I created this blog as an outlet for the words that I write in my head all day. There are just too many words and I need to let them out. Sometimes I write to stay sane but mostly it’s because the words come from somewhere within and they demand to be allowed to fulfil their purpose. I write to help people slow down, and live more simply. I don’t have all the answers but I write to show people what I’ve figured out so far, and maybe make a difference to someone’s life. I feel happy to think that my words might plant the seeds that lead to people finding more meaning in their life.
I love the idea of the village and being part of a community. I think we all crave that and feel a bit hard done by in our isolated lives. We look around and think ‘where’s my village gone?’ Slow Change is my way of sharing ideas with the village, spreading the word, and bringing people together. For most of my life I’ve tried to find meaning and this is the closest I’ve come to understanding what meaningful looks like for me. Sharing what I’ve learned through writing is how I create meaning in my own life. It’s where I find my flow; what makes me come alive. I’m inspired by this quote:
Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive – Howard Thurman
So that’s the inner me. Here’s a picture of the real world me, hiding behind a hat and sunnies!
The real world me lives with my husband and soulmate, and our little one who just won’t stop growing! She’s 7 already, a high flying, tree climbing, rollerskating little bundle of energy and ideas. We also share our home with my two stepsons. They’re 10 and 11 and live with us half the time.
My husband has just come out the other side of cancer for the second and hopefully last time. 2016 was a rollercoaster of chemo, radiation, surgery and recovery. He’s now learning to live without a rectum. It’s not great, but it’s better than the alternative. His first cancer 9 years ago gave us the chance to slow down and reflect on what was really important, and we realised that time was more important to us than money. We tried to move to the country; a tree change; but relocating our blended family turned out to be pretty impractical. That’s when we came up with our slow change. Rather than downsizing and moving house we started to make small, slow changes to how we engaged with the world around us.
Both of us now work part time by choice, and feel incredibly fortunate to have that choice. We spend less money and have less stuff than we used to, but we still seem to have a lot of stuff. I’m always finding ways to get rid of a little more! We think a lot about what we consume, what we need and what brings us joy. We do what we can to eat local, seasonal, ethical food but in a family with health issues that’s not always easy, or even possible. We’ve done away with processed food, chemical laden, toxic consumables and a fair amount of plastic. There’s so much more we could do and sometimes I feel guilty for not doing enough. On those days I remind myself that each buying decision is an opportunity to make a better choice. One thing we’ve figured out is that there’s no right answer, but if you cultivate the habit of trusting your instincts you get better at making the right decisions for you.
Thanks for checking out Slow Change and reading some of my words. I hope I might plant a seed that grows into something just right for you. I often wonder if I’m compelled to share because someone out there needs to hear exactly these words. Maybe that person is you.