Slow Work
The Slow Food movement began in Italy in 1986 as a protest against McDonalds moving into Rome. Slow Food emphasizes local production and sourcing of ingredients, mindfulness in preparation, and community sharing in the fruits of the labor. It now has over 100,000 members and 1million supporters worldwide.
Under the umbrella of the Slow Movement, Slow Food has spawned everything from Slow Cities to Slow Ageing, Cinema, Fashion, Parenting, and even Technology; tapping into a cultural shift toward slowing down the pace of life and appreciating quality over quantity.
The conversation about simplicity, clutter busting, and the rise of the maker movement – making, building and growing things we used to buy – while living with less busyness and fewer things are part of the same longing to slow it all down.
I don’t know if this is a stage of life or quality of life issue. It’s not uncommon for those of us in the second half of life to be divesting of responsibilities and possessions. That said I’m also hearing it from those much younger and witnessing it in the newest generation to enter the workforce who are choosing to engage with work in new and, dare I say, healthier ways. The COVID-19 pandemic has turned everyone’s world upside down and prompted deeper questions about how and on what we spend our time.
I started wondering if there was such a thing as Slow Work and what that means in this world of fast, faster, and fastest. I’ve experienced an actual breathlessness in the stress levels of some of my clients. Higher and higher expectations with more and more on their plates and fewer resources to get it all done. All this in a culture with a high degree of uncertainty and ever-changing goals and expectations. Stress levels were at an all-time high. And that was pre-COVID.
Some kinds of work simply cannot be done in the fast lane. Their very nature requires a slower pace:
Reflection – time for contemplation, review, re-balancing, and redirection
Creativity – sometimes it does come in a flash. Deeper expressions can take time to incubate, like noodling on a new idea or learning a new medium. It can also take time and courage to find your own voice or move in a new direction.
Integration – incorporating learning and meaning from a significant transition, loss, or initiatory experience in life is a slow process. Many of us aren’t current with who we have become; still telling old stories about ourselves that are no longer true.
Breaking unhealthy patterns of behavior – co-dependency, the need to be in control, looking outside of ourselves for validation, victimhood, and all types of addiction each take persistent commitment to break the cycle and establish new behavior. This includes lots and lots of course corrections when we stray off the path. As Wendy Palmer reminds us: “the practice is in the recovery.”
Resolving conflict – I was once asked by a teacher if I was willing to be in the resolution of the conflict as long as I had been in the conflict itself. The truth is it’s often easier to avoid or cut and run than do the work of resolution and reparation.
Cultivating authentic and trusting relationships – in intimate relationships, family systems, with teams, and in community – trust develops in the awkward, stumbling, forgiveness, and rectification work we do with one another. Can we surrender into the vulnerability of learning in public?
Restoration and renewal – many of us have no idea how exhausted or burnt out we are. We’re running on adrenaline and continually postponing our own self-care. If I can just get through this day, week, quarter, project, crisis, then I’ll take it easy. “If I can just get through…” is not a sustainable wellness plan. Healing happens in its own time. We can only deny our body wisdom for so long before it slams on the brakes to get our attention.
Character development – this is our life long work. As we grow, advance, and mature in life we are continually faced with new challenges to strengthen our sufficiency, self-trust and self-respect.
In our culture, we’ve come to expect the handout offering 3-5 quick ways to fix our problems. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. There is no fast lane in slow work.
Slow Work calls us to live in the present moment, aim for progress over perfection, and remember we’re all beautifully imperfect as a species. Patience, honesty, objective assessment, and radical self-acceptance are trusted allies.
Slow food is cooked long and without hurry, with love and attention, respecting the time for the subtlety of flavors and tastes to blend in new, interesting and surprising ways. No two pots are ever exactly the same. Likewise, for our Slow Work. There is no rushing the work of relationship, healing, and the heart. Wisdom emerges slowly with time and experience. Savor it all.