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s l o w & s e a s o n a l A 4 WEEK COURSE DESIGNED TO GUIDE YOU ON YOUR PATH TO A SIMPLER LIFE ALIGNED WITH NATURE Creative Countryside www.creativecountryside.com Nine years ago I was working in an office job, escaping for lunchtime walks and dreaming of the day I would be able to move out of the tiny (garden-less) flat I was living in with my boyfriend (now husband). What I didn’t realise is that by taking We ek small but intentional steps, my life could have been transformed without the need for a huge leap (a career change, moving house etc). No matter where you live, how you make money, your age or beliefs, we can all change our lives. Reconnect, Rewild, Realign. Are you ready? Welcome to Week One of ‘Slow & Seasonal’, the four week course to guide you on your path to a 1simpler life aligned with nature. This week is an introduction to slow and seasonal living. In this You might be at the very start of your journey, or you may already be workbook you’ll find: following some of the elements that make up a slow, seasonal lifestyle. Whatever point you are currently at, now is the time to reflect and • Section 1: What living slowly and seasonally really means, consider why you want to take these next steps. and how you can create your own definition. • Section 2: How this approach can apply to both your lifestyle Why do you want to live slowly and seasonally? and your work. • Section 3: Setting slow, seasonal intentions. How do you imagine your life would look if you were to reconnect with • Section 4: How to use the natural world to guide your year. the rhythms of the natural world, working alongside the energy of the • Section 5: Why and how to reconnect with circadian rhythms. earth rather than against it? Section 1 It might simply be a moment to breathe deeply, and clear your thoughts. What does it mean to live slowly and seasonally? Living slowly is about balance (oft sought but infrequently For me, the two concepts of ‘slow’ and ‘seasonal’ go hand in hand, achieved): “instead of doing everything faster, do everything at but we’ll start by looking at them separately. the right speed. Sometimes fast. Sometimes slow. Sometimes somewhere in between.” (In Praise of Slow, Carl Honore). And Slow what I choose to do fast, you may choose to do slow. There really is no right answer, it’s about figuring out what speed makes you ‘Slow’ does not simply mean a reduction in speed. It does not happy. mean stop doing things. Instead, it suggests we be more mindful in our approach - to everything. The modern world is addicted The things you don’t enjoy? Well, you might want to find ways to ‘busy’ and ‘fast’; we are constantly searching for ways to do to get rid of these altogether (Do you really need them in your more in less time, and technology has created a society that life? Can you delegate?). Or you might find techniques to finish never switches off. As a result, we are left suffering with anxiety, these more quickly. Or you might simply acknowledge that they depression, insomnia, migraines; all because we cannot find a way won’t be perfect, but they will get done. And then you will find to quieten the noise. you have more time to do the things you do want to do, and you can do them as slowly as you like. Living slowly is about managing and balancing the different priorities in our life and work in order to focus on what matters to us. That might be lingering over an evening meal without your phone, and without the guilty feeling that you should be doing 5 Minute Visualisation: something else (I’ve suffered with this one so many times!). Think about what your ideal day would look like. What time would you Or it might be taking the time to nourish your mind and body by get up? What would you eat? How would you spend your time? Which practicing yoga, or Tai Chi. of these would you really like to do slowly, and which could be included in a short time frame? It could be spending an hour or two to knit that scarf, take that course, go for that walk, read that book. Starting with the latter, try to include small elements of your ideal day into your everyday. Section 1 Seasonal In its most basic form, ‘seasonal’ refers to something that relates to the seasons: for our purposes, spring, summer, autumn and winter. If I describe something as ‘seasonal’ it implies it is fitting for that period in time, that it falls in line with the energy of the earth and the ebb and flow of nature. One of the easiest ways in to living seasonally is food. Choosing to eat what grows best at different times of year makes sense for so many reasons: it’s tastier, usually cheaper, and better for the environment (fewer food miles). And now it’s easier than ever, as farmers’ markets are so popular, farm shops are dotted here, there and everywhere, and supermarkets make it clear where their produce comes from. Another easy inroad (that you’ll already likely be doing to some degree) is to switch up your routine each season. In winter, that might mean using candles at breakfast to bring light into the dark mornings. Spring may allow for an after-dinner walk, or an early wake-up to listen to the dawn chorus. Come summer, you might choose to eat more meals outdoors (or do anything you can outdoors!). And by the time autumn comes around, you feel ready to slow things down again, collecting energy, food, and the inkling of new ideas, to explore as winter returns. But ‘seasonal’ doesn’t just refer to your food and leisure activity choices. It can be so much more, if you let it. Your approach to both life and work can be impacted by the eight segments of the year, the four seasons, and the moon cycles; all are governed by Mother Nature, and all can help you to live more rhythmically and intentionally. We’ll explore these later in the workbook, and more next week too. Section 1 Slow & Seasonal We’ve looked at both ‘slow’ and ‘seasonal’, but how do they combine? Why are they so good together? Nature is always intentional. She bides her time, waiting for each stage of the lifecycle to run its course. Growth does not happen overnight (well, not usually anyway): it begins before we can even see it, beneath the surface of the earth. The seed is nourished and roots deeply before it decides to emerge and bloom. At each stage, in order to flourish it needs the right conditions, the right amount of time; sometimes that’s only a day or two, sometimes it might be months. “Adopt the pace of nature: We can also choose to follow this cycle, nourishing our minds and bodies with the power of the earth. It always used to be so; her secret is patience.” our lives were intertwined with everything going on outdoors, because most of our time would have been spent there. But Ralph Waldo Emerson somewhere along the way we became disconnected. Day and night became blurred as electricity lit up the skies, and now our lives are structured as we choose. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggested we forgo lamps and lightbulbs, more that we need to prioritise our awareness of what’s going on beyond closed doors. Slow and seasonal means living with this awareness, with an intentional desire to reconnect with the natural world to bring more joy, more peace, and more purpose to our lives. Section 1 Section 1: Exercises One: Creating Your Own Definitions Slow = finding the time for ………………....…........... , ……………………….............. and ………………………..............; doing less of ……………………….............., ……………………….............. and ……………………….............. Seasonal = choosing to ………………………..............in spring, ………………………..............in summer, ……………………….............. in autumn, and ……………………….............. in winter By living slowly and seasonally I would like to stop feeling/thinking ……… ………………………………....................... and start feeling/thinking ………………… ………………….............................................................................................................. My definitions (use these to help if you’re struggling, though try to write your own before reading these if you can): • Slow = finding the time for walking, enjoying a cup of coffee and reading; doing less of scrolling mindlessly, binge-watching TV shows, and making excuses. • Seasonal = choosing to act in spring, sustain in summer, reflect in autumn, and plan in winter. • By living slowly and seasonally I would like to stop thinking there is always an agenda I need to stick to, and start feeling more joyful and grounded. Section 1 Section 2 first blossom flowers, or meeting friends for a walk around the woods rather than heading to the shops. Applying ‘Slow & Seasonal’ to life and work Start small. Observing what’s around you is a good place to start; For some, living slowly and seasonally will be much easier to sometimes action comes later, and that’s ok. begin than working slowly and seasonally; we have (usually) more choice over our personal actions, but if you are employed Work (self-employed) by a company in particular, choosing how we work is a little more complex. Consider the cycle of your business - are there naturally busy and quiet times of the year? Do these align with the seasons, or could I won’t go into this too deeply here, but I’ve compiled some tips they? (e.g.

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