“A lot of the work I do is
reminding people to come
back to now, slow down and
be present. Life is about the
process, so why rush it? Just
acknowledging that you need
to slow down is a good
foundation to look for
alternatives and fi nd better
ways of managing oneself.”Martin says, “I’m a 49-year-old man with
two kids, working to pay a mortgage and
look after my family, and it can be diffi cult.
I can see how people of my generation can
succumb to pressures. Society expects them
to do all these things, and you have to live
up to a lot and it’s hard. It’s also very
diffi cult to say, ‘I’m struggling’.”
Psychologist and senior meditation
teacher John Barter says humanity has sped
up and we have much to learn from previous
generations. “The happiness they had was
not dependent on having all the things that
people think they need these days.”
Mr Barter, a mindfulness psychologist
based between Sydney and northern NSW,
says people feel there is so much to get done
and this high-demand mindset has far-
reaching consequences on our physical and
psychological health, the health of our
relationships and our sense of joy and
connection to life. “A lot of the work I do is
reminding people to come back to now,
slow down and be present. Life is about the
process, so why rush it? Just acknowledging
that you need to slow down is a good
foundation to look for alternatives and fi nd
better ways of managing oneself.”
Many people would like to change their
lives, disrupt the monotony, or seek
contentment, but making that shift happen
is a big decision. Jelena Stipanicev put the
brakes on her “unhappy” urban, lifestyle of
working, shopping, and eating out when
she packed up and abandoned her life in
Perth. She culled a lifetime of possessions
and embraced the unknown of life on the
road with her partner, Siu On Auyeung. It
was an exciting and confronting scenario.
“Siu was already a minimalist and I was
the opposite. For our trip, I had to get rid of
everything. I had no idea I had such a deep
emotional attachment to things. It was
quite eye-opening.”
Jelena followed a map of Australia,
the weather patterns and her heart, and
literally turned her life around. “There was
a lot of junk in my mind that I had never
taken the time to address. One big thing
was related to how much we consume. That
was a big lesson and it made me realise how
much we waste in our lives.”
She says that while travelling she
noticed how much water she used for
washing dishes and her hair and realised
how easy it had been to live a “draining”
consumerist lifestyle. “I feel like Siu and I
have managed to breakaway from that and
I don’t want to go back. By slowing down I
gained more mental clarity, I got more of
my choice back, and I feel a lot happier.”
On their website, The Travelleur, and
via YouTube, Jelena and Siu post updates,
videos and inspiration for their fans. They
have connected with the popular online
collective, Vanlife Diaries, meeting others
at organised gatherings and becoming part
of a roaming movement of likeminded
people who are slowing down, searching
for options, or simply taking time out to
explore the world and themselves.
The concept of living a slow life, seeking
a simpler life, and wanting to understand
and contribute to the creation of a more
sustainable world is gaining momentum,
and not everybody is taking off around the
world in a van to discover the answers.
In Melbourne this month, the premiere
of a documentary,A Simpler Way: Crisis as
Opportunity (made by Jordan Osmond and
Samuel Alexander, co-director of the
Simplicity Institute),will unveil the results
of an experiment carried out last year about
how one group of people explored methods
that might help us to live more simply.
Ten people formed the eco village on a
20-acre property in Gippsland, Victoria, in
a bid to demonstrate life with a smaller 43july 2016yogajournal.com.auThe tiny house in the A Simpler Way documentary (JORDAN OSMOND OF HAPPEN FILMS)A Simpler Way (JORDAN OSMOND OF HAPPEN FILMS)Martini Dorey with his beloved VWJelena Stipanicev and Siu On Auyeung