Lionel Richie (and Maroon Five’s Sunday Morning) are really onto something. Sunday is a wonderful day to slow down. Pause. Reflect. Recharge.
Next Sunday I hope you will join me in a Slow Sunday celebration by baking bread at home. If you haven’t heard, the editor of Resurgence last month began a campaign called Slow Sunday and it really is a beautiful (and Betty-like) notion.
Think Globally, Bake Locally (see www.resurgence.org). The intention is to spark a resurgence in local production and to commit a small act of defiance against highly processed bread made far from home.
Satish Kumar says, “Small is beautiful. When we bake bread, we are in touch with ourselves. Bake bread to save the planet.” The aim is to encourage people to take part in small acts of defiance for the environment within their own communities.
“The Resurgence Slow Sunday is inspired by two of the most profound philosophies of our time – Schumacher’s ‘Small is beautiful’ and Gandhi’s ‘Be the change you want to see in the world’. Big change is possible though small, meaningful actions at a local level (Betty’s Operating Philosophy #1). It is only by changing our immediate environment that we can pave the way for change on a larger scale. In other words, we can make the world a better place, but it will only happen when large numbers of people join together and practice what they believe in.(taken from his you tube segment) And when thousands upon thousands of people do this small thing all around the world, change begins to happen.” (end quote)
I have been playing with the notion of “slow” myself. I am consciously slowing my pace down, which feels counter-intuitive, but so much healthier.
This time last year I was running full speed ahead trying to get Betty’s website complete. I missed my son’s Back to School Night, bills weren’t getting paid, my house was a mess, I missed the fall ball deadline, and I eventually ended up on crutches with the worst sprained ankle I’ve ever had. I was going too fast. So this September I have embraced “slow,”
Some people are even choosing to make Sunday a no-purchase/consumption day. A day infused with more being and relating, rather than the usual work-week habit of doing. A day to lower our consumption, reduce our carbon footprint, commune with friends and family, incorporate nature into our lives, and reflect on how we are being.
I hope you will join us,
BWB
Comments on this entry are closed.