Choosing A Slower Life

Blue Ridge Mountain Winter Landscape at “Turkey Landing”/Photography by Gaye Abbott

Sitting here gazing out at the Winter landscape from the sun room of a clients home where I am caring for a 14-year-old kitty who impresses me in many moments as a sentient being who knows much more than I do about how life operates and flows.

He lives life slowly and challenges me to do the same…. except when he gets the zoomies of course. There is always time and space for play and fun – lest we get too serious about life. Animals will remind you.

“Booda”/ Photography by Gaye Abbott/12/2025

We gaze out together at the bare branches winding their way towards the diminished light this time of year Viewing nature’s artistic expression in the uniqueness of each tree and the ever changing landscape. Becoming part of the unfolding of a place. The willingness to become continually surprised by it. Reconnected.

Suddenly an entire rafter of turkeys slowly make their way across the landscape as a brilliant red cardinal joins them to pick at what tasty morsels may be on the ground. A squirrel saunters by on its quest for food. I slowly recognize that I am also part of this unfolding of life. Not separate behind my glass walls, but unequivocally a part of.

How deeply connected can we be to a place? To where we live and breathe in any given moment?

To the moment itself….to ourselves.

The season of Winter here in Western N. Carolina, embraced by the Blue Ridge Mountains, has a sparseness and economy to it draped in bare branches and a monochrome environment. Feeling more exposed and open, and at the same time yearning to curl inward to restore, reflect, and perhaps grieve..

It is here that we cannot escape the death of all living things. The endless transformation of birth, growth, death, transformation, change. The fear of any of this is part of our disconnect. The seasons come and go…. and so do we.

Taking moments in time to be completely absorbed in the on going transformation and magic around you could result in an almost constant state of awe and wonder. Take two minutes to watch the video below that shows snowflakes via the perspective of a microscope. No two are the same as they slowly reveal their beauty and unique structure and then reunite with the landscape around them.

We are fundamentally a part of this cycle of living and dying. Being part of the pattern of belonging, a part of the seasons of constant change. It lives in us….and so does the awe at what we can’t see but is constantly unfolding all around us.

Immersing into the heart of each slowly evolving moment one can become so connected with the environment one is inhabiting that there is no way to feel separate. There is an expansiveness in this that reminds one to fluidly open into a clearer sense of connection.

Within relationship, creative endeavors, breath, and a myriad of other opportunities and possibilities to remind us to fully embrace the moments we have left this lifetime.

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I leave you with Antony Osler who’s life is simple…. his presence comforting in letting go of cultures restrictions and rules and his insights on simply being.

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“There is a quiet richness that reveals itself when we move at a gentler pace. As we stop rushing, the day opens up, and life becomes less about striving and more about feeling grounded in the place we already stand.

When the noise softens, our awareness shifts. Choosing slowness isn’t about withdrawing from the world, but about returning to it with a clearer sense of connection. It reminds us that meaning often lives in the pauses — those moments where we feel part of something larger than our own momentum.

In these calmer spaces, a deeper sense of belonging begins to take root. We reconnect with ourselves, with others, and with the world around us in a way that feels steady and true. A slower life doesn’t ask for perfection, only a willingness to make room for what genuinely matters.”

Featuring Antony Osler – https://www.stoepzen.co.za
Filmed in Colesburg, South Africa.

We have shared a previous film featuring Antony, and also two featuring him and his wife together. You can find these here –
Stillness – https://youtu.be/OkHypImEY84
Love Lessons – https://youtu.be/pbyQhbZJhwI
What is Love? – https://youtu.be/td2O06HfhDY

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Gaye Abbott, Wildly Free Elder, 12/8/25