Sri Lankan Slow Living
Do you near each year end wondering how time could have flown by so fast; taking a turn in the daily grin, as it churns out each day the same as the next? Well, here in Sri Lanka, I’ve learnt the secret to living a simple and full existence. I’ve learnt to slow life down. To wake with the sun and sleep with the Moon, to be lost in the sunset and caught in the rain…and I’m welcoming you to join me on a Paradise retreat , to reap the rewards of a slower, more satisfying life of palm tree pampering and hammocked havens
Here’s 4 tips to help you tap into a slower paced island style life:
START OFF EACH DAY SLOW
Here in Sri Lanka we firmly believe in a slow start to the day. Even if it is only for the first 20 minutes after you awake, try chime in with a calm composure. Make time for a short meditation followed by a mellow or energising yoga session as a morning mind deamplifier. Go for a brisk walk, have a bath rather than an in-out shower, or even slowly sip your favourite brew as you daydream to the rising morning mist. Whatever it is, before you check e-mails and messages, start your day thinking about you and not the needs of anyone else.
EAT IN SILENCE
Taking a moment to be silent three times a day (or even just once) teaches us to be fully present. Rather than gobbling down snacks at your desk or dreaming of dinner as you pour milk over your cereal, stop and be present. Savour each mouthful, be appreciative for the food before you and experience the moment fully, distraction free, before it is gone and replaced with the next. Eating in silence does wonders for your digestion as well as for your ability to slow life down and drink in each sensation to the fullest.
SET GOALS AND ACTUALLY ACHIEVE THEM
Often we keep our dreams fluttering lackadaisically through our minds, only to be forgotten and never to be set free. To slow the clock and actually feel like we are making the most of each moment, we need to write down (and achieve) actual goals. The satisfaction from looking back on the last day of the month and ticking off the goals we’d set for those four weeks gives a sense of time well spent. Rather than simply slipping down the slide of never ending tasks and urgent matters, monitor your progress in life and celebrate each victory along the way.
STOP LIVING FOR THE WEEKEND
What more is Saturday and Sunday than the capitalist’s cunning plan to chain the workforce to “something to live for”? Don’t live for Friday night where you intoxicate yourself on the fleeting freedom of two full days of life (YOUR life) to do as you please. Live your way, everyday. Whether you work for someone else, or for yourself, or don’t work at all, do something just for you each and every day. Learn to live this way and life will slow down a whole lot more. You won’t catch yourself marveling at how fast it’s flown. You won’t wake up one day and wonder where all the good times went. Good days or bad days, easy times or hard times, you’ll live each to the max and beat the clock to its own tick tock.