The 'Slow Living Bingo' You Need

After scurrying around the globe happily for nearly fifteen years, I woke up one day feeling profoundly empty. I decided that it was time to slow down. The epiphany came a few years ago on a cold autumnal morning in a nondescript hotel room, thousands of miles away from home. After days of chasing flights and road trips, I woke up blank, with no recollection of where I was and what was I doing there. The utter pointlessness of living out of a suitcase struck me.

It shifted the spotlight on my life back home, which felt like a jaded, faded blur, instead of the enriching life I had dreamt the rat race—fueled by mindless consumption—to be. This disconnect with my own reality pushed me to dig deeper and embrace slow living, a life in complete opposition to my soon-to-be-former life of FOMO in the fast lane.  

A few years hence, both the pandemic and the climate crisis have shown the world that the way we live is untenable. While it isn’t possible for all of us to step away from our lives and retire off-grid, it is possible to make small, subtle changes to our current lifestyle to live in a simple and sustainable way.

I’ll admit, it wasn’t possible to make the changes overnight. I started researching a traditional Indian way of living, peeking to see how my grandparents lived their frugal yet full lives. By becoming more conscious about how I lived, I made an effort to eliminate non-essentials, live less wastefully, and embrace a wholesome lifestyle.

This "slow living bingo" depicts what I’ve embraced over the years. So, to help you, here are some practical steps that you can take to live more mindfully. These small incremental steps will help keep you motivated, stave off eco-anxiety (that’s part of the bingo card!), and let you accomplish a lot over time. Save it, print it, do whatever will help you stay inspired and on track.

It’s time to celebrate small victories at a snail’s pace.