Always running, but toward what?

Always in a constant hurry, difficulty fitting in the day’s commitments, an exploding schedule, and the perpetual feeling of never getting there. But getting where?

Dissatisfaction serving as a backdrop to the days and the knowledge that, in spite of everything, something is always missing. There is a lack of quality time with our families, a lack of time for self, time for wellness.

Achieving a balance between the various areas of work – life, family, leisure, sports – seems almost impossible, and the more we run to achieve it, the less we succeed.

Out of breath, out of time and out of satisfaction: marathon runners who, in an attempt to 

reach ever more distant goals, in a race of endurance and speed with themselves, forget why they are running.

What if we told you that there is an alternative, a way to take a breath and slow down, to reclaim a less hectic life?

The answer is in “slow living,” a philosophy of life that aims to reduce the speed with which we go through our days and embrace the rhythm of nature from which we have gradually moved away over time.

Slow living: why it was born and how it spreads

What we know today as “Slow living” was born in the 1980s, right in our country, as a movement named “Slow Food.” In response to “fast food,” it proposed itself as a sustainable alternative, capable of restoring the right value to food and the act of eating, to the pleasure of sitting at the table and enjoying a good meal in the company of others, slowly.

The idea, soon, extends beyond food to a real way of life: the pleasure of savoring life slowly, of enjoying the details that often escape a quick glance, of living in the present aware that time is the greatest wealth we have. Slowness is not listlessness, unproductivity or laziness, but calmness, precision, the possibility of living in a healthy and controlled way, turning this constant rush into a pleasant and intense journey. It is the possibility of living a life with more natural.

Slow living: the power of nature

Starting again from nature, reclaiming the slowness that governs it, learning from her to respect the rhythms and times of everything: this is the first step towards slow living. Reconnecting with a place we have abandoned and forgotten, made of almost foreign sounds such as the wind in the trees, the song of cicadas and birds, light and darkness spontaneously marking out habits and activities. Patience and waiting so that fruits grow unhurriedly. A different way of approaching life and appreciating simplicity in small things, capable of bringing far greater benefits.

Immersion in nature is a great remedy for anxiety, one of the great evils of our century, improves both economic and health living conditions and reduces the risk of incurring smog-related diseases and mood disorders.

The relationship between health – physical and mental – and nature is now well known, as is the great therapeutic power of nature.

Indeed, it would seem that prolonged lack of contact with nature can amplify a number of ailments, so much so as to speak of “Nature Deficit Syndrome.”  Diabetes, hypertension, depression, anxiety, memory deficits and neurodegenerative diseases, found especially in citizens accustomed today to spending more than 95 percent of their time indoors and under constant stress stimuli.
But how much time should be spent in nature? Obviously, the more time spent in a forest, woodland or urban park, the greater the benefits. But being able to carve out even as little as 30 to 40 minutes of natural relaxation each day could make all the difference.

Slow living: 5 easy tips to start small

We always blame it on time not being enough: in reality, it’s about reviewing our priorities and changing the way we use it.

Here are some easy tips you can put into practice right away to approach slow living:

1. Try meditation or yoga: carve out an hour from your busy schedule, settle down in a quiet, calm place and just…breathe.
2. Try living more sustainably: there are many ways! You can try giving up the car now and then and move around on foot or by bike, enjoying the ride. Try to avoid waste, reuse, give new life to things: it will give you a lot of satisfaction! Or, you can start at the table and with your grocery shopping: take time to choose the healthiest products, take a trip to the fruit and vegetable market and buy local products, learning to respect the seasonality of what nature gives us.
3. Rediscover old and abandoned passions: try to carve out a few “off” moments from technology and employ it for hobbies capable of reconciling you with yourself and life. Activities that provide calm and relaxation such as reading, gardening or anything else that leaves aside the rush and hustle.
4. Immerse yourself in the greeen: go out, take a walk in the green or a trip to the country or the woods, enjoy the scenery and the clean air. And bring nature into the house too: fill it with plants and take care of them.  Besides being an extremely relaxing activity, gardening improves our mood and the air we breathe.
5. Take your time: value your well-being, physical and mental. Give yourself moments just for you, without guilt. Even if you haven’t cleared all the things on your agenda, accept that you can stop: the world will continue to take its course, nothing will collapse, and you will realize that even a small moment can make a difference.

We have been aware of this for a few years now, since we decided to live immersed in the Mercadante Forest in the heart of the Murge Mountains. Here we have transformed a small kiosk made of wood into a cheese bar surrounded only by nature. A place where you can experience a tasting journey to discover our cheeses, taste local wines and other delicacies of the Apulian tradition. A place dedicated to moments of authentic life and genuine flavor.

Learn more about the “Baby Dicecca tasting” experience here! 👉🏼 Baby Dicecca tasting – Cheese and wine.