[deluxe essay] slowness as an ideal

what does it mean to live slowly?

Janurary 20, 2024 (Version 1)

Revised on June 12, 2024

Deluxe essays include:

• an audio reading, from yours truly

• my journey writing the piece (what I was going through, how I got the idea, why I wrote it)

• exclusive details for a "behind the scenes" look at my writing process (research, notes, outlines, early drafts, cutting room floor)

• three of my best photos from the month with notes telling their story

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The Late Spring by Barry McGalen

Someone recently asked me: what’s the one word you’d use to describe your ideal day? I thought about it. Then: hmm, probably slow.

Above all, I want to live with slowness—in travel, in reading, in work, in love. No rushing. No haste. Just patient, savory slowness. 

The people I admire most never seem to rush but are always where they need to be.

They take their time to make decisions, allowing intuition to bubble up to the surface of awareness, but then act swiftly, with conviction. They have a clear sense of direction, because they carve the stillness needed to cultivate a connection with themselves. They work on projects that look tedious to others—curating a meticulous five-thousand rose garden or building their own home or committing to a life-long reading program—with ceaseless, tender, joyful attention.

Soulful acts, dense with intention, that don’t require speed because of their mass.

They live with a definite slowness.