Thoughts on Living Simply and Slow Living.

Hello, friends! I hope that your Monday is going well thus far! This blog post is a bit longer than normal, so buckle up, my lovelies!

When I was little, one of my favorite things to do was look through my mini sewing basket. It had pieces of ribbon, small bits of fabric, and buttons in it. I really enjoyed sewing and would spend hours sewing clothes for my dolls. I had a sewing machine, but my favorite was always hand sewing. I don’t know when or why, but I stopped doing activities like this as I got older. It’s sad, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve dedicated less and less time to creativity. Some of this is understandable, as I’ve been going to school and have been working, but I have spent more than my fair share of time just messing around on the internet or watching tv. To the point where my brain feels like mush. And honestly, spending hours watching tv or playing on my phone makes me MISERABLE. If that’s the case, then why the heck can’t I stop? I think as we get older we interpret these activities as relaxation, as a reward for all the hard work that we’ve been doing. And to an extent, I think that’s okay, but I think I’ve begun to take it to the extreme and I’m sure many others can relate to this. 

I’ve somewhat been in a rut lately and I’ve been trying to fill it with shopping,tv, and hours spent mindlessly scrolling. And let me tell you, it has had zero positive impact on me. I don’t put blogging in this category, because while it is online, it really stretches my creative muscles. I’m able to write my little heart out and take photos to accompany the posts. I love it and it definitely feels wonderful to do. But the other things… spending hours on Instagram with no purpose, just scrolling and scrolling and scrolling. Or using my free time to watch tv shows that I don’t even want to watch. I’m just watching them because I don’t want to do anything else. I could instead be spending my time doing so many other things. And I’m not saying that I should be spending this time, my relaxation time, doing something that could be deemed “productive”. As I’ve said in previous blogs, it’s SO important to have these times of rest. But I  need to rethink what I do in these times of rest. I find myself so much more refreshed when I spend my time being creative, knitting, sewing, writing, or taking photos. These things replenish me and make my life feel a little more full. It also gives me a feeling of kinship with my elders, thinking about how my ancestors may have spent their time doing the same thing. I can’t quite explain it, but it’s a wonderful feeling. 

It also gives me a sense of slow living. I’m able to sit with my thoughts and create something beautiful. I think it’s the feeling of creating that’s such a wonderful life-giving sensation. That feeling is lost when just consuming. 

Creating is also a way to spend my leisure time not mindlessly consuming. And by consuming, I mean shopping. And now, don’t get me wrong. I love shopping and I probably always will. My Grandpa’s term of endearment for me was “Little shopper”. And I think there’s something special about shopping where you’re able to cultivate a style, whether it be fashion, or whether it be styling the home, that is amazing, but I think it’s important to not be addicted to the feeling that shopping gives you. Accumulating non-stop is not good for anything, your bank account, space in your home, or the Earth. I used to be really good about predominately shopping at second-hand stores, but I’ve gotten away from it lately.

Blogging has been such a positive thing for me, but for a brief moment I sort of got lost in the idea of trying to portray myself as something that I wasn’t, especially on my Instagram. I was constantly buying things that I thought would be interesting to write about. I want to get away from that. I do love fashion and I love sharing the things that I buy, but I want to make an effort to only buy items when I genuinely love them, instead of buying them to look trendy on a blog post.

I sort of had a revelation today. I picked some wildflowers and was just kind of reveling in how beautiful they were. I loved how small and imperfect they were. I was visiting my mom and found in her cabinets this little white teacup, it was cracked and clearly an antique. I reveled in the beauty of the two together. Both things so humble, but when put together, they honestly took my breath away. Which may sound so silly, I totally understand that, but I loved that I felt that way. As a child, I had such an imagination that everything felt somewhat magical and as an adult, it starts taking more and more to feel that sense of wonder. It was a welcome feeling, that’s for sure.

When thinking about living a simpler life, what comes to mind is also living a slower life. People seem to always be in such a rush and given the world around us, I totally understand. I however, have never been good at doing things at a fast pace. For instance, walking. Everyone that has ever taken a walk with me can attest to this. It’s part me having small legs and part me just admiring the world around me. I naturally move at a slower pace. And I have felt embarrassed about this for so long, only recently realizing that it’s not something to feel negative about. It may differ from what we are “supposed” to be or do, but the fast-paced way we live is relatively new. The world used to be much slower and not so concerned with being perpetually busy and doing everything quickly. I don’t like that way of living. I understand that for some people it’s invigorating, but for me, it’s draining. I like doing things slowly. For instance, the other day I did my hair using foam rollers instead of a curling iron. It’s such a small thing, but I loved the excitement that built up from awaiting the curls. Not only that, but they lasted so much longer than if I had curled my hair. Patience can be a beautiful thing.

Gosh, friends! This blog is all over the place. Perhaps I’ll write some more blogs about slow loving and living simply in more detail, but this blog is getting so dang long! This one is less polished than my usual posts, but I think that this way of thinking is something that I’m still mulling over in my head, so I can’t quite polish it any more currently. I hope that my words were able to impact you some and maybe consider living a life that’s a little slower and a bit more simple.

XOXO,

Mattie Mae