10/17/2023
During my husband and I's time living in Thessaloniki, Greece for 3-months, the same phrase kept being repeated to me "Just take it one day at a time." With the banks closed after 2 PM and on weekends and EVERYTHING being closed on Sunday's I was forced to understand this phrase unlike any other time in my life. Slowing down meant taking long walks where we burrowed away cat food in our pockets to feed the strays. It meant spending afternoons shopping the fresh markets filled with chestnuts and oranges, picked just the day before. When forced, we finally slowed down and admired the crowds lounging away their days at a coffee shop with friends. And mind you, this is not a financially wealthy country. From what I saw, Greece, despite its financial challenges, believes in family, community, and committing to living life slow with their food, family and time.
When my husband and I came back to the states we started to arrange our life to force ourselves, in a world obsessed with progress, to instead commit ourselves to slow living. We started using our pour-over carafe and got rid of our machine. We set up a chess board in the middle of our coffee table as a reminder to sit down together for a game. My hope is that Modern Traditionalist is an extension of that lifestyle and it inspires others to living a bit more slowly.
Tell me your ideas below on how you can start living a slower life at home?