the tortoise & the hare

Latest Episodes:

Katie Patrick on how to save the world - Summer Series Jan 29, 2020

Show notes

Welcome to the fifth and final episode of our Summer Series (Winter Warmies!) Throughout all of January, we’ll be sharing some of your favourite episodes from 2019, to keep you company on the beach (or slopes!)

Often on the podcast we dance around the topic of technology - usually viewing it as something that gets in the way of our efforts to slow down and live a more mindful, sustainable life. But what if we embraced technology and viewed it as the greatest opportunity we have to change (or maybe even save) the world?

In this week’s episode Brooke chats with Katie Patrick, an environmental engineer and designer who applies data-driven, gamification, and behaviour-change techniques to solve the world’s environmental problems. Katie brings with her a completely new perspective on what it’s going to take to change the world, and it’s a refreshing, hope-filled, imagination-fuelled joy to listen to.

Brooke and Katie talk about the important relationship between slowing down, getting creative and making an impact on the world, as well as what letting go of the idea of goals and success has done to Katie’s own life. Katie also shares how imagination and day dreaming might just hold the key to getting more people to care about the planet, and why we need to shift the current narrative away from doom and gloom, to one of opportunity and hope.

Questions featured in this episode:

What role does optimism play in our ability to change the world?
Why do we need to slow down in order to access our creative potential?
If we lead busy, full lives, how can we make space and time for creativity, particularly when it feels like a ‘nice to have’ rather than a necessity?
What’s the link between optimism and taking action?
Why do you think the current environmental, climate crisis messaging is falling flat for so many people? What can we do to change it?

Looking for more Slow?

Find show notes, resources and links at slowyourhome.com/summerseries
Follow us on Instagram @slowhomepod
Or leave a rating or review in iTunes

As always, thank you for listening!

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kali Gray on body positivity, mindful eating and living counter-culturally - Summer Series Jan 22, 2020

Show notes

Welcome to the third episode of our Summer Series (Winter Warmies!) Throughout all of January, we’ll be sharing some of your favourite episodes from 2019, to keep you company on the beach (or slopes!)

In this episode Brooke asks her guest, Kali Gray, if there's a link between the rise in consumerism, the endless advertising messages that assault us thousands of times a day and the increase in body image issues.

Kali is a body confidence expert and a “non diet” dietician and in today’s episode she and Brooke discuss the the relationship between food security and body image issues, while also looking at the crossover between slow living and the work of reframing our perspective on food, self-care, self-worth and the food we eat.

Kali also turns the interview tables around on Brooke at one point, sparking a conversation on how big changes such as these take time, and no matter how well-versed we are in consumerism, health, wellness, body image and food, there’s always going to be part of us that requires a little extra love and empathy.

Questions featured in this episode:

Capitalism and consumerism are both linked to our dissatisfaction with ourselves and our bodies. How do you encourage people to recognise that and make changes so that we get to decide what is good and right for us individually?
It’s counter-cultural to teach and encourage people to love themselves and accept themselves as they are, particularly in the face of a society that teaches us to find fault in our bodies from a very young age. Is that something that comes naturally to you?
We both encourage people to ask the question WHY? Why do we do what we do? Why do we buy what we buy? Why do we eat what we eat? Do you find that once we begin to uncover that why, it becomes simpler to start making changes?
As a process, this asking why and digging deep is uncomfortable. How do you encourage people to accept that this is outside their comfort zone and move through regardless?
You highlight mindful eating as a way to begin to heal our relationship with food, but what actually is it to eat more mindfully?

Looking for more Slow?

Find show notes, resources and links at slowyourhome.com/summerseries
Follow us on Instagram @slowhomepod
Or leave a rating or review in iTunes

As always, thank you for listening!

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meg Berryman on moving beyond wellness - Summer Series Jan 15, 2020

Show notes

Platonic sparks fly in today’s episode, when Brooke sits down with Meg Berryman of Beyond Being Well. Meg is a women’s coach, mum, yoga teacher, empowerment educator and fabulous no-BS human. We couldn’t wait to have her on the show to talk about her work and especially the link between making changes for ourselves and making changes for the collective, which is something Brooke has felt herself being pulled toward more and more.

Meg talks about the journey from wellness to wholeness to igniting social change – a shift from self to collective focus. She touches on the importance of discovering what wellness is to us as individuals, connecting to the body, why we need compassion in the face of patriarchy and capitalism and so much more. This conversation was truly effortless but engaging, and we hope you enjoy!

Questions featured in this episode:

What does wellness mean to you?
How can people can start to explore what wellness looks like for them?
Do you think it’s a counter-cultural move to fully explore your own wholeness?
Do you find that a lot of people reach the point of wanting to shift their focus from the self to the collective in their explorations of wholeness?

Looking for more Slow?

Find show notes, resources and links at slowyourhome.com/summerseries
Follow us on Instagram @slowhomepod
Or leave a rating or review in iTunes

As always, thank you for listening!

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How to go zero waste (slowly) with Erin Rhoads - Summer Series Jan 08, 2020

Show notes

Welcome to the second episode of our Summer Series, where throughout all of January, we’ll be sharing some of your favourite episodes from 2019, to keep you company on the beach (or slopes!)

As we head not only in to a new year but also a new decade many of us are looking to make positive changes to the way we live by reducing plastic and reducing waste. Today's episode not only gives you some practical advice on how to do that, but also offers some gentle encouragement to make changes even when they're difficult or slow in coming.

Brooke is joined by Erin Rhoads, creator of The Rogue Ginger blog and author of two excellent low-waste living books, and in this conversation she provides incredibly accessible and practical tips on living a zero-waste life.

Erin also answers a few common questions about living plastic-free, specifically:

How can we avoid plastic wrapping when buying cheese?
Is there an alternative for lunch wraps that doesn't require us to cook our own?
How can we open up the low-waste conversation with suppliers, family and friends without making people feel judged?

It's a conversation full of practical tips and encouragement - the perfect place to begin your own low-waste journey in 2020.

Enjoy!

Looking for more Slow?

Find show notes, resources and links at slowyourhome.com/summerseries
Follow us on Instagram @slowhomepod
Or leave a rating or review in iTunes

As always, thank you for listening!

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jacki Carr on redefining balance (and making room for failure) - Summer Series Jan 01, 2020

Show notes

Welcome to the first episode of our Summer Series (Winter Warmies!) Throughout all of January, we’ll be sharing some of your favourite episodes from 2019, to keep you company on the beach (or the slopes!)

In this episode Brooke sits down with goals coach, co-founder of Rock Your Bliss and incredible public speaker/human Jacki Carr.

Brooke did some work with Jacki in 2018 before embarking on the Slow book tour and it had the most enormous impact on her time on the road. So she was determined to chat with Jacki this season, and especially at this time of year, as there’s so much buzz about resolutions, goals and general New Year vibes, which is all Jacki’s passion.

Brooke and Jacki cover so much in this conversation, talking all things resolutions, change, defining and committing to goals, values, balance, community and how to use social media as a tool for connection rather than a crutch, by consistently returning to your values.

Questions featured in this episode:

How do you help people define their values?
How do you encourage people to keep re-centering on their values even when life happens?
Have you intentionally developed a crew of people in your corner to support you in living with your values?
What are your thoughts on balance?
Do you look for ease in situations, or always look to expansion?
When did developing in-person communities become important to you?
Do you have any tools you use to help social media be a way to connect rather than a crutch?

Looking for more Slow?

Find show notes, resources and links at slowyourhome.com/summerseries
Follow us on Instagram @slowhomepod
Or leave a rating or review in iTunes

As always, thank you for listening!

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Top 10 of 2019 Dec 11, 2019

Show notes

And just like that, we arrive at the final episode of 2019. It’s been quite the ride folks, and in the last hostful of the year, Brooke and Ben look back over what has undoubtedly been a massively transformative year for them both.

They talk about the transition from travelling to putting down roots, end of year burnout and their thoughts on the future as a new year (and a new decade) peeks around the corner.

The Top 10 Best Things List also makes a come back as Brooke and Ben explore the year that was through the lens of their favourite:

TV show
small detail
movie
new destination
book
discovery
album
new podcast
meal
experience

Brooke also talks about her conflicted relationship with travel, book plans for 2020 and shares a little of what you can expect from the podcast next year too.

If you’re worried about pogpast withdrawal symptoms over the January break, fear not! The annual Summer Series/Winter Warmies (where Brooke and Ben share some of their favourite past episodes) will be in your earholes all through the holidays, with the first episode dropping on Jan 2.

Until then, have a wonderful, safe, peaceful holiday season and we’ll catch you next decade.

Enjoy!

Looking for more Slow?

Find show notes, resources and links at slowyourhome.com/season4
Follow us on Instagram @slowhomepod
Sign up for our love letters
Or leave a rating or review in iTunes

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Busy and slow – can they co-exist? Dec 04, 2019

Show notes

Can you live slow if you’re someone who enjoys being busy? What if you’re a Type A, go-getter? Or someone who prides themselves on setting goals and kicking them every single time?

In today’s episode (the second-last of the season!) Brooke speaks with Elisa, who has spent the past year shedding many layers of her life and self-beliefs, but now finds herself stuck on how to distil the myriad ideas she’s absorbed in to real, lasting change – without reverting to living fast.

Elisa shares the catalyst for making changes in her life before she and Brooke dig in to the question of values and personal identity. As a mum who is emerging from the parenting very young children phase, Elisa also spends some time digging in to the underlying motivations that might be driving her desire to be constantly busy.

Brooke talks about finding contentment in the now, no matter how imperfect, and why the word ‘slow’ might actually be giving Elisa more stress than peace.

Jacki Carr, values coach extraordinaire, then joins Brooke for a juicy discussion on how to uncover our personal values and design our legacy. As a self-confessed go-getter and serial goal kicker, Jacki has some incredible suggestions for Elisa to find pockets of slow intention on even the busiest of days, as well as how to reclaim space for your self amidst the work of parenting.

Enjoy!

Looking for more Slow?

Find show notes, resources and links at slowyourhome.com/season4
Follow us on Instagram @slowhomepod
Sign up for our love letters
Join the Slow Experiment Club over on Patreon
Or leave a rating or review in iTunes

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The imperfect reality of low-waste living Nov 27, 2019

Show notes

If you’ve ever tried to reduce the amount of plastic or food waste going in to your bin, if you’ve ever tried to cut back on packaging or unnecessary products in your shopping trolley, or if you’ve ever tried your hand at Plastic Free July and found yourself overwhelmed and frustrated at the lack of realistic low-waste options in your home town – this episode is for you.

Today we meet Amy, who lives in rural northern Maine, where recycling and low-waste resources are limited. Amy has been making progress in lots of different areas of slow living, but now finds herself at somewhat of a frustrating point where the lack of local services is making further progress tough.

She and Brooke talk about the frustrations of living in a system that’s not set up for our success, and the importance of acknowledging when we’re doing the best we can. They chat about the progress Amy has made (which is a great way of reframing the journey so far) and Brooke offers some practical suggestions for a few of Amy’s specific issues – namely, compost.

Brooke is then joined by Tammy Logan of Gippsland Unwrapped – an online community and activism platform that offers community-based and creative solutions to living a lower-waste life in rural areas. Tammy has some fantastic practical suggestions for how Amy could reduce the amount she needs to compost, as well as some solutions for those who might not have a typical compost set-up available, and she also offers some hard-earned insight in to the pros and cons of making green changes in a small town.

This is an episode for anyone looking for realistic low-waste options, as well as inspiration to rethink what low-waste means. In a word, it’s encouraging.

Enjoy!

Looking for more Slow?

Find show notes, resources and links at slowyourhome.com/season4
Follow us on Instagram @slowhomepod
Sign up for our love letters
Join the Slow Experiment Club over on Patreon
Or leave a rating or review in iTunes

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When slow becomes fast and no is hard to say Nov 20, 2019

Show notes

This week we meet another wonderful listener, Sara, who has found herself in a place many of us can relate to: she's gradually reduced the commitments in her life in order to do more of what lights her up but has found other requests and demands on her sneaking in and is finding it difficult to create boundaries and say no.

Sara has been transitioning to retirement over the past couple of years but is struggling to actually retire. She values service in all areas of her life, and is struggling to calibrate what service looks like in a life that has always placed the service of others ahead of her own needs. She's finding it difficult to say no and similarly tough to create boundaries.

Brooke and Sara talk about the role of ego in constantly saying yes, as well as the feelings of guilt that arise when Sara chooses to create and honour the boundaries around her time, energy and other values.

Brooke is then joined by Cark Honoré, who talks about our innate desire to feel relevant as we get older, and how to move through the fear of losing our identity when letting go of work, relationships or activities that used to define us. They also have an interesting discussion on the trajectory of slow living and how it’s come to reflect different things now that it’s more of a mainstream idea.

Enjoy!

Looking for more Slow?

Find show notes, resources and links at slowyourhome.com/season4
Follow us on Instagram @slowhomepod
Sign up for our love letters
Join the Slow Experiment Club over on Patreon
Or leave a rating or review in iTunes

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can you live slow in your 20s, or is burnout inevitable? Nov 13, 2019

Show notes

Slow living has positive applications for everyone – no matter their age, life circumstance or work situation. All too often however, it’s presented from the perspective of people in their thirties and forties who are well-established in their careers, relationships, family and home situations, who are making changes in order to slow down (usually after burning out or reaching a crisis point).

In this week’s episode Brooke chats with Lauren, who is in her mid-twenties and wants to know whether slow living is something you need to ‘earn’ in your twenties by hustling and burning the candle at both ends, or whether there are things she can do now to help “build the right foundations for a slow life from the start of my career, rather than course-correcting later?” Lauren also wants to know what specific things she might want to prioritise now in order to set herself up for an intentional life.

Brooke and Lauren talk about what success looks like, and why it’s important to develop your own definition of it, as well as how to reframe the sense of overwhelm that comes when faced with so many opportunities and options in your mid-twenties. Brooke offers Lauren some suggestions on how to better get to know herself and her values, and also offers some super practical suggestions on how to develop boundaries, how to cope with self-doubt and how to practice present-moment awareness when the world is so full of distractions.

Brooke is then joined by Jocelyn Glei, host of the podcast Hurry Slowly and author of Unsubscribe: A modern guide to getting rid of email anxiety, who shares her own experiences of figuring out what living with intention actually means and how to view the mistakes and challenges of your twenties as essential learning experiences rather than failings or mis-steps.

Enjoy!

Looking for more Slow?