Натали Гейл (N ATA L I E G A L E)Embracing A Slower, More Sustainable Lifestyle
The slow living movement began with the opening of a McDonald’s in the heart of Rome.
In 1986, the fast food chain opened a location at the Piazza di Spagna, at the foot of the Spanish Steps. At the time, it was the largest McDonald’s in the world, sparking protests from Italians and a lawsuit from Valentino—an
American tribute was defiling the Roman monument. That McDonald’s is still there today.
In response, political activist Carlo Petrini founded the International Slow Food movement in 1989, centering local, traditionally prepared foods in direct dissonance to “fast food.”
Today, slow living encompasses many different facets—one is slow food, while others include slow fashion, slow travel, slow fitness, slow interiors, and slow news. And note, you don’t have to live in a cottage in the countryside with a garden and no wifi to live a slow lifestyle.
What is Slow Living?
Slow living is a lifestyle that emphasizes taking a slower, more mindful approach to all aspects of everyday life. It’s about identifying what you value most in your life and structuring your time accordingly.
“The central tenet of the Slow philosophy is taking the time to do things properly, and thereby enjoy them more,” says Carl Honoré in his 2004 book, In Praise of Slowness. Instead of going through our days as quickly as we can to be more “productive,” slowing down helps us enjoy living rather than cruising on autopilot.
Carl Honoré’s book helped explain the link between slow food and slow living, bringing the latter into the mainstream. The concept took off vigorously during the pandemic when a worldwide slowdown triggered a desire for many folks to step back and “reconnect with meaningful hobbies, nature, and ourselves,” says Slow
Living LDN.
“Unlike common misconceptions, slow living doesn’t mean being lazy, sluggish, or uninspired.”
In a world where ads constantly bombard us, encourage us to get more done, and are besieged with the latest trends, slow living is, in fact, a bit radical. “It’s actually a profoundly revolutionary [idea] in a roadrunner culture where every moment [in] a day is a race against the clock,” Honoré told Martha Stewart. Honoré’s framing of slow living as radical hearkens to Audre Lorde’s 1988 explanation of self-care in A Burst of Light: “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”