The Little Book of Sloth Philosophy. Jennifer McCartney
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HarperCollinsPublishers
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First published by HarperCollins 2018
FIRST EDITION
Text and poetry © Jennifer McCartney 2018
Illustrations © Clare Faulkner 2018
All poetry is the author’s own unless otherwise stated
Agatha Christie quote reprinted by permission of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd © 1977, Agatha Christie
Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers 2018
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library
Jennifer McCartney asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
The author and publishers cannot be held responsible for any errors and omissions that may be found in the text, or any actions that may be taken by a reader as a result of any reliance on the information contained in the text which is taken entirely at the reader’s own risk. This book should not be used as an alternative to seeking specialist medical advice which should be sought before any action is taken.
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Source ISBN: 9780008304829
Ebook Edition © August 2018 ISBN: 9780008304836
Version: 2018-07-31
Contents
Introduction: Welcome to the Sloth Philosophy
Follow the SLOW Method for a More Slothful Life
Famous Followers of the Sloth Philosophy
In Conclusion: Life is Short – Spend it Doing Things You Love
Introduction: Welcome to the Sloth Philosophy
Slow down. Hold your horses. Chill out. Don’t run on the pool deck. We’re constantly being encouraged to embrace stillness. Slowness. Mindfulness. And with good reason. Science has proven that slowing down has loads of advantages – from helping to manage chronic pain to increasing happiness levels and decreasing feelings of stress.
Yet we’re often shamed when we take time for ourselves. Appearing lazy is a cardinal sin in our highly strung society. (It’s also one of the seven deadly sins. If that’s an issue, this book is definitely not for you.) God forbid you lie on a couch once in a while with a pile of chips and cheese, rather than cooking a perfectly balanced meal from scratch using eggs and mustard and whatever else might be in your fridge … Go do something! Make the bed! Book a holiday! Answer those texts! Feed your children! And so we do. And because of this our lives often seem to be chaotic and short of time.
We live in a world where people jog for fun. Where a meditation app has to remind you to breathe deeply. Where you can buy a shrink-wrapped, pre-peeled orange (No time to peel! I’m busy!). Which is why abandoning our hang-ups about laziness and taking it slow is more important now than ever before. Slowing down provides us with a ton of benefits. It’s time to reclaim laziness, take back our time and protest the rat race by staying in bed. And what better mascot for the take-it-slow movement than the incredible, adorable sloth.
Long-limbed, two- or three-toed, a little bit shaggy and a lot wide-eyed, the sloth is one of the cutest (and laziest) animals on the planet. These Amazon dwellers are not only essential to Central and South America’s rainforests, they also have a lot to teach us about the way we live life.
Sloths are mindfulness in action. They’re contemplative, deliberate, relaxed and focused. They aren’t concerned with politics, or who drank the last of the milk, or how many steps they logged on their fitness tracker.