slow home

Is there an answer to the incredible overwhelm of life as a modern parent? This week's podcast looks at how to escape the cycle of doom-scrolling and really start to care.

When we look around and see the environmental crises facing the world it can be easy to slip in to despair, as we wonder, “What difference can I make? I’m only one person.”

In today’s episode we meet Georgi, who has made massive strides in changing the way she lives as an individual but is now looking at the bigger picture and wants to know, “What are some bigger things I can do, outside my own home, to make a real impact? What are the best things we can do to make a real difference?”

Georgi and Brooke have a really wide-ranging conversation that looks at both the highly practical changes each of us can make in our attempts to live a slower, more sustainable life, as well as the broader issue of how to work out what we have to offer our community and how to begin delivering it.

Brooke is then joined by special guest, Sarah Wilson (author of First, We Make the Beast Beautiful) who talks about the importance of us coming together to make change, as opposed to buying in to the story that we as individuals need to fix every single problem the system has created.

This is a really refreshing conversation that highlights the idea that making change is as simple as showing up in our own communities and as complicated as learning to let go of the guilt at not being able to do it all.

Enjoy!

Looking for more Slow?

• Find show notes, resources and links at slowyourhome.com/season4
• Follow us on Instagram @slowhomepod
• Sign up for our love letters
• Join the Slow Experiment Club over on Patreon
• Or leave a rating or review in iTunes

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In today’s episode we meet Nancy, who has recently moved from the UK to Kuala Lumpur with her family, and is afraid that her introversion, combined with her desire to live a ‘slow life’ is holding her back from making friends.

Brooke discovers that she and Nancy share a lot of the same concerns, and they dive head-first in to why they both struggle with connection and what relationship that struggle has to deeper issues of self-worth, guilt and shame.  

Brooke also shares some of the practical techniques she’s used over the past six months of living in a new place that have helped her slowly find and connect with like-minded people, while also talking through why we might want to rethink what “like-minded people” means to us. Are we holding out for a perfect fit when there are dozens of great people surrounding us? And if so, how can we get to know whether we’re a good fit as friends or not?

To bring another perspective in to the conversation, Brooke is joined by the wonderful friend of the show (and friend in general) Cait Flanders in the second half of the episode and they talk about making friends online, the importance of getting comfortable with awkwardness and letting go of expectations when meeting new people.

It’s a really warm, practical and honest conversation about making friends as an adult, with some special attention given to those of us who are on the more introverted side of the spectrum.

Enjoy!

Looking for more Slow?

• Find show notes, resources and links at slowyourhome.com/season4
• Follow us on Instagram @slowhomepod
• Sign up for our love letters
• Join the Slow Experiment Club over on Patreon
• Or leave a rating or review in iTunes

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Surprise! We're popping in to your earholes on a Monday with a very special bonus episode featuring the utterly delightful Clare Bowditch - songwriter, actress, storyteller and author of one of the most powerful memoirs Brooke has ever read. 

In this conversation Brooke and Clare talk about the stories we tell ourselves and why they matter, loss and grief, mental health and healing, learning to be patient and what happens when we show up scared. 

It's deep, it's funny, it's bittersweet and we hope you enjoy it. 

Looking for more Slow?

• Find show notes, resources and links at slowyourhome.com/season4
• Follow us on Instagram @slowhomepod
• Sign up for our love letters
• Join the Slow Experiment Club over on Patreon
• Or leave a rating or review in iTunes

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to this week’s poggie! Today Brooke talks to zero-waste blogger and YouTuber Christine Liu of Simply By Christine.

Christine is not only a great source of practical information in the low-waste world, she also talks about her experience in her previous job at Cisco where she was instrumental in organising the Green Team network. This initiative brought sustainability to the workplace, and is a great example of how to create real-world, community-based change in our own lives.

Christine shares how the Green Teams initiative started small and then grew throughout the entire organisation, as well as the impact it had on her own efforts to live more sustainably, as well as those of her colleagues. Christine also talks about her low-waste wedding and the challenges of owning a pet while living sustainably.

Questions featured in this episode:

1. What is a Green Team?
2. Why and how did you start it?
3. Do you have any suggestions for where people can start making changes in their own workplace?
4. Where did your personal zero-waste journey start?
5. Any tips for where to start with zero-waste and pets?
6. How has simplifying your life impacted your mental health?
7. What were the reactions you received from friends and family around your zero-waste wedding?
8. Any tips for people planning their wedding or big event who are keen to minimise waste?

Looking for more Slow?

• Find show notes, resources and links at slowyourhome.com/season2/
• Follow us on Instagram @slowhomepod
• Sign up for our love letters
• Join the Slow Experiment Club over on Patreon
• Or leave a rating or review in iTunes

As always, thank you for listening!

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today Brooke shares her conversation with the delicious and delightful Rebecca Sullivan. The two first spoke on the podcast back in 2017, and since then Rebecca has published four (!!) books, with another on the way, and moved from an apartment in Adelaide to a closed loop eco-farm in the Clare Valley. There’s just a bit for the two to catch up on, so we thought it was about time!

Rebecca reflects on the challenges and joys that living on the land have brought so far, how paying attention to nature and slowing down have come hand-in-hand, living with fear, failure and taking risks and the aim of her new work: reconciliation on a plate

Questions featured in this episode:

1. What’s the transition been like as you moved to the farm, from theory to reality?
2. How do you think about your own environmental impact?
3. What does it practically look like to live in a circular (closed-loop) house?
4. What was the seed for the idea of Warndu - both the company and the book?

Looking for more Slow?

• Find show notes, resources and links at slowyourhome.com/season2/
• Follow us on Instagram @slowhomepod
• Sign up for our love letters
• Join the Slow Experiment Club over on Patreon
• Or leave a rating or review in iTunes

As always, thank you for listening!

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Brooke is joined by early-childhood educator April Hepokoski for a fascinating discussion about all things child-led and nature-based learning.

April is the founder and teacher at The Little Barnyard Preschool in Duluth, Minnesota, where she centres learning around being outside in nature every single day. April also founded a zero-waste living group on her local community, where she shares tips and tricks for living with less waste as well as lobbying the city council to make changes in her town.

There are so many parallels between slow living and the approach of nature-based learning, and April is a prime example of someone taking action into their own hands in every aspect of her life. We hope you enjoy this inspiring (and practical) chat about learning, nature and grassroots change.

Questions featured in this episode:

1. When did you first become interested in zero-waste living?
2. How did you structure a localised zero-waste living group?
3. What is the philosophy or mission of The Little Barnyard Preschool?
4. What caused you to combine child-led learning with nature-based learning?
5. What does nature-based learning look like on a day-to-day basis?
6. What do parents say? What benefits and differences do they see?
7. How can people begin to bring this philosophy into their own home if there are no nature-based learning offerings in their area?
8. What can educators do to start to bring nature-based learning into their school? Any resources or recommendations on how to start the conversation?
9. Do you have any tips for bringing zero-waste principles into the classroom?

Looking for more Slow?

• Find show notes, resources and links at slowyourhome.com/season2/
• Follow us on Instagram @slowhomepod
• Sign up for our love letters
• Join the Slow Experiment Club over on Patreon
• Or leave a rating or review in iTunes

As always, thank you for listening!

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week’s Brooke sits down for a heartfelt discussion with Jojo Hogan: founder of the Slow Postpartum movement, yoga teacher, aromatherapist, massage therapist and doula.

Jojo has been working with expectant mothers for many years, and now specialises as a postpartum doula, providing much needed support to mothers after giving birth. There are so many beautiful intersections between slow living principles and the postpartum care practices that Jojo provides and educates around, and especially considering her own experience as a new mother, Brooke was so excited to have Jojo on the show.

Brooke and Jojo talk about the pillars of postpartum care that cultures around the world share, the importance of deciding your parenting values before baby arrives, how women can create their own villages to support them after birth, and ways to bring more slow and presence to a stressful time.

Questions featured in this episode:

1. When did your own journey of slowing down and simplifying begin? What prompted it?
2. When did you begin working with new parents?
3. What does a slow postpartum look like?
4. What’s something realistic that a new parent can do to bring some slowness into those early days post-birth?
5. How can we approach the ‘stuff’ that often comes with having a baby with a slower, more conscious mindset?

Looking for more Slow?

• Find show notes, resources and links at slowyourhome.com/season2/
• Follow us on Instagram @slowhomepod
• Sign up for our love letters
• Join the Slow Experiment Club over on Patreon
• Or leave a rating or review in iTunes

As always, thank you for listening!

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the fifth and final episode of the Summer Series (/Winter Warmies!) For all of January, we’ve been bringing back the best of 2018, re-sharing some of our favourite episodes to keep you company on the beach (or the slopes!)

Last but not least, this week is our episode with the awesome Jocelyn Glei, writer and creator of the podcast Hurry Slowly. Now seemed like the perfect time to feature Brooke’s chat with Jocelyn, as they focus on the relationship between technology, work, life, slow and creativity, as we all get back into the swing of work after the holidays.

Jocelyn shares so many great resources with us, and we hope you find something to explore from this episode. Head over to http://slowyourhome.com/234/ for all the links and resources mentioned, as well as the full blog post. And we’ll see you in February for the new season of the show!

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If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening!

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Welcome to the third episode of the Summer Series (Winter Warmies!) For all of January, we’ll be bringing back the best of 2018, re-sharing some of our favourite episodes to keep you company on the beach (or the slopes!)

Today we’re highlighting one of the most-loved episodes of last year - when Brooke interviewed Ben about his slow living journey. What started out as a chance to turn the tables and switch the spotlight ended up being a deeply personal and raw conversation. Ben talks about how he went from working a stressful, corporate job to being self-employed, and how he continues to make choices to live a slower life.

So many people connected with this episode, which is why we decided to include it in the Summer Series. If it resonates, we’d love for this to start a new conversation about slow with your loved ones. It’s the perfect time of year to check in and examine your priorities for 2019, so we hope this helps!

To read more about the episode, head over to http://slowyourhome.com/242/ for all the links and resources mentioned, as well as the full blog post.

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If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening!

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Cue the jazzy Christmas tunes - it’s our final episode of the year! Welcome to the crowd-sourced holiday special, where we share your tips for staying slow in the silly season (and throw in some of our own). Thank you so much to everyone who got in touch - we loved reading through your responses, and hearing all the different ways you not only cope with, but enjoy what can be a stressful time of year.

Brooke and Ben share more than 40 tips from listeners, all about how to bring a little more slow to your holiday traditions, gifts, finances, food, time with family and friends, decorations and environmental impact.

There’s so much goodness in here, and definitely something for everyone to consider for either this year or next. Whether it’s sipping a candy cane martini every Friday night like Steve or getting organised with gifts, we hope you’ll find a nugget that resonates with you! When in doubt, if you come back to ask what your priorities for the season are, how you want it to feel and what you want to remember, that’s a pretty great place to act from.

Annnnnd that’s a wrap (pun intended)! Thank you so much for your support for all of this year, it means so much and is why we do what we do every day. We wish you a safe and happy holiday season, and all the best for 2019. Looking forward to more slow times ahead!

To read more about the episode, or to sign up for the 365 Days of Slow experiment, head over to http://slowyourhome.com/262/ for all the links and resources mentioned, as well as the full blog post. 

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If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening!

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We’re onto the last of our slow relationships episodes, and this week is all about new friends: where to find them and how to get from barely know each other to BFF, slowly. It’s all about taking the time, being intentional and paying attention, as well as discovering the joy of spending time with people based on what’s important to you rather than the situation you find yourself in (bye awkward office/school drop off chats, hi fellow slow living friends).

First up, Ben asks Brooke if, given last week’s episode all about maintaining existing friendships and the time it takes, as well as the effort involved in meeting new people, do we even need any more friends? Brooke says yes, and shares some of her own story and the challenges she has faced around friendships. In case you need convincing, she also highlights some of the benefits of friendships according to science. Including everything from improved self-esteem to reduction in stress and depression, it seems that finding like minded folk to while our days away with is worth the effort.

So how do we find these new friends? Brooke considers a few steps, and talks about the importance in shifting your attitude and being open in social situations. Think about the values you’re looking for in a new pal, and find ways to put yourself into a relevant community, whether IRL or online. The guys talk about a few ways to do this, as well as reminding us that not all friendships work out, and that’s OK. Brooke also shares some helpful strategies for introverts when meeting new people. In a beautiful full circle moment, it all comes back to active listening. Which brings us to the end!

We’ve loved hearing your thoughts and feedback on Instagram and Facebook about slow and relationships, so keep on sharing. Ben would also love your food recommendations for Dallas and Austin, so feel free to hit us up with those also.

To read more about the episode, head over to http://slowyourhome.com/248/ for all the links and resources mentioned, as well as the full blog post. 

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If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening!

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This week we’re continuing the relationships theme, looking at existing friendships: not only how to maintain them, but how to deepen them. There’s no question that as time goes on and big life milestones pass, friendships change and some fade. But one of the biggest things we stand to lose by living a busy, un-intentional life is the relationships that have the potential to be deep and life-long. How do we make sure we give these friendships our time and attention? And how do we talk about slow living with our pals? Let’s dive in.

Brooke and Ben kick off by sharing that, like any relationship, friendships are built on trust and time. So how can we ensure we commit to our people, even if we’re operating in different spheres, or don’t necessarily share the same values? They talk about some different ways you can talk to friends about slow living, including how to explain any impacts that the changes you’re making might have on them, and the importance of showing that you’re still there for them. If you value someone, bring them into what you’re doing without being forceful – invite them to where you are, and reciprocate the love and acceptance.

When it comes to those deep, true friendships, so many of us ask ourselves how we can take them to the next level, and have the deeper conversations beyond the everyday and superficial. Brooke shares some practical tips, and Ben shares his experience with this as a male. They finish by sharing some different ways you can spend time and build bonds with your buds, highlighting that it doesn’t have to be all deep & meaningful, teary conversations. Joy, creativity, play and shared projects all play a role in strengthening friendships.

As does telling your friends that you love them, and that you’re thinking of them. Which is this week’s action – reach out to a friend and tell them you appreciate them, and that they sprung to mind after listening to this episode. Then reach out to us: we’d love to hear your thoughts about this episode. How are you trying to bring more slow, depth and intention to your friendships? Comment on Facebook or Instagram and share the love.

To read more about the episode, head over to http://slowyourhome.com/247/ for all the links and resources mentioned, as well as the full blog post. And stay tuned for next week, when we’ll talk about making new friends!

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If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening!

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It’s week two of our month of slow and relationships, and this episode we’re looking at family: kids, parents, siblings, and all those broader relationships (including those friends that feel more like favourite cousins) that make up the family tree. They’re not always neat and tidy, but hopefully there will be something in this episode that resonates with you, whatever your family situation.

Brooke and Ben begin by talking kids. We’ve covered slow parenting in many an episode before (links in the show notes), but they share a few important reminders and tools here as well. Kids are not slow, and so living slowly with kids can be difficult to near-impossible. There are tools you can use and boundaries you can set in place (especially around time, technology and presence) to establish some great foundations, but the best advice is to drop the expectations, don’t be afraid to say no and let boredom happen.

When it comes to parents and siblings, Brooke highlights that we all crave connection but are often scared of being vulnerable in conversation. She recommends some ways to start those difficult chats, and highlights that time is the real key here. Making and allowing time and creating a safe space for deeper conversations and connections helps to create stronger bonds. They then address what to do when there maybe isn’t as much connection within a family, and Ben comes back to this idea of resilience: being tolerant, open and then resilient enough to always try to end interactions on a positive note. Putting love above differences in opinion isn’t always easy, but it’s a choice we can make.

They finish the episode by talking about ways to maintain connection when there’s a great physical distance between family, and then sharing the value of affection within all familial relationships (hugs are always on the cards).

This week’s action? Tell someone you love them, every day. And let us know how that feels - get in touch on Facebook or Instagram and share the love. To read more about the episode, head over to http://slowyourhome.com/246/ for all the links and resources mentioned, as well as the full blog post. 

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If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening!

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Annnnd we’re back. It’s the first week of July, and while we’re due for a Slow Experiment, thanks to book tour commitments and a tight travel schedule, Brooke and Ben are taking the pressure off. Instead, July will be a deep dive into bringing slow to relationships. Romantic, family and friendships old and new, each week the guys will be exploring ways you can create deeper connections with the people around you. We received so much feedback after Ben shared his story in episode 242, as well as a bunch of questions, emails and feedback on the topic, so let’s get to it!

This week kicks off looking at bringing more slow to romantic relationships. Brooke and Ben look at their own relationship, and acknowledge up front that their experience of the dating scene goes back a while now (Brooke has never swiped right). However, they talk about the fact that a lot of the technology around dating these days doesn’t necessarily support people looking for a deeper, more meaningful connection. Side note: Brooke did discover a slow dating app, but did not give it a test run (which Ben was grateful for).

They talk about the importance of entering into relationships and getting to know people with a focus on intention over the endgame, and how presence and time helps to cement trust. The same principles apply to people already in a long-term relationships. Intention, turning up and building trust are where it’s at. Dropping the distractions and being present with your s/o is so important in building that solid, steady foundation.

They bring up some of the challenges they’ve faced in their own relationship, invite us to reframe the way we view relationship milestones (as new understandings rather than specific events) and remind us that romance is constantly evolving. Which is comforting. To finish off, they invite you to be aware this week of your expectations in your relationships, and to explore finding joy and depth in the ordinary, everyday moments. If you have anything to add or that you’d like to share, especially if you have any apps or resources that have helped you slow down the dating scene, feel free to get in touch! Comment on Facebook or Instagram and share the love. To read more about the episode, head over to http://slowyourhome.com/245/ for all the links and resources mentioned, as well as the full blog post.  

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If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening!

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Our guest on the podcast this week is Anita Van Dyke: zero waste activist, literal rocket scientist, medical student, author and all-round breath of fresh air. Anita brings a new, more practical perspective to the zero waste lifestyle, and in this episode she and Brooke talk about her journey to living a zero waste life, the impact of her cultural and familial upbringing, tips for helping people get started and so much more.

Anita talks about her life a few years ago, as a self-described ‘maximalist’, and how she went from working in corporate engineering at the height of her career to being burnt out, and having to quit her job and step back for six months to think about what she wanted in life. She talks about her cultural background, as her parents immigrated to Australia from China during the communist regime, and how this informed both her value of money, power and status in her early 20s and her work ethic, but also how her upbringing cemented her understanding of living minimally. She talks about her discovery of this very podcast during that six month break, and how this, combined with other resources, volunteering, meditating and economic necessity started her on the journey of simplifying her life and decreasing her waste.

Now Anita is studying medicine and has just written a book, called ‘A Zero Waste Life: In 30 Days’. Her scientific background means her approach to zero waste living is incredibly practical, with a creative, problem-solving bent to help you make small changes in your everyday life. Her focus is accessibility, and Brooke loved her three-tiered approach to any issue: dipping your toe in, living low waste and living zero waste.

This podcast is full of so many nuggets of wisdom and great ideas for approaching a slower, more simple life. Start where you are, take stock, ask for help and stick to the 80/20 rule are just some of our main takeaways. What about you? Be sure to share your favourite bits with us on Instagram and Facebook. To read more about the episode and Anita, as well as to heck out her book, head over to http://slowyourhome.com/244for all the links and resources mentioned, as well as the full blog post. 

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If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially and join in on our live monthly video calls.

And thanks so much for listening!

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In today’s episode, Brooke sits down for a chat with Rob Greenfield, a self-described ‘dude making a difference’. He’s an activist, environmentalist and legend - a guy who is very good at raising people’s awareness of an issue by doing big, bold things to grab your attention, like collecting the amount of rubbish the average American creates in a month, and strapping it to his body and wearing it like a trash suit. Talk about making a statement! Brooke and Rob talk about how he came to be where he is today, where he started and what’s next on his horizon.

10 years ago Rob was living what he calls a typical American life. He was driven by money and ideas of success, obsessed with his car and didn’t consider the impact of his choices on the planet or the people around him. Things started to shift as he began reading books and watching documentaries about the state of the world, and the more he learned, the more he realised he had to change his life.

So he did. Slowly, one step at a time, he made changes. Rob talks about the fact that making positive changes in your life is a has a snowball effect, and he and Brooke agree that this slow steady approach might seem frustrating or overwhelming at first, but it really is the only way to go.  He breaks down the changes he made, and how these fed into his big, bold experiments and projects that he’s become known for. He talks about how he communicates these changes to the people around him, the idea of comfort zones and change and societal norms, as well as the need to practice compassion and get good it at, just like building any other muscle or skill.

It’s incredibly inspiring to hear Rob share so honestly about his life, and is a much-needed reminder that we can all make choices in our daily lives to have a more positive impact on the world. We can’t wait to see how Rob goes with his next project - growing or foraging 100% of his food for a whole year. To read more about the episode and Rob, head over to http://slowyourhome.com/241/ for all the links and resources mentioned, as well as the full blog post.

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If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially and join in on our live monthly video calls.

And thanks so much for listening!

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Brooke and Ben are knee-deep in the May Slow Experiment, and in this episode they explore what daily creativity has looked like for them so far, ideas around challenge and play, as well as looking more closely at analog and digital when it comes to the creative process.

Brooke shares the unexpected impact of the experiment so far - the shift in headspace she’s experienced, which sees her coming at things from a creative problem-solving angle, focusing on the process rather than the output. Questions she’s been pondering for months suddenly have clear solutions, and she’s also found herself being more empathetic in her parenting as her brain “opens up”. Ben’s challenge this week was to do something creative for himself, without an audience, and so he shares how he’s played with skiing switch, and reflects on the joy of truly sucking at something.

Ben also identifies some different ways you can categorise creativity: cognitive v emotional, and deliberate v spontaneous. The guys share their experiences of these so far, before diving into the issue of analog v digital. While Brooke was hoping for a unanimous “analog rules” verdict in her research, what she found instead was that there is no right or wrong, that it’s closely tied to how we learn, and that everyone could benefit from dabbling in both means of creative expression.

So if you’re getting creative with us this week, why not try mixing it up again? If you’re always in analog-land, why not try creating using digital this week. And vice versa - if you’re a tech-head, why not try something a little more tactile?

Don’t forget to use the hashtag #slowexperiment on Instagram if you’d like to share, and stay tuned for next week’s episode all about letting go of ideas of “good” and “perfect” and getting back to creating, just for the sake of creating. To read more about the episode and the May experiment, head over to http://slowyourhome.com/238/ for all the links and resources mentioned, as well as the full blog post.

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If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially and join in on our live monthly video calls.

And thanks so much for listening!

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Happy hostful! Today Brooke and Ben sit down to answer your burning questions, as well as update you on what’s been happening in their world, and the plans for the May Slow Experiment! It’s an epic episode, and the guys were excited to have the time to dive into the insightful questions you sent in.

First up they reflect on their travels so far, and what they’ve learned about themselves and each other. They also talk about the rhythms that have developed in their day-to-day lives, how they’ve been travelling and what’s up next.

Then it’s into the Q&A! It’s a mix of questions around slow living with kids and slow travel. One listener asked about slow living with really young kids, another about kids who always want to be on the go. Another listener asked about slow living when you have a child with special needs, and the wonderful community on Facebook helped out with their answers based on their own experiences. Then there were also questions about slow living when you’re on the road, slow as a counter-cultural decision and how to know what changes to make when you set out to change the pace.

And now for the May Slow Experiment - it’s all about daily creativity! Brooke and Ben will be committing to creativity every day in May, and encourage you to play along if you’re keen. It doesn’t have to be the same thing every day, or anything tricky at all. There will be more information over on the blog, but we can’t wait to see what you create.

So there you go! As the guys said in the episode, if you’re in the US in one of the states they mention and have a hot lead on a bookshop or venue that might be keen to host a Slow Home Podcast event, please reach out to us at hello@slowyourhome.com. We really appreciate your help and support, and can’t wait to meet as many of you as possible on the tour. To read more about the episode and the May experiment, head over to http://slowyourhome.com/233/ for all the links and resources mentioned, as well as the full blog post.

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If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially and join in on our live monthly video calls.

And thanks so much for listening!

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Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello, and welcome to the Slow Home Summer series! For 5 weeks over December and January we’ll be revisiting some of our favourite episodes from 2017, so we can walk the walk and slow down during the Christmas break. Also it turns out podcasts, just like fine wine, really do get better with age. Whether you missed them the first time around, or are having another listen, we hope you enjoy these poggies as much as we did!

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Today Brooke chats with the wonderful, challenging, inspiring author Sarah Wilson. Sarah is someone Brooke has admired for years - not only for the work she’s done to promote the notion of drastically cutting sugar in our diets, preventing food waste, and her more recent work in mental health awareness - but also the way she goes about that work. She is honest and open, prepared to stand for something regardless of whether people agree with her, and she’s also funny and smart and good at not taking herself too seriously.

In this conversation Brooke and Sarah talk about her new book, ‘first we make the beast beautiful: a new story about anxiety’ and dive deep into how Sarah slows down in order to both strengthen herself against anxiety’s harmful side, and simultaneously go deeper into it.

They talk about the discomfort of true reflection and Sarah’s growing boredom with shallow conversations and external grasping (and why cocktail parties are the worst example of this!) as well as the idea that it’s not necessary or even helpful to slow down simply for the sake of slowing down, but rather aiming to slow down in order to be or do something meaningful.

As an avid bush walker, Sarah talks about why she chooses to head off into the bush every second weekend (more if possible) and what the rhythm and solitude of solo hiking provides her that other exercises can’t. Sarah shares her cure for insomnia and why one of her two major tenets of slow-ness is to simply walk. She also introduces Brooke to the French idea of ‘flâner’, an urban wandering, and why sometimes it’s enough to simply walk through our own neighbourhood, noticing, paying attention, watching people and observing the comings and goings that surround us.

They also talk about meditation and why it’s the second key tenet of slow-ness for Sarah, and why it’s not only OK to suck at meditation, but why it’s actually incredibly useful to be bad at it.

This is a cracker of an episode, packed with loads of inspiration. Head over to http://www.slowyourhome.com/ss185 for the full blog post, including links to Sarah's books, website and other resources mentioned in today's show, and in the meantime, enjoy!

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If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially and join in on our live monthly video calls.

And thanks so much for listening!

===

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.