What brings you here? Have you been…

• Mindlessly running on autopilot?
• Feeling rushed to always move onto the next thing; to do more but never feeling like you’ve achieved anything?
• Wishing you could live on your own terms, at your own deliberate pace?
• Wanting to embrace intentional living, but feeling overwhelmed by it all?
• Yearning for a simpler way of living?

We get it. We’ve been there. We’re a family of four — Jen & Zen, Clara and Atticus. On The Slow Lane is our way of sharing our journey towards and through living a slow and intentional life on the slow lane. We wanted to create a safe space where we could all pause, observe, reflect and enjoy a slower, simpler, happier life. We wanted to be able to support people who were feeling a little overwhelmed and give them some quick steps to get them feeling confident about making positive lifestyle changes. Here you’ll find our favourite slow living & intentional living prompts, places, practices and people.

Born and raised in Sydney, as the eldest of four, Jen is a visionary and an accidental overachiever. In the pursuit of following her passions, she spent the last 11 years honing her craft and running her own online marketing agency, which she sold last year. In what feels like a past life of unconscious over-consumption, she also used to run an award-winning food & travel blog and food tours & events company. She transitioned to being vegan almost four years ago and has been trying to live more mindfully and consciously since. When not sharing her motherhood musings on Mama’s Got This where she also creates printables for mindful parenting and play-based learning, you’ll often find her on a bush walk, devouring a good podcast/e-book or tending to her urban garden and worm farm.

Zen was born on a farm field in the Fujian countryside of China. He migrated to Australia with his parents and two elder siblings when he was 7 and after a stint on a citrus farm in the regional town of Griffith, they settled in Sydney where he serendipitously lived just a few streets away from his future-wife (Jen). Zen is constantly on a passionate study of Stoicism and is a wise council to many. By day, he is a specialist in all things RPA (robotic process automation) at the NSW Department of Communities and Justice; by night, he is an avid F1 fan, and a purveyor of tech gadgets. He also has a deep fascination in space and astronomy, and is the co-founder of Sports Cars and Brekkie.

Clara is 4-going-on-40. She is a free-spirited and affectionate young girl with a calming influence and a cheeky streak. We love seeing the world through the eyes of Clara’s insatiable curiosity. As a strong-willed master negotiator, she excels at using empathy and creative problem-solving strategies. Her greatest loves in life are picnics at the beach, picking wild flowers and ice-cream.

The fourth corner to our square, Atticus joined the family in early September.

Photography by Love Sariena

We here at On The Slow Lane, respectfully operate on Eora Nation land, and we would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge that we live, work and play on the lands of the oldest living culture known to the world.

We honour this privilege and responsibility with respect, humility and curiosity.

We acknowledge the wisdom, diversity and innovation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of seeing and being, and their elders past, present and emerging.