The Little Book of Sloth Philosophy

The Little Book of Sloth Philosophy
Jennifer McCartney

Relax, unwind and soak up the wisdom of the sloth with the slowest page turner you’ll ever read.From tidying and Hygge, to living Lagom, the endless pressure to be happier, live better, sleep soundly, and eat mindfully can be exhausting. But this year’s lifestyle trend finally delivers the perfect antidote – welcome to the year of the sloth.Sloths are mindfulness in action. Contemplative, deliberate, relaxed, and focused. They resist the rat race, the incessant pressures from society to be more productive, and they don’t care how many steps they’ve logged on their fitness tracker. Long-limbed, a little bit shaggy, and a lot wide-eyed, they’re wonderful creatures, not to mention completely adorable.Here you can enjoy take-it-slow wisdom inspired by sloths; including advice on sleep (more restorative than a 6am run), eating and ‘exercise’ (sloths are the original pioneers of slow food and yoga after all), work (did you know that lazy people have higher IQs?), family life, and love.Dispelling over-complicated myths about productivity, this brilliant book confirms that it really is OK to be a sloth.

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Copyright (#u3a31fd1c-db62-5be2-8091-f357d2d9695c)

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

Cover (#u2a0dd03f-df1f-513e-acd6-1383fce0cb79)

Title Page (#ue3e6bdd5-1253-50af-bfbd-8bb4df1684cf)

Copyright (#u5d5afa51-26c5-519f-89f6-1c9a97d4e75d)

PART ONE: A Sloth Education (#u27a841ea-6438-59dd-b0ec-535588b1ed85)

Introduction: Welcome to the Sloth Philosophy (#u1ca51fb2-6211-5ae3-8ea7-a9397e695302)

Follow the SLOW Method for a More Slothful Life (#ucf80b678-be9d-53ee-af28-6620a466be5d)

Famous Followers of the Sloth Philosophy (#ua80ee1f4-8182-5ca0-81db-fcd4ba81b5bc)

PART TWO: A Practical Guide (#uf74a999f-b60e-536b-b785-8498299a2456)

Health and Wellness (#u33634d72-d795-5663-af83-2f19c0dde517)

Food and Drink (#litres_trial_promo)

Sleep (#litres_trial_promo)

Leisure and Pleasure (#litres_trial_promo)

Love and Relationships (#litres_trial_promo)

Work and School (#litres_trial_promo)

Beauty and Self-care (#litres_trial_promo)

In Conclusion: Life is Short – Spend it Doing Things You Love (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#u2a0dd03f-df1f-513e-acd6-1383fce0cb79)

Part One

Introduction: Welcome to the Sloth Philosophy (#u3a31fd1c-db62-5be2-8091-f357d2d9695c)

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.