The reason behind "City Girl Slow Life" 城市女孩慢生活緣起

From living in the busiest city to living a slow life

From every Hong Konger I’ve talked to, Taiwan is that dream island where everyone wants to retire because life is slower, a dollar goes further, and people are nicer. That’s always my perspective, too: Hong Kong is fast, and Taipei is slow. However, I’ve also known friends who have grown as young adults in Taipei who have rent to pay and are stressed from work. It dawned on me that people experience stress and worry in every place they live in, and perhaps only by intentionally slowing down can you remove the looming stress that our modern society gives us. And through this, maybe we can, in turn, change the mood of our modern society.

Since meditating for more than a year regularly and traveling to 9 countries in that time frame, I’ve found a particular flow state that I get in: I feel particularly good when I let my curiosity lead my life. And when I’m not traveling, I try to practice that active curiosity in my daily surroundings.

Through “City Girl Slow Life,” I would like to share findings, stories, and even practical guides on intentionally slowing down in a big city. There will be articles focusing on experiencing subtle sensations and trying out little “brain snaps” that can snap you out of a low headspace when experiencing things we typically associate annoyance with.

If this is something you would like to see regularly, please subscribe (or stay subscribed), share it with your friends, and spread the word.

I hope you will enjoy this with your morning cup of tea or coffee, perhaps on your morning commute to work. I hope this can help you find all the little joys in your busy life and allow you to lead your life with more curiosity, love, and intention. And through slowing down, experience all the textures life has to provide.

I went to the Hong Kong Tian Tan Big Buddha last weekend, and here’s a pic! 上週我去拜訪了香港大嶼山的大佛，這是祂在山裡的樣貌～

你好！我是一個在台北長大，在香港工作，先前又經常在世界各地出差旅行的城市女孩——在過去的一年中我去了九個不同的國家，而和一般旅行比較不一樣的是：我用比較慢的形式，花半個至一個月在一個城市，將自己完全融入個不認識的地方，假裝自己是當地人（畢竟我雖然在國外，也是天天要工作的）。我整整一年隨時充滿好奇心的探索著不同的城市，即便回到了香港、或台北，也盡量帶著這種好奇心在熟悉的街道上行走。同時我也剛好開始固定的練習正念與冥想——融合好奇心與正念，我覺得是細細品味人生百態的好方法。

「城市女孩・慢生活」這份電子報顧名思義是希望幫助住在城市的人能夠更有系統的放慢生活的速度，以增加生活的品質。

我記得當初高中從台北畢業後選擇去了香港，原因是香港比較國際化、步調也比較快。到了香港之後，遇見的香港朋友都一致認為台灣是退休後的好去所，我也內化了台北是我可以慢活的城市，而在香港的自己就是上緊發條。今年年初的時候回台北，我發現摯友們也一一因為房價、瑣事似乎被生活追著著跑，不能有片刻停歇。

希望透過電子報能和大家分享我學習慢活的心路歷程，以及我覺得可以幫助到大家的一些思考模式，讓你可以換種方式體驗都市生活～

若這是您喜歡看到的訊息，歡迎免費訂閱（或繼續訂閱），希望能伴隨您早上的那杯咖啡或茶，和您一起探索忙碌的人生的各種美妙～讓我們一起體會城市裡的慢生活吧！

From the same author as (Un)learning Mental Health with Tania Wu, written in 2020, the weekly newsletter that shared therapy experiences in both English and Chinese.

這份電子報是另一份電子報「你今天還好嗎？」的作者寫的，寫的內容是關於心理健康以及心理諮商的經驗談。您在2020年曾訂閱過那份電子報，也是為什麼您現在仍繼續收到新的電子報內容～