Under The Silky Oak Tree

When people hear the term slow living, they often imagine a life free from deadlines, responsibilities and busyness. A life of home-baked bread, flourishing vegetable gardens and endless time to enjoy them.

For me, slow living looks a little different.

My life is still full. I work, run a farm, study, create, teach and juggle all the responsibilities that come with modern life. Slow living isn't about doing everything slowly. It's about creating small moments that help me reconnect with myself, nature and what matters most.

One of my favourite rituals is sitting on the verandah with a cup of tea.

I love doing this first thing in the morning before the day begins, or when I come home from work. It's a transition point between the demands of the day and simply being present.

As I sit, I can feel my body begin to relax. Thoughts that felt tangled somehow start to untangle themselves. I notice the breeze on my face, the sounds around me, the changing seasons in the garden and the sense of gratitude that comes from simply stopping for a moment.

It wasn't always this way.

Several years ago, I was managing a childcare centre and was on the verge of a mental and emotional breakdown. The work was rewarding, but demanded so much of me that somewhere along the way I became disconnected from the things that made me me.

I remember saying to my husband one day, "I've lost myself. I've stopped doing everything I love. Everything that makes me, me”

Those words hit hard because they were true.

I had spent so much time caring for others that I had forgotten to care for myself.

After that conversation, I made a conscious decision to start reconnecting with the things that filled my cup. Not through a dramatic life overhaul, but through small intentional moments.

I returned to the garden.

I picked up a crochet hook.

I made time to stop and breathe.

Little by little, I started finding my way back to myself.

These days, one of the places you'll often find me is sitting beneath one of the large Silky Oak trees in our house yard.. The trees that gave this property it’s name.

There is something incredibly grounding about sitting with my bare feet on the earth, my back against the trunk and nowhere else I need to be. The exposed roots form the perfect arm rests. It’s like this spot was made for me. When life feels overwhelming, this is where I come.

The tree doesn't ask anything of me.

It simply reminds me to be still.

Slow living also shows up in the small creative moments of my life. Creating mosaics. Experimenting with mixed media art. Journalling. Watching birds and insects in the garden. Camping without technology and disconnecting from the constant demands of the world.

What these activities have in common is that they allow me to be fully present.

There is no pressure to achieve anything.

No expectation of perfection.

Just the simple joy of being absorbed in the moment.

I've realised that slow living isn't really about slowing life down. Life will always have busy seasons. Responsibilities don't disappear.

Instead, it's about creating space for the things that ground us.

The things that help us breathe.

The things that help us process.

The things that help us reconnect with ourselves.

For me, that's a cup of tea on the verandah, a garden full of life, a journal, a creative project, or a quiet moment beneath a Silky Oak tree.

For you, it might be something entirely different.

Perhaps it's a walk around the block. Reading a book. Knitting. Fishing. Sitting in the sunshine. Listening to birdsong. Spending time with someone you love.

Whatever it is, I hope you make space for it.

Because when we take time to care for ourselves, we are far better equipped to care for the people around us.

And sometimes it doesn't take much.

Just a few small moments.

A deep breath.

A cup of tea.

A patch of sunshine.

A place to pause.

A chance to come back to yourself.