P A C E is a growing resource and community seeking out ways to find the centre point in our daily lives. Encouraging little moments of slow rather than big, unattainable steps. Channeling our inner sloth through the design of beautiful, practical objects and tools that help us to thrive. All with a healthy dose of slow.
Who, what, why?
I’m Jo. A 30 year old English art director and food obsessive living a pretty fast paced life across Amsterdam, Barcelona and the U.K. Like many of us, I try (and often fail) to balance my work, relationships, health, passions and projects. Basically, life.
More and more I’m finding it difficult to navigate this constantly ‘on’ world. Whether it’s keeping up with work as a freelancer or keeping up with friends, it feels like I‘m being pulled in so many directions. This hectic lifestyle recently became a bit too much. Struggling to sleep from stress, I had a bike accident, breaking my leg!
Whilst lying in hospital, I realised something isn’t working for me. Both my mind and body were telling me to slow down. A holiday wouldn’t cut it. I needed a new way to navigate the ever increasing speed of this world. So as you can tell, I’m no slow guru myself. Far from it. This journey has only just begun and I hope that it can help those of you feeling the same way.
Growing up in beautiful rural England, I’ve always been a country mouse at heart, slightly losing that living in cities for the last 10 years. So for me, P A C E is a way to return to a slower, countryfied life. Even in a city, I try to find ways to connect with nature; taking a walk and stopping to watch ducks in the canals in Amsterdam, or sitting down for a great coffee rather than one to go. Although simple, I believe reminding ourselves to have these “pause moments” is crucial in mitigating some of the anxiety caused by this busy world.
Ok, back track. Originally I started this article with the statement: ‘Life is fast. It feels like it’s getting even faster. Perhaps we need to pause for a moment.’ Up until a few months ago this was the case and something I’m sure many of you can relate to. But we’ve been stopped in our hectic tracks. Turning our routine lives upside down with a ‘new normal’ none of us asked for.
You could argue it’s a strange time to launch P A C E, a guide to finding balance in our fast paced lives. We’re stuck in our homes and have already slowed down, I hear you say. But what if we flipped our perspective on time altogether. How could a quick coffee break benefit our entire day? How might we use design to find more peace? Who created the concept of time anyway? These are questions that together, we’ll explore and challenge through P A C E.
So if you’re also curious about our ever changing relationship with time, you’ve come to the right place.
P A C E is a growing resource guiding us to live in the present and cherish the moment more for a happier, healthier life. A perspective that tries to make the best of each day, no matter what’s going on in this crazy world. Looking forward, it’s not about slowing down your entire life, we still have commitments. It’s about finding those occasions to stop or at least slow.
This period has been a shock and challenge for many, but for others an almost welcome refuge from our busy schedules. But as things start to return to ‘normal’, whatever that means for you, how can we maintain the positive elements discovered from this time?
Your healthy dose of slow, delivered to your inbox each week with thoughtful ideas and tips to find your own pause moments.
So if you‘d like to join me on this journey, subscribe at https://pacemoments.com/
You’ll receive my curated collection of lovely fast & slow things with the latest P A C E challenge which you can follow along with. Share your own experiences via @pacemoments on Instagram.
I’m looking forward to sharing this journey with you all,
Jo