Welcome to The Feel Good Life! A newsletter about health, prevention, empathy, and hope. I’m Dr. Mariana M.D. and I’m here to teach you how to not go to the doctor. Get started by checking my easy, medically-guided course on managing stress and daily habits, right here.
Hello and welcome to 2024!
It’s been an interesting rush since the holidays and now my favourite time arrives…the time to unwind, step back, and enjoy the calmness, silence and solitude that comes after the rush.
I’m currently in the tropics where it’s summer, and seasons don’t exist as perhaps you know them in the northern and southern hemispheres. And this applies to me too! Even though I was born and raised in Costa Rica, for the most recent third of my life I’ve lived in the 4-seasonal weather, loving every single transition throughout the years.
Winter comes as a time to retreat and stay within; a time to reflect, rest and reset in the calmness of our soul, before the desired spring allows us to blossom again. Having learned life in this way has been a game-changer for me in the best of ways. I crave the winter’s silence, the spring’s blossoms, the summer’s cheer and the autumn’s cosiness. It all lives within regardless of location. It truly is a lifestyle that allows you to go inside yourself to find the cycles of nature.
I've always tried to live my life calmly, even when my nervous system had been used to living in rush/survival mode since early age. A lot has been learned through the years.
Back in June (2023) I made some major life changes that allowed me the gift of slow living…truly slow living.
After 14 years in my beloved Barcelona, my mind and body craved something different, something calmer and more silent than the city rush. Little did I know that life would send me to Scotland in a wonderfully unexpected twist and things would never be the same again.
Scotland is truly a master corner of the world in slow living. The cycles, the nature, the waters, the energy, the pace, the air, even in the harshest weather days, I’ve been able to pull the breaks and take a real deep look into the life I had envisioned for so long and that I can now start building. I might’ve been lucky to some extent, but truly, what’s life if not what we make out of it with what we’re given.
So here I am now, enjoying the tropical warmth for a while and learning how to keep my slow-living awareness in this loud and fast-paced Latin American environment.
Back in early December, I had just finished publishing my course on managing stress here on Substack, when the arrival process and the Christmas rush took over me completely, knocking my immune system to the ground, little by little until a bad UTI (urinary tract infection) made a strong and clear entrance, lasting a month, and followed by quite the Flu… hello January!
It’s only today, on what feels the last day of this flu, that I could sit down with my thoughts and emotions, and ponder about these past six weeks since I landed in Costa Rica, making me realise how the stress and overwhelm of an intercontinental move combined with the holiday rush made my body loose its balance almost completely, both physically and mentally. Perfect time to revisit my own teachings and get back on track as we speak.
As I settle in this intermezzo space and build my routine, I am being reminded of slow living and the massive value it can bring to anyone’s life. I have always abide by this, both as a person and as a doctor, caring for my patients in the best way as I’d care for my own. However, it’s easy to forget when the rush comes pounding and knocking down everything on its path.
I want to use today’s newsletter to ask you this:
How are you living your life these days?
How are you prioritising some self-care or me-time to silence your thoughts and recharge from the daily rush? Is there anything you would like to improve as days go by? And by no means is this a new year’s resolution, no, no. This is simply a quick look into your life and yourself today as a way to improve a little something compared to your yesterday, regardless of the day, month or year.
Just yesterday, I ran into
’s most recent newsletter where he talks precisely about slow living, including a brilliant mention to ’s piece on slow productivity. Seems to be all so present in the air these days and for good reason.I hadn’t even considered the term slow living until I enjoyed Scotland for a few months, teaching me everything I needed to know in order to start crafting this new stage of my life, connecting all the dots from everything I had been feeling for a while now.
I have found that even the own definition of slow living makes me calm just by reading them all. Here are some beautiful ones:
“Slow living is a lifestyle that emphasizes taking a slower, more mindful approach to all aspects of everyday life. It’s about identifying what you value most in your life and structuring your time accordingly.” - The Good Trade
“Slow living encourages individuals to slow down and enjoy the simple things in life, such as spending time with loved ones, pursuing hobbies, and connecting with nature. It emphasizes a more balanced and intentional approach to daily life, emphasising self-care, mindfulness, and conscious consumption.” - Pretty Slow
“Slow living is a lifestyle which encourages a slower approach to aspects of everyday life,[1] involving completing tasks at a leisurely pace.[2]” - Wikipedia
In this process, I have found myself enjoying activities that I didn’t normally paid much attention to in the past - not in a calm and conscious way. For example, learning about sourdough, cooking from the garden, taking longer walks in the woods or by the sea, sitting at any green area just to watch and listen to the birds and the flow of trees, enjoying a cuppa tea while gazing at the outdoors, admiring animals as they do their thing, even cleaning the house has become a calm, enjoyable chore. It’s hard to put into words, but the sensations are all among the most resetting I’ve felt.
As a doctor, I didn’t get to experience the whole home-cooking, slow mornings and comfy clothing rush that most of humanity experienced back in 2020 as the Covid pandemic hit. Maybe it’s only now, after rethinking my life, when I have been able to have a real taste of how calm and good we can have it with the simplest of things.
Timely enough,
posted this open thread today in which he asks his readers one simple yet powerful question: “What are you choosing to be enthusiastic about in 2024?” I’d highly suggest you go to the comment section and have a read, and why not, take some time to ponder and share in the comments too. I’m finding the comments quite moving and inspiring!Whenever I’m going through changes, I need to remind myself of certain things to help me cope and sail through. One trick that works for me is writing down my core values on a piece of paper that I stick on my wall, so every day I am being reminded of the things that most matter to me - the things I have learned through the years that give me confidence, clarity, calmness and empowerment to be myself and enjoy my life to the full.
This is my current list. Feel free to use it, tweak it or create your own.
So whether you’re in the middle of some changes or simply living your usual day-to-day, I invite you today to take a brief moment and think about the pace of your current life, how much are you enjoying it or not, and what could you do to make the slightest change to make it better, calmer and lighter.
It might all seem like really small steps, but trust me when I say: it might just be exactly what you (and your brain) need. ;)
With all my love and the best slow-living vibes to you all,
Dr. Mariana
Image Credits: Image by WikiImages from Pixabay
Hi Dr. Mariana,
Just now catching up on reading your posts. It's funny, our situations seem to be the opposite. When I lived in BCN, my life was pretty laid back, quiet, because I lived in the hills outside the city and didn't get much of the noise and congestion. Now I'm in Japan. You write that the holidays are crazy and January brings much needed peace and quiet. It's just the opposite for me. Holidays are peaceful, but from Jan., there are the final classes, exams, grading, etc. - the mad rush to finish deadlines. Now, I'm finally free! It feels wonderful, and I can enjoy "slow living" for the next couple of months. :-)
I randomly came across your Substack on LinkedIn and I’m so happy to read your beautiful words here. I never imagined you would leave BCN but I understand the desire for slow living. I’m making big changes too, moving back to my home town Perth for a while. It’s definitely a slower pace of life where I can take the time to enjoy both sunrise and sunset each day. xx