A lesson in slow living from the English countryside.

What 3 days in the Cotswolds taught me about a luxurious life.

3 days was not nearly enough time spent here, but it did give me a taste of what I think we all crave from time to time: a more intentional life that lacks the stresses we have deemed “normal”.

I follow several UK creators that have moved from London to the countryside in search of a life that doesn’t exhaust and overwhelm on a daily basis. So… it’s not just an idealistic girl living in Tennessee, dreaming of a faraway place. This is something so many of us seem to be craving.

Slow living in the English countryside - a view of a farm and small country church.

When I arrived in the Cotswolds, I immediately felt at home. Having grown up part time on a farm in Wisconsin, there’s something very endearing about a small town community, and the daily refreshment you feel waking up surrounded by nature. Life is simpler… but not any less beautiful.

And this trip to the English countryside got me thinking…

What if your biggest slow down of the day wasn’t an hour’s worth of rush hour traffic, but a flock of sheep crossing the road? What if you didn’t need the 7 figure career because nobody cared what car you drove, no one expected a new outfit for every occasion, and a locally sourced meal at the pub down the road was as good as a fancy restaurant?

Burford is a small town with a neighboring field of sheep.

I looked around and saw a life, a community, whose problems and stresses were so much smaller than the ones we often accept in the name of “luxury”.

But is it really luxury if you need a vacation from the life you’re living?

While the modern age can be thrilling, and there are absolutely benefits to living in a technologically advanced society, we so easily forget that there is much to learn from the old ways, and that there are things we lose on the path of progress. It’s important to remember to slow down and look backward once in a while - not to avoid the future, and not to overly romanticize the past. But a pause to look back and pick up some of the pieces before they are lost forever.

This is the importance of slow living.

What if you didn’t look to Amazon for all your shopping needs? What if you cooked something from scratch? Or chose something not because it was the most convenient, but because it was more intentional?

Recognize this scene? It’s from the 2005 Pride & Prejudice!

While I was in the English countryside I captured a variety of scenes and moments to be able to bring home - to remember. This is my invitation for you to slow down and enjoy a little more. Even if it’s just through a framed photo or two on your wall.