The slow life

Good evening!!

Today I decided to do something I usually never do and s l o w. d o w n.

Isn’t it so hard living in the United States (especially the Northeast) to slow down and take life as it comes? I find it difficult; I am so future oriented and have a really hard time saying in the present. After yesterday’s rushing around, today’s slow down was really necessary.

I woke up slow, which for me meant that when I woke to my family getting ready at 5:30, I resisted the urge to get out of bed until the wonderful hour of 7:30. I stayed in my room for the first hour I was up, at first checking my email, but then settling into my meditation practice. Meditation is such a great way to slow down and just be. I came out of it relaxed and realizing that I didn’t need to put so many shoulds or obligations on my day. I was going to what I wanted and needed in my own time.

I came downstairs and mindfully made my favorite batch of oats:

After the oats and a bit of soup research, I settled in to get some reading done. When I finished my reading (note I didn’t give myself a strict time frame) I went to the store to get some ingredients for my first solo crockpot soup!

Millet Stew (adapted from FatFreeVegan)

Ingredients:

1 cup millet (soaked for 1 hour or more)
6 cups water
1 small onion, chopped (I may have used less, I don’t really care for them)
2 large sweet potatoes, chunked
3 carrots, chunked
1 1/2 cups celery with leaves, chunked
1/2 lb mushrooms, chopped
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon thyme

Directions: Start by measuring out your millet and putting in a pan to soak (thanks to Lindsay, I’ve learned this really helps with digestion).

Next, chop those veggies:

and put them in the pot:

After the millet soaks for an hour, combine everything and set the crockpot on high for 4 hours. At this point, feel free to use the soaking time to take a mindful walk:

The sun came out this afternoon and it was gorgeous, in the 60’s 🙂 Take advantage of those precious moments of beauty and sunshine!

Find places you’d love to lounge (but unfortunately don’t own).

Enjoy the fact that life by the ocean means you never quite forget about summer

Realize that nature takes it slow, too. The leaves don’t just change all in one second, that’s the beauty of it!

Look at the usual places you pass by with a new perspective.

Take some time to consider the bigger picture, too. Don’t be so caught up in the details.

But also stop and admire something small and delicate; life’s so beautiful and precious.

Be grateful for the ground beneath your feet; you always have something solid to stand on.

Appreciate the signs of the season; you can always have something to look forward to and get festive about.

And enjoy the simple things in life; sitting back and taking it all in.

When I came home from this walk I felt so alive and rejuvenated! I really believe that meditation and putting my grad program first are really beginning to change me and the way I view the world around me. I am becoming a little more at peace with life and letting go of much of the stress that had been weighing me down. I think it was why tonight, when my gut said to take a night off from class and stay home, I let myself have that. I was able to prioritize the work I needed to get done at home over one single class that I would not attend. In the big scheme of life, it is just one day and it will all work out just fine.

I also got to enjoy this dinner from the warm comfort of my own home, with my mom:

Spinach and goat cheese salad with dried cranberries.

And a warm bowl of my Millet Stew.

Question: How do you make time to slow down in your life? What is your release?

Hopefully you found a little time in your day to slow down, too 🙂 Have a great night everyone, do something just for you!

lots of love,

Em