Random Acts of Slowness

[thartley]

I really like this movement and hope it catches on.

Slow Movement

In fact, I am working on all the ways I can incorporate my new outlook on life into my "old" one when I get back. 

For one thing, when I cook those meals, I wont only be dining with The Blue Man.     I have friends, real life friends, who you will meet when I cook.

I am seriously debating on just how badly I really need a car.  We have a pretty good public transport system where I come from, city buses.  I would much prefer to travel by rail when going places out of town, and the money I would save on not paying car insurance and buying gas and paying for regular maintenance and repairs would more than cover the cost of a rail trip a few times per year (not to mention I would be reducing my carbon footprint). 

There is a church down the road from where I live and I know the church secretary and many of the members of the congregation.  They have a nice bit of land behind their main building that hasn't been used for anything so far as I know.  It would make a nice place for a garden where things could be grown to use in their potluck dinner socials.  Tomatoes for salsa, salads and sandwiches, zucchini for stews and even bread, cucumbers for pickling and veggie trays. 

What are some ideas you guys can come up with to slow down your lifestyle?

I have gone from this:


To this....

[Nick Lane]

This is cool. I think I should start spending more time simply sitting outside my house. In fact, what's funny is, I realized this earlier when I got bored and sat out on the corner. I mean, look at the view:

[thartley]

My gosh, Nick!  I can almost smell the air in that shot.  Beautiful!  You will be surprised how energized your mind can become when you breathe in the space like that!

Thank you for posting that!

[Nick Lane]

My gosh, Nick!  I can almost smell the air in that shot.  Beautiful!  You will be surprised how energized your mind can become when you breathe in the space like that!

Thank you for posting that!

That's good, because whenever I want to see that all I have to do is step out my sliding glass door.

[KitKat]

Terri, this is a great idea for a thread.  We should all slow down our lives.  The small town where I live is really laid-back.

This is cool. I think I should start spending more time simply sitting outside my house. In fact, what's funny is, I realized this earlier when I got bored and sat out on the corner. I mean, look at the view:

Nick that's an incredible view!  Looks a lot like Central Texas terrain.  Are those Oak trees and cedars?  If so, you may be my neighbor!   

[Mus.]

I can't really slow down my life. I'd have to like make my heart stop beating to do that.

[Ginafish]

I feel like choosing to be a stay at home mom is a purposeful act of slowing down. So I've been living in the slow lane for almost eight years now. What will be difficult for me is the slight speeding up I'll need to do in the Fall that will incorporate a part-time job, so my husband can slow down.

T, I say go for losing the car. If you live in an area with public transportation, or in weather that is bike friendly 90% of the time, then it only makes sense to not have a car if you are single. That would be a great step into living simply. You know the slogan: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. No car = reducing!

I think Nick lives in California, and yes, there is a fresh air smell with his picture. Just don't try the scratch and sniff method.

[ianh68]

I feel like choosing to be a stay at home mom is a purposeful act of slowing down. So I've been living in the slow lane for almost eight years now. What will be difficult for me is the slight speeding up I'll need to do in the Fall that will incorporate a part-time job, so my husband can slow down.

T, I say go for losing the car. If you live in an area with public transportation, or in weather that is bike friendly 90% of the time, then it only makes sense to not have a car if you are single. That would be a great step into living simply. You know the slogan: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. No car = reducing!

I think Nick lives in California, and yes, there is a fresh air smell with his picture. Just don't try the scratch and sniff method.

Hang on, you mean it makes sense to have a car if you are not single? Not sure I agree. If the infrastructure is there then you usually don't need a car ever. Even with small kids there are ways round it; remember the school run is a serious problem on many levels. 

[Nick Lane]

Nick that's an incredible view!  Looks a lot like Central Texas terrain.  Are those Oak trees and cedars?  If so, you may be my neighbor!  

Yes, they are Oaks. I don;t think there are any Cedars out there, and GinaFish is right, I do live in California (however she knew that *shifty glances around*)

[thartley]

I was checking out the bus routes and fares where I will be living when I get back and I can buy a monthly bus pass for $40 that will give me unlimited rides for the month.  Or I can just pay the $1 fare as I go.  (could get expensive if you have transfers)  A good thing about our buses is that they are equipped with bike racks, so if I want to go from the beach to downtown for the day, I can ride the bus, take my bike, ride all over downtown, go to the library, have a picnic lunch on the river, go to art museums, take photos all day, then load my bike back on the bus's rack and relax for the drive back to the beach.  And since there is a Beaches Express line, I can do all that for $2.  If I were to drive my car for the same trip, I would spend three times that easily in gas alone, not counting I would have to find a garage to park in, which is probably no less than a $5/day parking fee.

[Ginafish]

Hang on, you mean it makes sense to have a car if you are not single?

I think if you are single, and live in a city with mass transportation, you can easily get by without owning a car. If you are married with kids, you can certainly still use the mass transit, it just requires more planning. Larger families require more groceries, which I imagine are hard to carry on mass transit. I know there are millions of families that live that way, I just don't have any experience with it.

Where I live, there isn't ANY system of mass transit available at all. One city, 30 miles from me, has a taxi service, but it only runs from 8 a.m. till 6 p.m. The largest city closest to me, does have a bus system, however, it isn't 24/7. Either way, I still have to drive a minimum of 18 miles to a grocery store. It's easier for me to see how a single person could use a public transportation system in a large city, that's all.  Spoken from the smallness of my experience.

From Nick Lane:

(however she knew that *shifty glances around*)

Dude! Your profile says it, plus I have memorized your drivers license after you included it on that puzzle search picture you did.

And Terri - a $40 bus pass seems really reasonable to me! And the bike thing is a big plus! And cheaper than a horse too! Now about transportation in Hawaii??

[lambie83]

I live in a city, so it's hard to slow down and get out to enjoy nature.  But it's surprising how taking a simple walk (maybe getting out of the metro one stop early, or walking to get groceries) is enjoyable.  Weather is enjoyable, whatever kind it is.

I think this concept of d?rive is interesting too.  It seems to be way of letting your mind wander as your body does and exploring your physical surroundings by walking without a set destination, just taking the paths that seem interesting as they come.  Following your curiousity. 

I've flirted with this, but never actually gone full out and wandered into unknown territory for the sake of wandering.  It sounds intriguing though, and I bet you'd notice a lot of new things.

[thartley]

If things happen the way I want them to, I dont know if I would use even $40 worth of trips.    But it does seem like a good deal.

As far as Hawaii goes, where I would be staying is pretty pedestrianized, or so I've been led to believe. haha!!!!  I'm trying to decide between Hawaii and Italy for my very VERY next trip.  I have lots of research to do....

[KitKat]

If things happen the way I want them to, I dont know if I would use even $40 worth of trips.    But it does seem like a good deal.

As far as Hawaii goes, where I would be staying is pretty pedestrianized, or so I've been led to believe. haha!!!!  I'm trying to decide between Hawaii and Italy for my very VERY next trip.  I have lots of research to do....

Wow! Terri, you're ALREADY planning your next trip?  I'm so green with envy.  Your time in Nongkhai is flying much too quickly. 

[Nick Lane]

Dude! Your profile says it, plus I have memorized your drivers license after you included it on that puzzle search picture you did.

I knew it was in my profile, I was just kidding. Although I am surprised you remember my license being in that photo...hmmm....

Speaking of which, I should do another one of those search and find deals.

[KitKat]

  Yes, Nick, do another search and find.  That was fun!   I still don't know how Ginafish gets a close up?   I guess Mac's do a lot more than PC's.   

[Nick Lane]

Yes, Nick, do another search and find.  That was fun!   I still don't know how Ginafish gets a close up?   I guess Mac's do a lot more than PC's.  

I don't know, KitKat, maybe she just has super sonic vision! Haha...I love my PC. I just got out of bed, I was so tired I tried to rest and ended up falling asleep with is bad because it is just after 4 in the afternoon and if I take too long a nap I will get angry. Anway, now scouting for new search and find location...

[In2Kermit]

Now about transportation in Hawaii??

It's super expensive.. Had a friend that just got back from there. A gallon of milk is $10, fresh fruit is about $7 a pound, bread is about $6 a loaf. At least gas is about the same! Beautiful place, but way to expensive!

[KitKat]

Anway, now scouting for new search and find location...

  Good luck!

It's super expensive.. Had a friend that just got back from there. A gallon of milk is $10, fresh fruit is about $7 a pound, bread is about $6 a loaf. At least gas is about the same! Beautiful place, but way to expensive!

In2Kermit,
  Whoa!! Milk $10, Bread $6!!    Don't they have dairies and bakeries there? jk Pineapple should really be cheap there.  I wonder how much their Kona Coffee is per pound? ( Not sure about the name of their brand of coffee.) Thanks for the incredible price info.