Natural slow life

I've spent a long time wondering how to define a category for blog posts that would showcase the lifestyle I strive for. Slow living seemed closest to me, but it lacked something that's incredibly important in my life: spirituality. More and more people are promoting or implementing slow living (and I think it's fantastic), but I feel it lacks depth. Slow living is sunrise meditation, morning yoga, thoughtful shopping, and mindfulness. But why do we do this?

This very purpose distinguishes the natural slow life. You can live mindfully or "slowly" for pleasure. For satisfaction, peace, and a sense of security. You can implement minimalism into your life to protect the environment or to enjoy objects. You can also do it for another reason: for spiritual growth. At first glance, this may seem lofty or exaggerated, but I will try to explain how lifestyle influences spiritual development and how our soul expresses itself through it.

What does "natural" have to do with spirituality? I believe being spiritual is natural for humans. It is the core of our existence. It is normal and natural for people to have souls and to be deeply connected to the Source of Life. This is how we should be. Natural, being ourselves, being truthful and humble. Very complicated inside and simple outside.

Some might call this "personal development." Yes, spiritual development is personal, but personal development isn't always spiritual. What does spiritual mean? From my perspective, it's a development that, firstly, assumes that the main driving force of our lives is the soul. The soul, the part of the Creator. This part that is eternal, sacred, is an energy, a consciousness that permeates everything and to which our mental awareness has limited access due to the reality in which we live. Secondly, a spiritual approach assumes that it was not created by chance, but also for a purpose. In my opinion, this purpose is development through experiment. An experiment called life and forgetting.

Why develop spiritually? Perhaps to become the best version of ourselves? Perhaps to end this experiment? Perhaps so that the Creator will awaken from the dream called life, in which we focus most of our attention on the form surrounding us? I don't have the answers to many questions, and I certainly can't claim they are the only correct ones. I have many myself, and spiritual life is about asking these questions. To wonder: who am I? Why am I doing this? What can I experience right now? Does this serve me? What will this experience, this thing, this person teach me? Will it bring me closer to my soul's path? If I do this, how will other people feel? Other souls? What will I convey to them? Will I contribute to their growth or humiliation? Will I bring them joy? Will I help them remember who they truly are? Will I inspire them to change, will I make them smile? Do people feel good in my company? Does it lead us to a sense of unity?

Natural slow living is living close to nature, others, and the Creator. It's making conscious, responsible choices, discovering one's strength and destiny. It's recognizing one's divine side in every detail, even in creating a wardrobe, cleaning the house, tending a garden, in conversations with a child, a parent, or even with oneself. Inspiring others and supporting activities that serve our development bring something good. Good not only for us, for our selfish desires, but also for those around us. Of course, we are important too, but we must learn to distinguish desires induced by external influences from the true needs of our soul.

We're all in a process. Me too. This means I'm no longer in the state I'd like to be in, but I'm constantly creating it. I'm changing habits, changing views, making revisions and discoveries. As Heraclitus of Ephesus said: the only certainty in life is change. We change, the world changes, life changes. The important thing is to push this change in the right direction. I hope the content published in this section will uplift you and inspire you to make positive changes. Changes that will truly help us, humanity, emerge from the state of chaos we currently find ourselves in, while also restoring our joy of life and childlike curiosity.

Natural living also means limiting consumption in favor of creativity. Before I became interested in minimalism, I had no idea that there were several concepts or interpretations of this idea. I don’t know whether anyone has ever categorized them, but since I am creating my own perspective on minimalism here, I will try to do so in order to distinguish it from the others. I don’t believe this is a closed set. There are probably as many minimalisms as there are people — just as there are as many lifestyles as there are individuals. Each of us is a version of ourselves, a representative of our own worldview and an expression of our individual path. I don’t like putting things into boxes, but a certain kind of categorization is necessary for me to present the idea of spiritual minimalism.

Ascetic Minimalsm

According to the Polish Dictionary, minimalism means “reducing requirements, needs, and aspirations to a minimum.” In this sense, minimalism can be understood as a form of asceticism. I imagine that such a lifestyle means being satisfied with anything, not paying attention to details (since expectations are low), and limiting oneself to ensuring only the physical comfort necessary for survival.

Zero-Waste Minimalizm

Zero waste is a lifestyle in which a person strives to generate as little waste as possible and thus avoid polluting the environment. The goal here is to care for the Earth’s resources, use natural and biodegradable materials, dispose of things responsibly, make the most of what we already have, and cultivate a love for repairing and restoring.

Hedonistic Minimalizm

This type focuses on limiting possessions to the things we truly love — high-quality items that bring us the greatest pleasure. In contrast to asceticism, this approach promotes paying close attention to self-care, refusing to settle for mediocrity, and recognizing the impact that surrounding objects have on our well-being.

Each of these styles overlaps to some degree and presents a certain relationship between the SELF and the ENVIRONMENT. As in everything, I believe the golden mean is best — and that is what spiritual minimalism is to me.

It means that:

• my SELF matters because it is part of the Creator, and I want to become the best version of myself (not better than others, but better than who I was yesterday),

• my ENVIRONMENT matters because it is also part of the Creator and, in some sense, a part of me.

  
  

This balance — this harmony between what we need and what is good for nature, animals, and other people — is essential. I would describe spiritual minimalism as surrounding ourselves with only as many things as are necessary to feel well and avoid harming others; expressing both modesty and quality. It means limiting ourselves not for applause or self-denial, but to cultivate mindfulness, joy, gratitude, and to support our own creativity as well as that of our surroundings. As spiritual beings, we should not place material things on a pedestal. Yet we are also material beings, and our environment affects our well-being and energy. This, in turn, can give us strength and inspiration to act — or pull us down. And none of us wants that. I suppose :)

Behind matter, there is energy. If we are surrounded by chaos and excess, there is no room for something new. It is said that when we let go of unnecessary things, we invite not only new objects into our lives, but also new people, experiences, and events. We make space for them. Limiting our interaction with objects allows us to turn our attention to what is natural and impossible to “possess”: wild nature, relationships, and the freedom to create. We begin to care about energy, the interaction of Souls, and the exchange of consciousness. When consumerism no longer distracts us, we learn to find joy in creating — and creation is the expression of what truly sings within the Soul.