of a consuming story. Take an actual break for lunch, shutting your laptop and stepping away from your desk to actually pause and enjoy your food, sat outdoors or in the company of others. Make space in each day to do something you love, whether that is tending to a garden, watering your house plants, or simply enjoying a conversation with your loved ones.
Also consider your beauty routines. Rather than simply splashing water on your face and hopping into a quick shower, take the time to linger over caring for yourself, your skin and your hair. Develop a beauty routine for both morning and night that works for you. That could mean long morning showers where you exfoliate and deep condition your hair – or indulgent evening baths with essential oils and salt scrubs. Even the way that you care for your skin can be slowed down to become a ritual you look forward to each morning – applying toner and oil before massaging your face with a jade roller.
Consider all the moments in each day which are wasted. The time you spend staring at a television screen without caring about what you are watching, hours wiled away scrolling on your phone, sitting behind the wheel of your car getting angry at the traffic. How can you transform this time into something that will give you joy and help you to slow down?
Remember that you want to fill your day with small rituals that you actually enjoy and look forward to, that help you live a slower life in a way that comes naturally to you. If you force yourself to partake in routines that don’t work for you or conflict with your usual day-to-day activities, you won’t succeed in slowing down. The aim of slow living is to enjoy each moment, so focus on introducing everyday rituals that bring you joy.
