#24: Reclaiming the Slow Lane

☀️ Say yes to getting bored

This weekend marks the end of August. The last stretch of summer still clings to the air, but you can already feel the rhythm changing. Calendars are filling up. Projects are “back on track.” And the collective push to be productive, efficient, optimized… it’s knocking again.

I used to welcome that shift. The energy, the momentum, the thrill of getting back to business. But this year, something felt different.

I found myself getting bored. Not the scroll-through-your-phone kind of bored. The real kind - the kind that creeps in during long walks, slow mornings, or when you sit on a bench with no podcast in your ears. At first, it made me restless. Then I realized that I kind of missed it.

We don’t get many moments like that anymore. The world constantly demands speed, performance, outcomes. But boredom (like real, deep, uninterrupted boredom) is a doorway. It’s where creativity brews, where clarity returns, where the brain finally exhales.

This edition is a small act of resistance to the rush that’s coming. A reminder that the slow lane still exists, and it’s not a place for those falling behind. It’s a place for those daring enough to pause, listen, and choose their next step with intention.

Let’s linger here, just a little longer.

📖 3 Articles to Spark Your Curiosity

1. You Need to Be Bored. Here’s Why.
   In a world that moves at high speed, boredom is seen as a fault, not a feature. But Harvard’s Arthur C. Brooks argues that embracing boredom creates mental space for curiosity, reflection, and purpose to emerge.
   → Read on Harvard Business Review

2. La Dolce Vita: What Does It Truly Mean?
   This Italian phrase goes beyond movies. It’s a philosophy of living that centers around daily beauty, leisurely rhythms, and slow-joy. It reminds us that richness in life often comes from slowing down to appreciate the little things.
   → Read on Eat and Walk Italy

3. Thinking Across Languages
   Language shapes thought in subtle ways that slow translation reveals. This thoughtful essay explores how meaning shifts when ideas cross linguistic, and cultural, borders. A powerful reminder that understanding takes time, not speed.
   → Read in The Hedgehog Review

🗞️ 3 Headlines Worth Exploring

1. A 13th-Century Castle Built by Hand in France

   In Burgundy, a unique project continues more than 25 years after its start: Guédelon, a 13th-century-style castle constructed entirely with medieval tools, techniques, and locally sourced materials. What started as playful curiosity has become a modern-day laboratory of craftsmanship, sustainability, and patience.
   → Read on The Guardian

2. A Solo Hiker Survives Six Days Stranded in Norway

   Climate journalist Alec Luhn went missing in Norway’s Folgefonna National Park, only to be found alive six days later despite a broken femur and a lack of food or communication. His ordeal was a stark reminder: time can slow us down drastically when survival, not speed, becomes the only measure that matters.
   → Read on NY Times

3. The World's Safest Countries (According to Travelers)

   As the pace of life accelerates and global uncertainties mount, take a moment to consider safety in the most peaceful places on earth. This ranking of 2025’s safest countries offers a calmer lens through which to view how environments shape our well-being.
   → Read on BBC Travel

☀️ 3 Actions to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

1. Try the 20-Minute “Doing Nothing” Challenge

   Set a timer. No phone, no book, no to-do list. Just you, a chair, and your thoughts. Notice what your brain does when it’s not being pulled in ten directions. Most of us haven’t truly done nothing in years, but this kind of unstructured time might surprise you with what it stirs up.

2. Replace One Metric with a Moment

   Instead of tracking how many tasks you complete in a day, track one moment that felt rich: a conversation, a taste, a pause, a laugh. The point? Progress isn’t always a number. Sometimes it’s presence.

3. Go Somewhere Without a Reason

   Pick a street, a park, or a part of town and simply wander with no goal, no errand, no reservation. Let your steps guide you. This unscripted kind of movement trains your brain to be okay without a purpose (and that’s a radically useful skill in an over-optimized world).

⚡ 6 Quick Resources

🕳️ To learn: The Underground Cities of the Byzantine Empire
A journey beneath Cappadocia reveals more than just tunnels; it uncovers how humans have always sought safety, silence, and slowness in the most unexpected places.
→ Watch on YouTube

🎃 To cook: The Most-Saved Pumpkin Recipes of All Time
Nothing says "slow it down" like a cozy dish that smells like fall. These crowd-favorite recipes are the perfect excuse to take your time in the kitchen.
→ Browse on AllRecipes

👥 To watch: What Makes a Good Life?
Decades of research point to one key ingredient: connection. This video distills lessons from the world’s longest happiness study, and it’s not about hustle.
→ Watch on YouTube

📝 To do: The Hope Scale Test
Before jumping into September, pause and reflect. Where is your hope level right now? This short test helps you check in with yourself.
→ Take it here

🏛️ To check (if you’re in Bucharest): Vinklu, the Chapel Café
A new café set inside a repurposed chapel: quiet, atmospheric, and intentionally designed to slow you down.
→ Explore on Dezeen

🫒 To keep in mind: The Quiet Power of Olive Oil
A beautiful deep dive into what makes this kitchen staple so timeless, why it’s more than just an ingredient, and the 4 rules to remember when buying olive oil. 
→ Read on NYT Cooking

🎲 This week’s wonderfully random corner of the internet 

📻 Radiooooo – The Musical Time Machine
A lovely portal to slow down and listen your way across continents and decades. Radiooooo lets you pick a country and an era and transports you there through hand‑curated tracks selected by global music lovers.

→ Explore Radiooooo

📝 Word of the Week

Mora mora (Malagasy) - “Slowly, slowly”

A phrase, a rhythm, a way of life. In Madagascar, mora mora isn’t about laziness or delay, but about presence, patience, and giving things the time they deserve. It reminds us that not everything needs to be fast to be fulfilling.

🧘‍♀️ Question of the Week for Introspection

What part of your life feels rushed and what would change if you approached it with a little more softness and patience?

See you next Sunday! Until then, keep your eyes open, your questions big, and your sense of wonder alive.

Your curious internet friend,

Ruxandra