All tagged slow living FAQ
I dress-ember….
Because the coffee my mom boils in the pot every morning is likely tainted by slave labor from equatorial countries across the globe.
Because when I bought all my clothes for under $20 growing up, I also bought into the capitalist ideal of maximizing profit by minimizing cost, oblivious to the externalized cost of human blood, sweat, and tears.
Getting rid of "stuff," and downsizing my wardrobe has been huge for my own journey, but I think that more often than not, the term "minimalism" focuses too purely on stuff, and not on deeper issues like ethics and lifestyle. And since I'm all about getting at the heart of things here on SL&Co, I've been gravitating towards "the slow" and away from "the minimal" for a long time now — both publicly and in my own home and heart.
While I still consider myself an "aspiring minimalist" who loves all things white-washed and capsuled, I'm growing into my newly made habits of shopping with intention, considering my schedule, and prioritizing self-care, and find the term "slow" much more fitting for where I'm currently at.
Last year was an unexpected journey for me—one that took me from complete burnout to immense clarity and freedom. I became burned out after raising close to $8,000 in 30 days to help feed over 35 families who were experiencing a severe drought and hunger crisis in Mozambique. I had lived in this village in Mozambique for three years and continue to visit for work with my non-profit, Kurandza. This community is like family to me, and I couldn’t sit back and watch while they went hungry.
When I got back home to San Francisco after being in Mozambique for a month, I had a wake up call. I realized that I was burned out and needed to take some time for self care and to gain clarity. I needed time to explore how I wanted my biggest value, freedom, to play out in my life.
Seeing everything I owned in my studio was blatantly juxtaposed to the simple way of life in Mozambique. I only lived with the necessities in Mozambique—and I was fine. I was so more than fine that I was able to slow down and appreciate the simple things like observing the beauty of nature while walking or biking through the village, visiting with the neighbors for hours, or enjoying a good, home-cooked meal with friends. Even though the people in that village deal with issues like malaria, unemployment, and hunger, they are still happy and able to find joy in the little things. They continue to teach and inspire me all the time.
Neither my husband or I are minimalists by nature. I tend towards disorganization and am a "recovering shopaholic" and my husband, although he likes a clean house, doesn't have the same drive to simplify and streamline our life like I do.
One of the most common struggles I hear from people trying to simplify their life is that they feel like their spouse or significant other will slow down the process of minimizing — and not in a good way.
If there's one thing marriage has taught me is that you can't force your partner to do something they don't want to do, and even if they do bend their lifestyle to accommodate yours, the changes (if they're not genuinely from the heart) won't stick around for long.
