Learning to Live Unhurried

I’ve been trying to slow down over the past few years—to schedule work around the life I want to live, rather than let work schedule my life. If I’m going to be self-employed, as I have been for 17 years now, why wouldn’t I?

It’s taken me all of those years to stop dwelling on what my job doesn’t offer me—let’s be real: health insurance, a 401(k), paid vacation—and start appreciating what it does allow. And so many of those benefits come back to the same thing: they allow for a healthier way of being.

French culture supports my efforts quite a bit, so I figured a month in France would help me lean into these new goals—such as waking up without an alarm (I’ve been practicing this about 80% of the time at home), eating when I’m hungry rather than “when it’s time,” or sitting down to read a book without feeling guilty about it because there is other stuff to do. That last one is still a work in progress.

We’ve been walking to the store each day, buying what we need, and walking back to our place. I bought a steak from the butcher; he wrapped it in paper, and I walked home to cook it while sipping a glass of wine.

There’s such a simple pleasure in going with the flow and slowing down. It’s something life in the U.S. doesn’t always make easy, but it’s exactly what I’ve been striving for at home, too—with the support of my amazing husband.

Life is good.