Slow Living in Fast Times: How Hobbies Heal

The Need to Slow Down

We live in a world where everyone’s running around trying to be the best at everything, to the point where we find ourselves burnt out. Slow hobbies that require patience, presence and time can offer a very refreshing change of pace to some people.

While a lot of us try to drown ourselves in the noise of the world, constantly multitasking, sometimes it is nice to slow down, take a deep breath and remember that not everything worth doing can be done quickly.

The Joy of Baking

I love baking. Ever since I was 13, I gained an interest in just watching youtube videos of baking recipes. Then I began trying them out at home, slowly. From the humble chocolate cake and banana bread. I just wanted to eat delicious desserts.

Then came COVID and suddenly, everyone was into baking. We all had the time to slow down and let the dough rest, rise and then bake. From bread to cakes to croissants, baking made sure that everything was measured evenly and took its sweet time to give you the best results.

Slow Hobbies as a Form of Resistance

The world has shaped us in a way that we feel pressured to always be productive at every second of every day… but that’s not required. The point of our hobbies is to make us relax and get away from the real world. If we begin to pressure ourselves even then, there is no point.

For me, it was baking. But it can also be painting, knitting, gardening, pottery, reading, anything. Things that force you to slow down, think about what you’re doing and then do it. You can’t force a sourdough starter or instantly bake a croissant. They demand you to surrender and let time take over and sometimes you fail, but then you find out where you went wrong and try again. Slowly.

Slow hobbies are more than just a pastime in today’s world. They’re a form of resistance. A rejection of the world’s ideals being forced on us. It reminds us that we still exist in real time, reconnecting with our senses and embracing imperfection. I mean, we all heard it when we were younger, yet we never listened. “Slow and steady wins the race”. But perhaps we got so caught up in winning the race, we forget that the most important part of that line wasn’t winning the race, it was “Slow and steady”.

#SlowLiving #BakingJoy #MindfulMoments #HomeBaking #SlowDown