In courses on Italian language the teacher asked us to describe our ideal day. The first thing that came to my mind was: get enough sleep, don’t rush anywhere, spend time for your own pleasure and don’t do several things at once. Unfortunately, real life was in no way similar to the one imagined...

It was then that I thought: “Will I really spend my whole life spinning like a squirrel in a wheel? After all, there must be a way that allows you not to wake up and fall asleep with one single thought: “I don’t have time to do anything!”

Who seeks will always find. I found "Slow life".

From theory...

Eat in accordance with national traditions;

Cook by yourself, using natural, environmentally friendly products;

Enjoy both the process of cooking and eating it (slowly, of course, and certainly in the company of friends and relatives).

This was in 1986. McDonalds has decided to open one of its locations in Piazza di Spagna in Rome. It was about the same as vulgarizing Red Square in Moscow! Fortunately, such a “good” initiative found an opponent - Italian journalist Carlo Petrini. He gathered a group of like-minded people and staged a protest.

The action was successful (although McDonalds was never closed), and the inspired Senor Petrini created the “Slow Food” movement. It became the opposition not only to fast food (“ fast food"), but also to the so-called “modern” way of life, that is, the eternal rush and bustle.

Later, “Slow Food” became one of the components of the “Slow Life” movement.

Despite its name, “Slow Life” does not at all imply falling into suspended animation. Even vigorous activity may well be combined with a “slow life”, but the activity must be selective, bringing satisfaction and positive emotions.

“Slow Life” calls for consciously giving up fuss and running around, finding a middle ground between business and such natural and necessary pleasures for a person as a leisurely walk around the city or a meal in a pleasant company.

Here's what I managed to extract from “Slow Life” for myself:

1. urgently start a meditative hobby; embroidery, yoga, drawing or flower growing are suitable;
2. distribute the amount of housework over several days, that is, clean on Thursday and wash on Friday;
3. stop looking at the clock all the time, and on weekends, forget about it altogether and listen to the rhythms of your body;
4. from time to time cook lunches and dinners with friends and enjoy both the process of cooking and the pleasant conversation that accompanies the meal;
5. learn to enjoy peace and quiet (and no TV!);
6. do not attend more than one cultural event per day, that is, do not rush to the theater after the movie, and then to the club.

...to practice.

"Enough! I’ve been living slowly since Monday,” I decided on Sunday evening, collapsing after washing, cleaning, cooking and writing another article. No sooner said than done.

Monday

It's a hard day. In the morning, I rush headlong to work, but in the evening I remember about “Slow Life” and walk home. Slowly. There is only time left to have dinner and wash your hair. I chew it thoroughly vegetable salad. I don’t feel much pleasure, but I’m in a good mood.

Tuesday

I get up half an hour earlier than usual, for once I wanted to experiment with my hairstyle. Before starting my work duties, I drink coffee for fifteen minutes. I catch sidelong glances from my colleagues. I wonder: because of the new hairstyle or because I’m slowing down?

In the evening I turn on the TV and... I remember that I need to come up with a meditative hobby. I turn off the TV. I extract from the depths of the closet beads that I bought a hundred years ago for the occasion. It took two hours to make the bracelet. I don’t know if I’ll ever risk wearing it, but I creative process, undoubtedly pleasant.

Wednesday

I have a date in the evening! I remember “Slow Life” and invite my boyfriend to visit me. Let's cook together light dinner from healthy vegetables and seafood, we lead small talk. “Today you were hit on the head like a dust bag,” the boyfriend is surprised. “Are you free on Saturday?”

I like slow living more and more!

Thursday

I’m late for work, I get a scolding from my boss and a whole list of urgent things to do. I return home terribly angry. Enough! Nobody "Slow Life"! TV, big plate fried potatoes and a bar of chocolate for coffee!

On the way to the store, I watch the snowflakes swirl: instead of chocolate and potatoes, I buy three kilograms of tangerines. My heart is heavy. For the sake of an experiment, I decide to put things in order on my desktop and at the same time, somehow by themselves, important work issues that turned out to be too tough during the day are sorted out on the shelves.

Friday

Out of habit, I get up half an hour earlier and walk to the metro. I find myself enjoying it.

Towards the end of the working day, I make a list of films, concerts and exhibitions that I want to visit over the weekend. I’m cutting the list in half: I want to have fun, and not go somewhere for show!

An unexpected call: friends whom I haven’t seen since the New Year invite me to visit. I bring frozen shrimp and marinated squid with me. We work on snacks and drink dark beer. I'm photographing my owner's cat.

The end of the evening is a walk in the park: they made a snow woman. Everyone is happy.

Saturday

I wake up without an alarm clock at ten in the morning. I remember that I can’t look at my watch. I go to the bathroom and soak for a long time listening to my favorite music: scrubs, masks, hair and body balms... I have a slow breakfast. So slow. When I finish, I am surprised to find that the clock shows half past three!

A cultural trip to the theater with my boyfriend is planned for the evening. After the performance we walk around the city. We're not in a hurry, we're just looking at shop windows, buildings, and posters. Cold, but nice. I return home around five in the morning, my head is full of romance, there are no thoughts like “Tomorrow I need to wash the floor and cook soup for the week ahead.”

Sunday

I open my eyes at one o’clock in the afternoon, take my camera and go for a walk to Kolomenskoye. Haven’t you really had enough of a party yet last night? I photograph everything that catches my eye. A crow on a fallen tree is especially successful.

For dinner I cook pasta with vegetables. Of course, these are not environmentally friendly products, but they are still better than smoked sausage. I want solitude and good literature...

As I fall asleep, I catch myself thinking about how I want to go to work.

What has changed in my life?

When you need to do a million things in a day, your body thinks that I’m always late for somewhere, starts to panic, releases more and more adrenaline into my blood, and as a result, the work is done, the apartment is cleaned, I even managed to go to the cinema for two films, and there is no happiness. Complete emptiness and dissatisfaction with life. And it happens (much more often!) that I planned a lot, but didn’t have time to do anything. Then it gets even worse, because I start to scold myself...

Consciously following all the rules of Slow Life, I realized how important it is not to fuss.

At first, slow life against the backdrop of fellow citizens rushing from corner to corner seems something unnatural, so you have to strictly control yourself so as not to return to the “breakneck” mode. After three or four days you realize that this is “ modern look life” with its running around is something contrived and artificial. I even wanted to change my job to a calmer one, so that creativity would be more valued rather than reaction speed.

However, I haven’t really decided anything about work yet, but after the “slow week” I became more balanced, I almost don’t get nervous over trifles, I forgot about insomnia and bought cookbook with recipes for Italian cuisine.

I'll probably extend the experiment for another week. I will try to live by the principles “the main thing is not victory, but participation” and “the process is more important than the result.”

By the way, entire cities have already appeared in Italy that have declared themselves “slow”. Hurry, vanity, time pressure and deadlines are prohibited there in principle. The Italian experience is slowly being adopted by the whole world. It’s just a pity that “Slow Life” is unlikely to take root in Moscow...

Nadezhda Sokolova

Our age of rapid speed, where we need to do a lot, overtake everyone and rise as high as possible, controls our lives and does not give us time to stop and just enjoy this moment.

We have forgotten how to live consciously. Movement Slow Life calls for a return to ourselves, a free decision to choose our own rhythm of life. Doing everything slowly, thoughtfully, getting to the heart of events and enjoying simple things - this is what the philosophy is based on "slow life"

SlowFood - “slow” food

It is not surprising that it was in Italy that war was declared FastFood– fast, monotonous food in a hurry, because Italians are famous for their ability to feel every minute of life. Live in style Slow Food- means eating tasty, varied, beautifully, with pleasure and without haste.

Cook more often yourself, using natural, environmentally friendly products, engage in joint preparation of food and its absorption in the company of friends and relatives, enjoy both the cooking process and the taste of food, eat in accordance with national traditions.

A person is very closely connected with the territory where he was born, so the most natural and beneficial for him are products of local origin. In Russia the movement SlowFood supports the Ulitka restaurant chain (the name speaks for itself - don’t rush!).

"Slow Food"- this is a thoughtful attitude towards food, conscious pleasure, which gives the opportunity to chat with friends, meet new people, and indulge in doing nothing. Italians have one interesting feature - they know how to make a holiday out of nothing: invite neighbors, prepare a simple table and throw a feast - any of us who know how to be happy can do this.

Slow Art - “slow” art

Living slowly means being able to enjoy art without rushing. One of the principles of such a life is not to visit cultural events in a hurry, “for show.” Don’t rush in the hope of having time to visit 4 museums a day, because such an acquaintance with beauty will not allow you to fully enjoy and be imbued with its spirit.

It is better to choose one museum per week and slowly wander through its halls, stopping and studying several objects in detail. One must slowly read great books, slowly contemplate great paintings, slowly listen to great music.

Slow Tourism - “slow” tourism

How do many tourists travel? They drive along the road and stop only in places where there are “ good views", take a photo - and get back into the car. This is not how to enjoy the journey, say supporters "slow" life. You need to get acquainted with each new place slowly, imbued with its spirit and atmosphere: you need to immerse yourself in the environment, communicate with local people and move forward following your intuition.

If we have a map in our hands, and a well-thought-out travel plan in our heads (2 hours here, 3 hours here), we lose the ability to be spontaneous and unpredictable, and our journey becomes ordinary, and not individual, “ours.” Spending time on contemplation, perceiving the road not as a way to “arrive at the place”, but as an exciting part of the journey, are the key conditions for “slow” tourism.

Philosophy Slow

It's not about becoming an amoeba, but about not destroying or rejecting anything for the sake of speed. "Slow" life prefers the best to the fast, quality to quantity, life in its own rhythm to speed imposed from the outside. Activities should be selective, without fuss and haste.

Even if the crazy life of travel, work, and household chores does not allow you to relax, you can still choose 15 minutes between tasks and just sit in silence, leaving all thoughts, breathe, calm down, and “recharge.”

Choosing a slower pace of life gives us the opportunity to ask for help rather than putting everything on our shoulders. We help each other, sympathize and become more tolerant of other people's weaknesses. Is it possible to do everything without giving up anything? I guess it's yes. Except one. We will not have time to realize the miracle of life and enjoy it to the fullest.

How to live in the Slow Life style?

We all want to be happy and enjoy this limitless feeling. But many of us are so accustomed to the eternal rush and time pressure that if suddenly they get two weeks of vacation and freedom to do nothing, they will experience panic - how is this done?

We are always busy with something and don't know how to relax, and some of us feel happier at work than at home. We spend our weekends doing not what we really like, but in everyday worries: preparing soup for the week, cleaning the apartment, washing, ironing, and in the evening, exhausted, stretching out on the sofa in front of the TV. And this is how the whole life goes.

How to start practicing slow living?

You just need to ask yourself the question: “What do I want right now? What will make me happy? And answer yourself honestly, and then take your time, enjoying every movement, enjoying the process of doing it. In style Slow Life.

He who is in no hurry succeeds

We all know popular expression: "The quieter you go, the further you'll get". And indeed it is. The more we rush, the more often we don't have time. Days and weeks pass so quickly, as if they never happened. The sun is getting warmer - we don’t see it, the buds are swelling on the trees - we don’t notice, the children are growing up - we are surprised later when this happened. To change the situation, movement Slow life offers us the following rules of life:

Don't rush - then you'll have time

Don’t constantly look at the clock, and on weekends, forget about it altogether, listening to the rhythms of your own body

Inner peace leads to better concentration and increased efficiency

Work should inspire, not exhaust.

He who lives slowly lives longer

When we are afraid of losing time, we waste it

The process is much more important than the result

Don't burden yourself with excessive worries

Learn to ask for help.

Not to live for something, but just to live

Managing your time correctly, not becoming a hostage to your affairs, choosing the rhythm of your life for each day yourself - this is not all that style offers Slow life. He teaches us to take a broader look at the world, to see what surrounds us, to understand how much is given to man. It is this feeling of unity with the world that gives inspiration. Instead of a feeling of loneliness, the joy of merging appears, instead of fear comes trust, instead of selfishness comes love. How can this be applied in life? Guided by simple principles:

Watch sunrises and sunsets more often

Learn to hear the stars

Taste what you eat

Communicate with nature, but don't walk with a specific purpose, otherwise you sacrifice the walk itself

Play and imagine

If you're walking next to someone, don't think about what to say.

Walk with children, watch them, learn from them

Speak slowly and meaningfully

Divide big things into small ones

When you are worried and worried, stop and breathe slowly

Enjoy the art slowly

Spend time alone, without TV or Internet

1. Do not do all the work at once, distributing it evenly. You need to do household chores gradually, that is, do not put off cleaning the entire house, washing and ironing for one day, but do everything by day of the week: dust the furniture on Monday, do laundry on Tuesday, vacuum cleaner on Wednesday, wash the floors on Thursday etc. Or, if the house is large, assign each room its own cleanliness day. This way we will save energy.

2. Do things you love and get a charge of vigor and inspiration from it. To fill yourself with creative energy and strength, you need to turn what you love into your work or at least a hobby: embroidery, yoga, modeling, writing a novel, macrame, drawing, growing flowers. By doing something, being in the flow of creativity, we do not lose strength, but replenish their reserves, becoming truly happy.

3. Limit the flow of unnecessary information into your life: clear it of excess television programs, telephone complaints from friends, thoughtless visits to Internet sites, learn to enjoy peace and quiet.

4. Do not attend more than one event per day, observe moderation: do not go to the cinema in the morning, then to the attractions, then to the exhibition, or to the theater in the evening. Let the impression of the film remain for the whole day, let the book reveal its secrets little by little, let the exhibition inspire you to take time for silence and your own creativity.

5. Communicate with those you love, not just out of habit. Realize how much you are needed, feel and show your love, take care of loved ones, arrange holidays for them, have heart-to-heart conversations and spare no time for tenderness.

Savor every minute

The smooth flow of life helps us get more done. It should not be confused with thoughtless idleness. Consciously living people do this meaningfully, “savoring” every minute, as a result of which additional energy appears, harmony and happiness are born. Practice "slow" life may not solve all problems, but it will show us the perfection of the world, its beauty and infinity, expand the boundaries of our capabilities and help create islands of peace in a changing and developing life.

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The main call of slowlifers is to understand their complex relationship with food. Eating while running and without regaining consciousness, treating food as fuel - no, no, no. Food occupies one of the first places in our sources of pleasure and there is no need to consciously deprive yourself of it. Try to feel every shade of taste, put down your fork when you chew, chew thoroughly and treat yourself to some of your favorite foods every day. This will add about 10 minutes to your usual lunch, but will make it much more enjoyable.

Don't be a multitasker

If you have the rare talent of writing a commercial proposal with one hand, counting printed copies of contracts with the other, and making coffee with the third while resolving issues over the phone, your employer is probably happy to have such an employee. But now we're talking about you.

There is nothing wrong with performing only one task at a time and concentrating only on it - in this case, you will not miss important details and will do the work better. If you are writing a complex text or compiling an important table, try to get rid of all irritants - turn off your phone, put on earplugs or headphones with pleasant inspiring music, and teach your colleagues not to bother you over trifles when you are wearing headphones. You'll see - the results won't take long to arrive.

Organize a digital detox

A smartphone is, of course, a brilliant invention, but so that your life does not pass you by, you should sometimes put it aside. At least on the weekends.

Popular

If you are not confident in your ability to live without a phone even for one day, we recommend going on a hike or going to a remote pensioner’s sanatorium where there is no connection or Wi-Fi. Better yet, deliberately leave your phone at home, at least when you and your friends go for a walk or watch a movie. It’s unlikely that anything important will happen while you’re away from the Internet, but this mini-detox will help you establish more trusting relationships with loved ones. By the way, it’s useful to create your own rules regarding gadgets in the family: “after 20:00, all gadgets are on airplane mode” or “no phones or smart watches at the table.”

Dedicate the morning to yourself

Even if you have seven people at home, it’s worth getting up half an hour early to spend time just for yourself - read a book, make a face mask or eat something delicious. Slowly choose a NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto capsule with the coffee you want today - be it espresso, prelude or cappuccino. Savor every sip while looking out the window at the awakening city - your favorite drink will help you wake up and inspire brilliant ideas.

The main thing is to do only pleasant things in the morning and do everything as slowly as possible - then there is a chance that the habit of “slowing down” and doing everything consciously will continue for the whole day.

Walk, not run

Try to notice the beauty around you - the weather, the beauty of a person passing by, a new interesting store with handmade brooches - wow, you didn’t notice that something had opened here, although you walk this route every day!

Slow down. If you walk a lot (well done, by the way), try each time to choose not only the shortest, but also the most picturesque routes - for example, through a park, and not through a series of underground passages. Even if it costs you just 10-15 extra minutes a day, this habit will teach you not to miss important things and savor the moment.

“This is the connection between climate, seasonality of products, knowledge of the farmer, methods of harvesting, subsequent processing, cost of processing, transportation, as well as the attitude of the seller to the product - thousands of small steps that are taken on the path of the product from field to plate,” Richard describes the intricacies of the system McCarthy, executive director of Slow Food USA.

Adherents of the movement propose turning the process of eating food into a meditative hobby - akin to embroidery. Agree, it is difficult to guess the taste of familiar products blindfolded, because we rarely concentrate on sensations. But once you slow down your chewing speed, it turns out that the taste of the dish is mediocre, and you never liked hamburgers in general.

Of course, during the meal there should be no distractions - neither TV nor gadgets. It has been proven that when multitasking, a person does not control satiety and eats more than he should.

Don't grab everything at once

A study conducted at the University of Hertfordshire showed that city dwellers move 10% faster than villagers. And the speed is only growing.

Life in the Slow Life style does not call for abandoning the achievements of modernity and exchanging the metro for walking to the other end of the city. If you can efficiently handle a lot of things in a short time, great. It’s another matter if such a situation is a lot of stress for you. In this case, you need to get rid of vain multitasking.

“Multitasking actually slows you down, increasing the risk of error,” says Professor David E. Meyer, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Michigan. “Any interference has a negative impact on our ability to process information.”

No need to go deep Scientific research to understand a simple truth: in the cycle of affairs it is very difficult to do everything well. Measured and thoughtful execution of the most ordinary actions teaches you to concentrate, this is the key to high efficiency.

Plan your time and space

Pay attention to your surroundings. Slowlifers are sure: creative chaos is just an excuse for laziness. It is with the organization of space around yourself that the organization of your time begins.

Adherents of measured life advocate timing without fanaticism. Something will always disrupt the schedule, but this is not a reason to give up. Urgent work prevented you from spending time learning the language? It's OK. Work today, and transfer education to tomorrow, simply increasing the number of hours.

Learn to relax

Slowlifers suggest giving up gadgets while on vacation. If you don’t turn off your phone, then at least turn off the notification sound. Likes and comments, of course, stimulate a feeling of joy, but at the same time they cause addiction and distract from less joyful, but more necessary things.

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Philosophy slow life It's not about doing everything at a snail's pace, it's about trying to do everything at the right speed. Do it as well as you can, not as fast as you can.

Having fun in the slowlife style means enjoying what is happening, and not frantically clicking a photo in order to quickly post it on social networks.
By the way, the principles of slow living formed the basis of the concept of Soneva hotels in the Maldives and Thailand. The territory is organized in such a way that you can move around barefoot and feel the warmth of natural materials. Particularly popular activities include “relaxing on your own beach” and “napping under starry sky”.
Do not worry

The world will not collapse, even if in search of your slow-style you slow down to the point of indecency. But such an experience can become a necessary reboot. And as a side effect you will learn to understand your own hunger, eat and not gain weight.

The rhythm of life increases, we are in a hurry, but we gain nothing. Even worse: we are losing even what we had. Because a magazine flipped through diagonally is not reading, a sandwich swallowed on the go is not food, and a vacation in the “galloping around the sights” mode is not relaxation or pleasure at all.

In search of meaning. A few phrases are enough for us to formulate the impression of a book or film, and we are already rushing for new impressions - just as superficial. But somewhere deep down we understand that our victory in this race is Pyrrhic. The Slow Reading Festival was invented just to stop, concentrate and step into the search for hidden meanings*. Each time they offer new ways to gain insight through detailed, meaningful reading. Having started with reading literally at the first festival, six years later its organizers offer to read both text and films, and paintings, and even dreams. Scientists, psychologists and art historians act as guides on these intellectual journeys, showing how layer by layer new contexts (philological, historical, anthropological) can be discovered. But perhaps the most important thing is the “technology” of reflection, the art of asking questions and getting answers to them, in order to then inevitably ask yourself new questions. It is for the sake of this work that festival participants gather: to think, feel, and seek inner fullness and integrity.

In search of taste. How are shallots different from leeks? What does pickled flowers taste like? Which part of the tongue tastes sour and which part tastes sweet? Children aged 5–12 years can learn about this and much more at the Gourmet School**. Marina Cherepanova's original course was created based on sensory classes international movement slow food After fun and educational lessons, even those who previously recognized only chips and vegetables discover the taste of berries, fruits and vegetables. chocolate bars. “Gourmet School” has been incredibly popular for four years now, and its creators have finally decided to expand the program. This spring, a second class is opening for young gourmets who already know about the seasonal ripening of vegetables and fruits and know how to distinguish star anise from saffron. Participants, together with chefs from the capital's restaurants, will prepare dishes from seasonal organic products. And then taste them - slowly, with pleasure, at a beautifully set table. And in May the first trip as part of the visiting school is planned. Children and their parents are invited to the Belarusian agro-hotel “Strelovo”: visit the local blueberry plantation and get acquainted with the culinary traditions of the region.

Looking for rest.“The philosophy of slow life is not to do everything at a snail's pace, but to try to do everything at the right speed. Do everything as well as possible, and not as quickly as possible,” says writer and journalist Carl Honoré. And, oddly enough, this also applies to rest. In pursuit of impressions, many people really don’t have time to rest properly - they should do more photos and post them on social networks...

British Indian-born Sonu Shivdasani put the principles of slow life at the heart of the concept of his Soneva hotels in the Maldives and Thailand***. Everything here is built from local materials, you can move only barefoot, feeling nature literally at every step, guests can enjoy meditation sessions and their own observatory to admire the stars. And in the list of leisure options on the hotels’ websites, “relaxation on your own beach”, “sunset bliss” and “napping under the starry sky” take pride of place. Such activities would undoubtedly be approved by the authors of the “Slow Tourism Manifesto” ****. He not only urges travelers not to rush, but also gives unusual advice. For example: do not what is written in the guidebook, but what the locals are doing in front of your eyes. Go to the same cafes, shops, markets. You will become closer to the country you came to - otherwise why come? Or – be happy if your train is late or your bus is cancelled. This is your chance to learn and see something new.